Isabel's Hand-Me-Down Dreams

Isabel,
Charles Dicken's opening line in his novel - The Tale of Two Cities - runs; "It was the best of times - it was the worst of times!" This direct contrasting of two different conditions is called antithesis. Its usage is a special skill in the writer's repertoire; you have it - in abundance.

The first Chapter of your compelling book is full of contrasting emotions and physical sensations exemplified by your childish experience of extremes of cold and warmth. In Chapter two you convey the thrilling discovery of books and the escapist forms of reading: already the author in you is forming. Renewed contrasts and the contradictions of love and rejection are described with the beatings of you by your mother in Chapter three: harsh reality against the grain of the innocence you have known till now is gradually dominating. The arrival of Gilberto, in Chapter four, diverts the attention away from you to a degree but intensity of loss of your once-sensed maternal love is poignantly captured. Again, skilful juxapositions of your mother's physical beauty and flirtatious nature is finely observed against the prettiness of your emmerging girlhood.

More antithesis is portrayed in the following Chapter with the described experience of sexual abuse by the priest. A sanctified adult - a profaned innocent girl; another awful contrast. Now the physical harmful effects are manifest and seed what will be the recurring life-time nightmares. In Chapter six comes the first kiss by a boy and all the sensations of infatuation with Tony. You show a continual sensitive touch in Chapter seven when you meet once again your friend Debbie who is drug dependent: a moving combination of bafflement and disgust is achieved with your descriptive skills. The treatment of Alex's betrayal - Chapter eight - when you have invested all your loving hopes in him and at last enjoyed swooning kisses is shattering. Again you handle the antithesis of attraction and rejection holding the attention of your reader superbly. You retain your readers empathy by your lack of spite or malice towards an intervening female, Finally, in Chapter nine Isabel arrives and the stability in your family setting and relationship begins. The spanish expressions in your story do not intrude but add atmosphere and depth to your characters.

Isabel, you have a gift of involving your reader in your story. You accomplish this by describing your experience through the various stages of growing up: you convey that with the vision of a child, the sensitivity and sensations a young innocent girl, the emotional traumas of a teenager - all in a transision to a developing maturity. You are wounded again and again by those who fail your trust in them but you come through, not as a victim, but a victorious and courageous young woman. Your reflective passages contain an attractive blend of sense and sensibility.

The Synopisis offers plenty of material for the completion of a book - that I sincerely believe - will eventually obtain the attention of the widest possible readership. I make my Comment "blind" of others so make no apologies if I echo points that may have already been made by your numerous Commentators.

All the best. Tony Brady - SFAEL Books 1,2 & 3

Isabel, a true-life memoir needs something special to lift it from the norm and a good reason behind the decision to make personal experience public. At the end of the prologue, your friend (I'm assuming it's Evelyn) beseeches you to "Tell your story so that you can give other women hope, Isabel." That seems a pretty good reason to me.
A delightful cover and very good pitches are a great help in persuading a reader to get involved in your story and as you recount the experiences of your childhood we realise the the relevance of your friend's advice. There are tears and joy here, both very well described, and as the story proceeds we see the effects of that harsh childhood. I liked the Spanish words and phrases, I speak Spanish reasonably well but was pleased to see you've catered for readers who don't have that advantage. It adds so much to the flavour of the story and you've got the balance just right.
This is no "misery memoir" - it's full of hope as your pitch promised. I'm impressed with your ability to write so frankly about your life and with the quality of your writing.
Backed.
Jared. (Mummy's Boy).

This book was written, you tell us at the end of the Prologue, 'So that you can give other women hope.' What an excellent motivation. You begin with a meeting of the three friends. You describe each of them well, so that we get a good, clear idea of their differences. This part of the book is both amusing and yet it prepares us for something serious which is to come. Your childhood, which follows in Chapter One, is a mixture of sadness, terror, and interest, as you tell us about the market where you shopped with your 'Mama,' and the various dishes which she cooked. You describe all this well. Your description of your 'Mama' and of your mother are vivid and sufficiently detailed to bring them both to life. The stories of the abuse you and your brothers and sister suffered from your mother's beatings are truly dreadful. You tell us of the effect these beatings had in a sentence which chills and brings tears,' we are very protective of each other, whenever life's punches look our way through our mother's eyes.' You write well, with lots of colour. I would just suggest that perhaps you should, more regularly, explain the meaning of your Spanish words and phrases, as you sometimes do? This is a story well worth reading. Backed.
Gerry McCullough,
Belfast Girls.

