Flowers in the Sky
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4.4 • 7 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Just about everyone from my country, República Dominicana, dreams of moving to New York City, except for me. On the flight to New York, my first time on a plane, my first time away from Mami, I was finally free to cry. But nothing came out. I watched as the green mountains of my beloved island slipped away far below.
Fifteen-year-old Nina Perez is faced with a future she never expected. She must leave her Garden of Eden, her lush island home in Samana, Dominican Republic, when she's sent by her mother to live with her brother, Darrio, in New York, to seek out a better life. As Nina searches for some glimpse of familiarity amid the urban and jarring world of Washington Heights, she learns to uncover her own strength and independence. She finds a way to grow, just like the orchids that blossom on her fire escape. And as she is confronted by ugly secrets about her brother's business, she comes to understand the realities of life in this new place. But then she meets him—that tall, green-eyed boy—one that she can't erase from her thoughts, who just might help her learn to see beauty in spite of tragedy.
From the acclaimed author of the color of my words comes a powerful story of a girl who must make her way in a new world and find her place within it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Joseph's quietly compelling novel captures both the colorful sun-filled atmosphere of 15-year-old Nina's beloved seaside town, Samana, in the Dominican Republic, and the grit of New York City's Washington Heights neighborhood. Unlike most Dominicans, Nina has no desire to make "a better life" in New York; she loves Samana and is miserable when her mother sends her to live with her 28-year-old brother, Darrio, in Manhattan. Appalled by the noisy streets teeming with drug dealers and vulgarly dressed Dominicanos, she misses tending her garden and the flowers that were an integral part of her being: "Now I knew how it felt to be rudely uprooted and replanted in the wrong soil." Joseph (The Color of My Words) keeps the suspense high as Nina tries to adjust to her new circumstances. Is the terse, green-eyed barber who sets her heart pounding worthy of her love, or a criminal? What to do about her levelheaded, ambitious schoolmate Carlos, whose feelings for her are more than platonic? And what kind of trouble is Darrio in? A moving, thoughtful coming-of-age story set against a realistic multicultural backdrop. Ages 13 up.
Customer Reviews
Love it!!
This was for sure the best book I’ve read so far especially since I’m Dominican I can completely relate to Nina and what she’s going through. I cried, laughed, got angry with this book, but all in all I’m in love with this book I actually read it for 4 hours straight from 12pm to 4:46am cause I couldn’t get enough of it I definitely recommend this book!!
Outstanding!
I am a young student starting the 7th grade and for a summer hw we had to choose 1 of 3 books. I read summaries online of each book and I ended up choosing Flowers in the sky by Lynn Joseph because i felt that I can relate to its main character Nina because of her Spanish to culture since I come from the capital of Dr, Santo Domingo. And as I progressed through each page to each chapter I felt like I really got into it the more Nina evolved as a character facing real life issues people in today’s society face. And not to spoil the plot, but the ending was clearly perfect and wrapped up the story well of a girl adapting to this busy city that her mom wants her to be in, Ny. In conclusion, I just want to say that I give this 5 stars with its great pattern of problems and solutions to those problems. In one word, I’ll say that this book was all in all OUTSTANDING!