I’m enjoying Julia Alvarez’s book. I can relate to it a lot. One thing that stands out to me in this book is “el juego de las palabras”. This is enhance in chapters specially dedicated to Yolanda/Joe/ Yo since she’s a poet/writer/not. I like he play with the Slash thing as well. I thing this is significant when you she says maybe “I should get rid of the slashes between mind, heart/soul, and just right Yo” looking at the body as a whole, as an interlinked system. Mind, heart, body all make Yo. It’s also interesting how one person can have different nicknames, ones that they like and ones that they dislike and ones that one wishes to be called but is never called, in Yolanda’s case “sky”.

I was filled with rage when the grandpa paid more attention to the little born baby boy and no attention to his grand daughter. I can so relate to that, because I know a lot of traditional conservative family friends that wish all the best careers for the little boys and a good husband (with money) for the girls. I have feel Sofia’s pain and I get so mad a the father, even though I don’t dislike him, cause it’s not his fault that he’s is the way he is. It has to do with the way he has been brought up and the principles they were thought as a young boy. I admire Sofia for leaving the house and not obeying his father’s rules. Sofia didn’t try to change her father and she accepts him as the way he is, and understands why he was made at her. She still respects him and loves him and tries to regain his love. However the father doesn’t try to rebuild his relationship with his daughter and has not accepted her as she is.