Isabel's Hand-Me-Down Dreams:

Isabel, I found this a delightful, yet sad in places, read. You kept me interested throughout the Prologue and chapter one that I didn't even think about looking for nits.

I like the way you add touches of Spanish throughout the dialogue. Makes it so much more authentic. :)

While reading, I thought how good it was that you had Mamá to look after you, and glad you met your good friend Maria. But how unfortunate you had such a horrible 'she-devil' of a teacher, and to have to go through the touch of that rotten old priest's hands on you... *shudder*

~
Haha, I remember those 'cod liver oil' days, too.

Mother suddenly swooped down on me like a goaded vulture, grabbed me by my long hair, and dragged me into the bedroom where she beat the daylights out of me, instructed me to remove my party dress and sit in the room for the rest of the night.- So heart-rending is this. And for her to think she actually did you all a favour with the beatings?

Good writing, and you have a good ear for dialogue (in both languages!).

Already backed.

Cáit ~ Muckers ~

It's not badly written.

Isabel mixes and tops "Cuando Era Puertorriquena" with "The Dirty Girls Social Club" adding some cultural reality and humor like in "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" and "Bodega Dreams" with the bilingual - or Spanglish -phrases we all recognize. It's written so you can laugh at the left hooks thrown at you and the strength women give each other to move to a higher level.

Hi Isobel,

This is a nicely written and easy to read story and defintely desrves to be published. I wish I had the time to read more.

I the poertion I did find time to read I found no errors, but I would introduce the name of the narrator earlier as it comes quite late into the chapter.

As I'm sure you know, autobiographies are not easy to sell unless you are already well known. However, this is so well written that if you can get attention drawn to it in some way, it may be one of the few exceptions. Good luck with it.

Ron

Even though we were brought up in cities many thousands of miles apart, the one underlying similarity we share, is that of poverty. Poverty in the sense of not knowing where the next meal would come from. Poverty of never having anything in the material sense, but having an abundance of imagination. When you wrote about the raindrops I suddenly remembered the tin bucket on the landing that caught the dripping water that fell from the ceiling on rainy nights. Then I remembered my father, who was shell-shocked from the war. He would sit in his broken down armchair mumbling most times to himself. I felt sure he was still in the jungles of Burma.

Your story is a sad one in many ways - it feels to me almost claustrophobic - I think poverty does that sometimes by hemming you in and restricting your movement. Goodness knows how tough it must have been growing up in New York on those cold evenings sitting around an oven to keep warm. The feeling I get from your book in these opening chapters, in one of loneliness and the inability of others to understand what it is you are trying to say. Even when you can speak English well enough, there still seems a lack of communication, particularly with your mother who had her own ideas as to how to deal with problems - the psychologist being an example. I would have liked to have known more about how the anxiety attacks started - because all you've done is just told the reader as oppossed to showing - I do believe that it is a cardinal sin in writing, but then again it may differ in non-fiction. I wish you all the very best - well done - Wilfred (He Was a Most Peculiar Man)

I don't usually read non-fiction, but in the instance, I barely knew I was. The writing's clear and distinct and the flow and pace are very good.

Well done - I'm sure this will do well.

Diana
Pascual's Birthday

I've read all that's uploaded and wish there was more. This is a world I know nothing about on any level, but you've brought it to life with such vibrant, colourful energy that I found myself totally immersed.

I think what I like most is your ability to tell the story with such a masterful touch that while we participate fully in the highs and lows, it avoids the 'misery memoir' tag already mentioned. This is a rare talent, and I admire it tremendously.

Backed with pleasure.

I saw your book on Wye's bookshelf and decided to take a look. I am so glad I did. This is a well written and at times a very moving story. I have starred your work and put it on my watch list. I wish you the very best of luck. Yours Bea.

