When I was Puero Rican

“When I was Puerto Rican is a moving narrative, lyrically written. Generously, Esmeralda Santiago shares with the reader her memories of her Puerto Rican childhood and her bewildering years of transition in New York City. I admire the courage it took to make that journey—and then to write about it with such a clear eye. Always her view of her past is affectionate, spirited, and unromantic. The Puerto Rican landscape is alive in this book, in rich, evocative detail.”

― Bobbie Ann Mason

“It is this sort of beautiful prose, both heartbreaking and joyful, and the unforgettable character of Mami that solidifies Santiago’s place alongside other great authors adept in capturing setting and creating characters who transcend their books’ pages: Horatio Alger, Jamaica Kincaid and Frank McCourt, for instance. “When I Was Puerto Rican” appeared in my life when I craved a connection to my family and their history, and it delivers a powerful American story.”

― New York Times

“This coming-of-age memoir will reintroduce you to childhood... [Santiago’s] book will speak to anyone whose parents loved and hated each other, to anyone who recalls a child’s bittersweet loss of innocence, and to anyone who simply enjoys good writing...

― Chicago Tribune 


“[Santiago] portrays impoverished people as people, not statistics, and we see her pride in her heritage, as well as the inevitable culture clashes. She eventually graduated with honors from Harvard University, wrote her best-selling memoir (the first in a trilogy) and became a critically acclaimed novelist-a stylist with the grace to inspire others.”

― Oprah's Book Club, “The Best Memoirs of a Generation”

“A powerful tribute to the island of her childhood... [A] welcome new voice, full of passion and authority.”

― Washington Post Book World

“The warmth and palpable tenderness of Santiago’s story feels like an invigorating embrace.”

 ― Reader’s Digest

“Santiago brilliantly recreates the idyllic landscape and tumultuous family life of her earliest years and her tremendous journey from the barrio to Brooklyn, from translating for her mother at the welfare office to receiving high honors at Harvard. Santiago's story is one of the American dream both realized and deferred.”

― Bustle.com


“[Santiago's] story has so much to teach. The relationship between Esmeralda and her mother is a perfectly imperfect demonstration of how strong women raise even stronger daughters; the resilience of the females in this story is truly inspiring.”

― Her Campus

“Santiago's portraits are clear-sighted, the Puerto Rican ambience rich, and her immigrant experience is artfully and movingly told.”

― Publishers Weekly

“A beguiling record of a tremendous journey, epic in its own way, from childhood in a vibrant Puerto Rican barrio to triumph at Harvard... Cleareyed, quietly powerful, and often lyrical: a story of true grit.”

―Kirkus Reviews