Call Me Maria

Ortiz Cofer, Judith. Call Me Maria. New York: Orchard Books, 2004. Print. ISBN 9780439385770. Hardcover. $16.95 USD.

Available Formats: Hardcover and paperback.

Annotation: Maria suddenly finds herself in a New York City barrio far away from her native land of Puerto Rico. Through a series of letters and poems, we learn about Maria's struggles to adapt to her new life.

Book Talk: Open End Technique 
What if you felt like you belonged to two different worlds?

Maria grew up on a beautiful beach in Puerto Rico with her mother and father. One day, her father decides he can no longer stay on the island, as he longs to be back in his birth city New York. Maria's mother loves her job and home country and refuses to leave. Fearing her father will be lonely, Maria decides to move with him to a barrio in New York, where he will be the super of an apartment building. Maria soon realizes her new life will be much harder than she thought.

Through a series of poems and letters, we learn about Maria's attempts to adapt to her new environment. Within these documents, Maria details her struggles with learning Spanglish, meeting friends, fitting in at school and coping with the loss of a beautiful island life. She must also soon decide if she will stay in New York or move back to Puerto Rico.

Can Maria survive in the cold, harsh city? Will she return to her native nation? Will her parent's love survive the distance? 

Awards and Honors:

Pura Belpre Award

Americas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature

A School Library Best Book of the Year

A Horn Book Fanfare Book

A Booklist Editor's Choice

ALA Best Book for Young Adults

YALSA Best Book for Young Adults

(Image courtesy of BCLS) 

Judith Ortiz Cofer discusses what it takes to be a great writer in the video below!

Additional Author Information:

To visit the author's website click  here!