Woohoohoo, Isabel, and PING! Your excellent book is ranked 600 already. Come back and promote it now, Milady. You're so almost there!

Congs from a huge fan--
E.R.

=])

I believe I may have backed your book before, Isabel, but it's such a lovely story I felt compelled to read it again and it's even better the second time. Beautifully written, though heart-breaking in places. Backed and on w/l.

Kate Grimes -LIZZIE -CUPPA TALES - TALES OF WILLOW GREEN - ANNIE.

Having finished chapter five of your story and already backed your book, I thought of dropping a comment to justify why I have done so.

What I usually find out when I happen to read a true story are two things: 1)They, of course, unravel unusual, resounding stories. 2) Because of the heavy emotional charge such reminiscence brings upon, they very often fall into the trap of self-pitying and melodrama.

How your book is different? By simply featuring the qualities of a resounding story but, thankfully, avoiding emotional extremity. Your book is bitter-sweet, just like life. You recount hurtful and stigmatising events with sensitivity but still,in perfect self-composure, managing to keep a distance. And it is just because of this, that these events and their impact on the lives involved reach (and entangle) the reader fully. I also admired your choice of vocabulary, your literary style.

Also, impressed by your description of the neighbourhood life back in those days, I could almost feel the sweetness in the air, and it reminded me of similar scenes in my country, once upon a time.

As already stated, I have happily put it on my shelf and I wish you all the best with it.

A memorable picture of New York in the 1950s from the point of view of a Puerto Rican immigrant which reminds me a great deal of 'La Vida' , that book by the great sociologist Oscar Lewis and also to a much lesser extent 'The Cross and the Switchblade' about Puerto Rican gangs in the 1960s.I think you have a tremendous ability to capture this world , which you managed to do extremely well. I wonder if you would have the time to look at the first chapter of my novel 'A Buccaneer' , which is set amongst Pirates in the 17th century , with best wishes from Strachan Gordon ,watchlisted and starred.

There you go, Isabel. It's on my shelf now where it belongs--best of luck with it. So, so beautifully written.

E.R.

Don't give up on this, Isabel. You never gave up on anything! (Such a gorgeous opening you've penned here. Totally first rate. )

"I can't find any fault whatsoever with your writing--it is guileless and forthright, as it must be. My only two pieces of advice, then, would be of the marketing variety: narrowing down the genres you've selected to simply Nonfiction and Harper True Life (Harper True is one of HC's primary focus, by the way, so this will increase your chances of being noticed tenfold), and eliminating the tag 'abuse' because I fear, since readers are understandably suffering from misery-memoir fatigue these days, it's only serving to discourage them from opening your excellent book.

Which is such a grave mistake, IMHO, and their loss!

**I will be featuring this on my webbie soon and proudly shelving it ASAP. In the meantime, cheers to you and best of luck with it--
E.R.

This is a great book Isabel. As interesting as any fiction but better because it's true, I can identify with sev eral scenes, as I'm sure many a woman can - your first brush with the oppisite sex, yir having to waer glasses and teeth braces, your ignorance with puberty. There is a strong side to you yet you have still retained an innocence that is refreshing and heart-warming. I have enjoyed reading this very much. Backed with stars and on w'l.

Isabel,

I read the prologue up to page 3. Your story has so much lesson. Its amazing how ones eyes open when you read other peoples life stories. We don't always appreciate what we have or how we grew up and we only appreciate what we have until we read stories like yours.

Good luck with your book
green h
through green's eyes

I totally enjoyed your first chapter. Well constructed. The voice is fun and likeable. 'What was my excuse last time?' Great. Ah, and abuela. I love your premise and look forward to reading more soon--I'll rate then.
Best,
John B Campbell (Walk to Paradise Garden)

Hello Isabel
'Isabel's hand - me -down dreams'

I read and enjoyed all of the nine chapters posted.
You tell a tale with feelings and one can see that it's straight from the heart.
Life for you and the conditions that you had to suffer, and as for that paragraph about
the priest touching you, so horrible, it beggers believe that this carry-on is rampant through-out the world.
Your story is written in a very engrossing and straigh-forward style, that makes the turning of the pages so easy.
In its genre i rate this book highly and give it my six stars
tom bye
'from hugs to kisses'
please oblige and comment or back mine, somewhat similar story of a young boy growing up, however its fiction based on true fact.

