Reviews

Taína by Ernesto Quiñonez

lifeaskia's review against another edition

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4.0

This was an interesting story. Julio was willing to do anything to be close to Taina and to explain her pregnancy - clearly it’s science!

ron130's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

kerrycat's review against another edition

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4.0

this has a Gabriel Garcia Marquez feel to it that kept me turning those pages . . .

raymond_murphy's review against another edition

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4.0

Taína is not seen or heard from until this novel gets well underway. The mythology Julio creates around her is quite different than the real person.

Quiñonez crafts a whole novel around the paradox of who people really are versus the things we project about others.

Beautiful writing and very well plotted.

hbermudes's review against another edition

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3.0

3.8? 3.9? I might come back and change this to 4 later. This is a great read.This book is very unique, interesting, so much to think about, very well done. Also weird, and I don’t know what it is yet, but there were times I felt something was missing. Perhaps it was pacing, or maybe that the narrative didn’t have quite enough stakes. I’m already planning when I will reread it!! The characters are very well done, and so is the historic/political/folktale referencing. So much about this book I love, so many puzzling, beautiful details, but still..

reflectiverambling_nalana's review against another edition

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challenging dark hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I find myself still really grappling with this novel, so I will come back with a more comprehensive review. On the one side it is a story about belief and what develops our convictions-- be it self influence, culture, or personal experience. The main character is one that is just pure heart and hard to feel angry with though you certainly want to shake him. It does a great job of showing a breadth of experiences of people coming from similar backgrounds in the paths we choose to take. at the same time I'm having a hard time praising all of this when it centers around the fact that two adults are clearly taking advantage of not only an impressionable teenager, but practically selling another--using them as bait, ignoring her own autonomy. 

aymeq's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

after_hours_reader's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

manaledi's review against another edition

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3.0

This book centers on a somewhat odd story of a possible immaculate conception of a boricua teenager in Spanish Harlem and gets complicated from there. I don't really know how I feel about any of it.

kartail's review against another edition

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5.0

“inside one of those cubes lived a saint. And then somewhere underneath uncollected garbage bags, I heard a cricket calling out for love.”