A beautiful coming of age story from the author of the National Book Award finalist, Dreaming in Cuban.
With grandparents from Japan, Cuba, and Brooklyn, Yumi Ruiz-Hursch is a poster child for the 21st century. If only her life wasn't as complicated as her heritage. Her mom's found a new boyfriend and her punk-rock father still can't sell a song. And she's losing her grandfather Saul. As she listens to Saul, she learns that nobody asks you if you're ready for life to happen. It just happens.
Reviews
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Yumi Ruiz-Hirch is part Japanese, part Cuban, and part Brooklyn Jew. But her life is pretty much that of your average teenager. She doesn't want to move, she doesn't want her mother to remarry, and, most of all, she doesn't want her beloved grandfather, Saul, to die. In an effort to forestall the inevitable, she spends more and more time with Saul, collecting the story of his life. National Book Award finalist Garc’a gets Yumi's voice just right, and a thoughtful upbeat performance by Zinnia Su adds humor and understanding. Further, Su switches effortlessly from Yumi's grandfather's heavy Brooklyn accent to her mother's faint hint of Spanish. This is a comforting coming-of-age story. D.G. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