i don't usually read nonfiction, but your cover, title and short pitch drew me in. your long pitch could use some work. this line is particularly convoluted: "Unable to provide them with support and guidance in a teeming metropolis where few understood their language and culture, Isabel learned to rely on her own inner strength to eventually reach summits against reason and others' discouragement." is isabel 'unable to provide"? and who is "them"? there's also a text shift in the pitch.

i've taken the liberty of playing with your pitch. feel free to ignore me if it doesn't sound right to you.

Born in Puerto Rico, Isabel and her sister were uprooted to El Barrio in New York[give a year, age, or just say 'as young children']. The frustrations of their struggling single mother made her emotionally and physically abusive. Their abuela was their only source of love, but she was unable to provide them with support and guidance in a teeming metropolis where few understood their language and culture.

Isabel learned to rely on her own inner strength and eventually reached many of her goals despite the discouragement of the people around her. But there was one elusive dream that Isabel could not achieve - the wish to find love. [With the help of friends who picked her up when disastrous relationships threatened to destroy all that she had worked for,]- this line is very convoluted, shifts to present tense, and without reading your whole story, i'm not sure how to replace it. keep the ending though- Isabel becomes empowered and learns the crucial lesson of love of self first.

Told with panache and comedic flair and full of the color and vibrancy of life in El Barrio in the turbulent 60s and spirited 70s, this story will have you laughing one minute and crying the next, but ultimately, it leaves you with hope.

i think pitches are so hard, but really important. i hope this helps.

I love the heart of this story. Es hermoso y poético. I hope that your work does very well.
Ben

I know that thing about the rain coming down being comforting. For me it is the memory of it ting-tinging on the window pane, and the sight, from my window, of a lighthouse beam bisecting the sky. Safe, happy, all ok. I love the beginning with the Spanish sex and the city girls and then how you take us back to the rain on the roof, comforting for you as it was for your mother, and so on back. The tone is conversational and personal which helps us to share their experiences, and we like the narrator. Safety is never as simple as rain on the roof though, is it? And your scene setting in chapter one is a good contrast to what follows.
It's on my watchlist while I carry on reading.
Polly
STONES.

I like the story and your characters. A little too much tell and not enough show, at least at first, but this is not so much a problem as the story progresses. You have a special voice that is very compelling and I can see your work becoming a best seller. Good job.
Eric (Bookster) Wilder - Prairie Sunset

Dear Isabel, I love that you shared your story. (like mine looking for true love in my 2 books listed below). May God help you to be able to finish your book soon (& me to finish mine). You have a good read because you create interest by having short paragraphs & lots of dialogue which makes me want to keep reading to find out what's going to happen next. I'm BACKING/COMMENTING on your book to help advance it. :) Could you please return the favor by taking a moment to BACK/COMMENT on my TWO Books, ... "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not" ... and the UNEDITED version? ... "Tell Me True Love Stories"
Thanks, Susie :)

Isabel,
Charles Dicken's opening line in his novel - The Tale of Two Cities - runs; "It was the best of times - it was the worst of times!" This direct contrasting of two different conditions is called antithesis. Its usage is a special skill in the writer's repertoire; you have it - in abundance.

The first Chapter of your compelling book is full of contrasting emotions and physical sensations exemplified by your childish experience of extremes of cold and warmth. In Chapter two you convey the thrilling discovery of books and the escapist forms of reading: already the author in you is forming. Renewed contrasts and the contradictions of love and rejection are described with the beatings of you by your mother in Chapter three: harsh reality against the grain of the innocence you have known till now is gradually dominating. The arrival of Gilberto, in Chapter four, diverts the attention away from you to a degree but intensity of loss of your once-sensed maternal love is poignantly captured. Again, skilful juxapositions of your mother's physical beauty and flirtatious nature is finely observed against the prettiness of your emmerging girlhood.

More antithesis is portrayed in the following Chapter with the described experience of sexual abuse by the priest. A sanctified adult - a profaned innocent girl; another awful contrast. Now the physical harmful effects are manifest and seed what will be the recurring life-time nightmares. In Chapter six comes the first kiss by a boy and all the sensations of infatuation with Tony. You show a continual sensitive touch in Chapter seven when you meet once again your friend Debbie who is drug dependent: a moving combination of bafflement and disgust is achieved with your descriptive skills. The treatment of Alex's betrayal - Chapter eight - when you have invested all your loving hopes in him and at last enjoyed swooning kisses is shattering. Again you handle the antithesis of attraction and rejection holding the attention of your reader superbly. You retain your readers empathy by your lack of spite or malice towards an intervening female, Finally, in Chapter nine Isabel arrives and the stability in your family setting and relationship begins. The spanish expressions in your story do not intrude but add atmosphere and depth to your characters.

Isabel, you have a gift of involving your reader in your story. You accomplish this by describing your experience through the various stages of growing up: you convey that with the vision of a child, the sensitivity and sensations a young innocent girl, the emotional traumas of a teenager - all in a transision to a developing maturity. You are wounded again and again by those who fail your trust in them but you come through, not as a victim, but a victorious and courageous young woman. Your reflective passages contain an attractive blend of sense and sensibility.

The Synopisis offers plenty of material for the completion of a book - that I sincerely believe - will eventually obtain the attention of the widest possible readership. I make my Comment "blind" of others so make no apologies if I echo points that may have already been made by your numerous Commentators.

All the best. Tony Brady - SFAEL Books 1,2 & 3

Can't really add to the praise already made to your fine book. I liked it even though it is not my type of story. Backed with pleasure

This is a very personal account of an upbringing that was a curious mixture of the loving and the violent. for me, it was also an eye opener on a culture and a way of life very alien to my own an ocean away. However, we are not totally divided, I was also sitting in front of an open oven trying to keep warm about the same time as you:-)
Thjis is a well told story with an elegance of language that is very pleasing.

This is one of those stories that needed to be written. Not only because you have a good writing style: simple and easy to follow - but because it could be an inspiration to anyone who reads it. Some memoirs are difficult to read because they're filled with such anger and sorrow. That's what makes this stand out: a sense of humor maintained in the face of terrific odds. A good read. Burgio (Grain of Salt).

It's tough to make non-fiction read as smoothly as fiction, but this is done very well. This story runs the gamut of emotions as well.

Shelved.
Dan
Demons and Other Inconveniences

Isabel, you do indeed purvey hope and a wonderful insight into your heritage. this is what i want from a memoir - a voice and a setting that carries me away.
on my shelf.
i have no nitpicks. accolades only!
best wishes, andy

You do a wonderful job of abstracting your life by reaching back and selecting significant and revealing snatches of your everyday life, and you do it in wonderfully artless, natural prose. I can easily believe you were valedictorian. The vice principal, the lunches brought to school, the swing story, the physical punishment.
An honest and believable account of a largely deprived childhood, and a mother who always tried hard for you.

Right at the top, a suggestion is to emphasize that the story is true. Bookstore browsers read many titles and the works of fiction sometimes imprint their thoughts to the extent that back-cover pitches are forgotten or ignored. The meeting of friends and the presentation of their backgrounds is extremely well done. Zori does not have a physical "picture" of her appearance drawn for readers. The setting is well done. This reader was made to feel like being at a nearby table while trying not to overhear the warm conversational exchanges. The Oprah mention is like pouring gold on the page because a reader's attention is captured, if for only a moment. The tie-in from Prologue to Chapter 1 is excellent, as is the work that is posted. Good luck. Backed. Chuck (Paperboy Adventures))

Right at the top, a suggestion is to emphasize that the story is true. Bookstore browsers read many titles and the works of fiction sometimes imprint their thoughts to the extent that back-cover pitches are forgotten or ignored. The meeting of friends and the presentation of their backgrounds is extremely well done. Zori does not have a physical "picture" of her appearance drawn for readers. The setting is well done. This reader was made to feel like being at a nearby table while trying not to overhear the warm conversational exchanges. The Oprah mention is like pouring gold on the page because a reader's attention is captured, if for only a moment. The tie-in from Prologue to Chapter 1 is excellent, as is the work that is posted. Good luck. Backed. Chuck (Paperboy Adventures))

Right at the top, a suggestion is to emphasize that the story is true. Bookstore browsers read many titles and the works of fiction sometimes imprint their thoughts to the extent that back-cover pitches are forgotten or ignored. The meeting of friends and the presentation of their backgrounds is extremely well done. Zori does not have a physical "picture" of her appearance drawn for readers. The setting is well done. This reader was made to feel like being at a nearby table while trying not to overhear the warm conversational exchanges. The Oprah mention is like pouring gold on the page because a reader's attention is captured, if for only a moment. The tie-in from Prologue to Chapter 1 is excellent, as is the work that is posted. Good luck. Backed. Chuck (Paperboy Adventures))

OK, first off let me say, I'm laughing reading the synopsis and first lines, because I'm Puerto Rican, grew up half my life in New York (Brooklyn and Long Island), and my parents grew up in the Lower East Side. AND my mother's name is Zoraida. AND my grandmother's name was Isabel. SO I have to read this now--I don't have a choice!

And my grandmother, Isabel, raised us for a few years (me and my brother), while my mother went to school. I noticed you use Jewish terms, which is another oddity, as my father is Jewish, but I know plenty of Ricans who use it as well.And I'm married to a Korean, and for some reason my sister's term of endearment for her is Chancleta. Pretty eerie it's so close to your story--but I'm sure typical of Nuyoricans--but the names are the same, which is so coiincidental.

I like the Golden girl thing, but I think the sentence works well without "by profession."

The bra-less, thong-wearing line--funny. And unfortunatley very, very true. I'm smiling.

Now, however, I'm getting a few chills. I just read where Zori has two boys (my mom had two boys for years until she had my little brother), AND she is a doctor (my mom is a doctor already and is getting another Masters)--this is very odd for me to be reading.

Raindrops on the tin roof--I hated that in the summer's when we had to go to my grandmother's house in Aguadilla.

The paragraph where the narrator's mother takes her and her sister to New York is well-written and visual. Good job.

I love the "esteem" line. So true, and you get to have the double meaning as well. Very well done.

Maybe remove "angry clamor," as you get the same feeling without it.

Chapter 2

Rework the "peeling walls of a box" line. Less can be more in this case--

Something about the dialogue between the principa, grandma, and narrator needs to be reworked. It's seems a little too-much cruella deville right now--and I want it to feel more real somehow. Again, I think less is more. Maybe cut out some of the harshness and just make it more 'real,' if that makes sense.

The paragraph that begins "It was at P.S. 168" is a good one.

The lives you create with Conchita, the daughters, etc. are painful yet completely real and believable, and they are interesting. It forces the reader to want to keep reading. Good good job.

Chapter 3

Ah, the beatings! Te lo juro, if I didn't know this was your story it would be the story of my family. So funny.

I read through other chapters, but will have to return soon to read the entire book. i will comment when I can.

Cully

I have been looking for your book for months. I love the pic of a girl and her dress's color on the front of the cover. when I see this at the bookstore I would pick it right away. Please do not give up, a true life story is powerful. You have a very interesting story to tell to people. It is well-written, professional and fascinating. I am happy to put in WL to read more later. Backed with pleasure.

Isabel
This is beautifully written, with a lot of colour and life. You share your experiences very effectively, with vivid descriptions and strong emotions. One thing I thought was, at the beginining, perhaps a thumbnail sketch of ''Isabel' to match with those of your freinds? Of course, the entire book is about Isabel, but perhaps as an introduction, we could see you in the same light as the other two. I think it would balance the intro nicely. Just a thought.
Good writing, and on my shelf.
Paul T.

Fantastic premise and pitches! I absolutely love the title as well. You definitely have a story to tell, and I wish you all the best with it. Backed.
-Jenn
Reunion

What a wonderful surprise this book is! I loved the cover so I delved into the story and you have agift for characterization and dialogue - especially with Isabel and Wanda and then the two with their mother! I can sympathize with the struggles of the mother and I love the way you have intermingled spanish within th etext but always with explanation - so refreshing and different !! Polished and BACKED 100% and i will come back to read more tonight!

Liz
The Cheech Room

This was good; I was surprised at the level of humour in it. Good strong style of writing. This is shelved for further reading, I really hope this does well for you, it deserves it.

Famlavan – Museum of Old Beliefs

Your prologue hooked me. Isabel is a sympathetic character. Eloquent descriptions. Lively dialogue. Emotional depth. Pacing is spot on for my tastes. A well-built, inspiring story with an important message. Backed.

While I'm not normally a fan of this kind of thing (what with the testicles and everything) I must say I did really like this. You have an excellent sense of humour, something I think is mostly missing in the comedy section of this site. There were parts of this I found myself grinning broadly at (the words 'yakking' and 'rotundity' being two). The right words in all the right places. Great work that made me happy.

Very much enjoyed... I wish you the very best of luck with it. kind regards pinkcoffee 'In The Moment'

Isabel,

Thank you for allowing me to peek into a life I know only from West Side Story. Well, that and my college roommates, two girls from Puerto Rico who came to get educated and marry Californians. They would call you a New Yorican.

I have fond memories of assaultos, Three King's Day, Ruben Blades, tostones, rice and gandules, and bacalao. I wrote some about my friend Brenda Gisella Lugo de Perez, in relation to the death of her famous rock-climbing ex, on my blog: http://karenpollock.wordpress.com/. She has since moved back to PR. Our other roommate Blanca Colon remains in the Northern California town where we all went to college. Blanca played volleyball for the PR team in the Pan American games and married a long distance bike racer. they chose not to have children, and after many years working as a director of low-income housing programs, has become a yoga teacher.

Though I am only six chapters in, I am enjoying your story so far. I am glad you listened to your friends and wrote your story. I look forward to reading more when I can. Your writing captures the liveliness of Puerto Rican culture. I happily back your book, and appreciate the fact that you backed mine.

Karen Pollock
The Triangulation of Titty La' Mente

incredible wrtitig. then comes the story and then the dialogues, just perfect for your reader. i love your style because it not too fast like mine, and too slow many in this site. just brilliant i loved it and backed it.

shah

Isabel's Hand-Me-Down-Dreams

Wonderful, imagery, great characters, good dialogue. Uncle Luis was a bit scary!
Happy, sad, poignant, inspirational.
Isobel, you told a fantastic tale and I wish you the best of luck with your novel.
Alison Butler (The Hanging of Margaret Dickson)

I lost myself in this and became totally immersed in Isabel's world. It is beautifully written, and in places it reminded me of Angela's Ashes in the way I could hear, see and almost taste your New York. I hope you find a publisher because I read chapter nine and I'd like to read the events you summarised in it. As an Englishman, I'm glad your Brit is still keeping you laughing.

Patrick
Trinity

Hi Isabel, Because you style is so colorful and it hones in on each character and scene, this was very stimulating to read. The mother’s courage in moving to New York caught me at first and then she is portrayed with both her downfalls and delighting assets. The school and apartment experiences were candidly depicted. Isabel is spirited; I wanted to follow her development into her teenage years. A pleasure to read – Shelved Katherine (The Swan Bonnet)

The genre itself is not my cup of tea, but I found the non-English words and phrases gave my reading a more . . .hmmmm . . .ethnic flavor, I'd have to say. Interesting when a translation is not immediately available, and we have to assume or allude. I was never brave enough to try first person-afraid of limiting my characters too much; but you have pulled it off quite well. A grand effort.

Isabel, this is the first non-fiction piece I've read on here, but the pitch was great and I got sucked in. I read the first three chapters, and have not been able to find a single edity comment - it feels sharp, clear and fluid. There is a simplicity about the way that you write that evokes empathy and makes your story utterly readable. All good stuff. SImon

Only thing I could spot was a sentence with a lot of prepositional phrases in chapter 1, first para. [Mother said it reminded her of the soothing sound of the rain.......] This might need to be simplified.

You're absolutely right! Duly noted and reworded. Thanks!

Hi, lovely book, well done, Maggie P.