[OEF]∎ Download Free Flowers in the Sky Lynn Joseph Books

Flowers in the Sky Lynn Joseph Books

Download As PDF : Flowers in the Sky Lynn Joseph Books

Flowers in the Sky Lynn Joseph Books

Begrudgingly sent to NYC from her beautiful town in the Dominican Republic, 15-year-old Nina has strict directives from “Mami” to marry a rich man. Soon after she moves in with her 25-year-old brother Nina begins to question how he makes enough money to pay for their life in Washington Heights and send money home. Although a saccharine sweet love story is not so artfully woven in, Joseph thoughtfully details a young woman’s struggle to understand her new life in a place she never wanted to be.


Tags : Amazon.com: Flowers in the Sky (9780060297947): Lynn Joseph: Books,Lynn Joseph,Flowers in the Sky,HarperTeen,0060297948,People & Places - United States - Hispanic & Latino,Romance - General,Bildungsromans,Brothers and sisters,Brothers and sisters;Fiction.,Coming of age,Dominican Americans,Dominican Americans;Fiction.,Dominican Republic,Immigrants,Immigrants;Fiction.,Love,Love stories,New York (N.Y.),Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9),Family - Siblings,Fiction,Social Themes - Emigration & Immigration,Social issues (Children's Teenage),YOUNG ADULT FICTION,YOUNG ADULT FICTION People & Places United States Hispanic & Latino,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes Emigration & Immigration,Young Adult FictionPeople & Places - United States - Hispanic & Latino,Young Adult FictionSocial Themes - Emigration & Immigration

Flowers in the Sky Lynn Joseph Books Reviews

Flowers in the Sky by Lynn Joseph is a coming-of-age young adult romance with a multicultural palette. The main character of Nina leaves her lush island home of the Dominican Republic to live with her brother in New York and to seek a better life. In this tale of innocence and intrigue, Joseph recognizes the gloriousness of living in the land of opportunity, while not shying away from an exploration of the darker and grittier side that immigrants can face in the United States. I related strongly to fifteen-year-old Nina’s homesickness, along with her plunge into independence and romance.

What struck me most as I settled into a leisurely read of Flowers Flowers in the Sky is how in many ways Nina’s story felt like mine, because years ago I too reluctantly left my family and home to change my life. Nina didn’t want to leave her flowers or the nearby sea. Nor did she want to say goodbye to walks with her Mami, during which cool breezes blew over her skin and she sipped on a soda. If Nina left, she’d miss the joys of singing along to the songs floating from the stereo speakers of parked cars. Fantastic tales of trips to the capital or a cousin who won the lottery were also part of her weekend highlights. Life in the Dominican Republic was good. And then she moved to New York, where she faced crowded and sweaty subway stations, humid air, and sidewalks that smelled of burnt tar. Buses rushed by, not stopping to pick up late passengers who then proceeded to swear. Nina felt burdened by fear and regret, wanting only to return home.

Yet Nina didn’t leave. After all, her mother felt that life in New York would give Nina more opportunities, good schools, and a rich prince. Nina’s brother tried to help her feel more settled by bringing her flowers that she could grow on their apartment balcony. Yet try as she might, Nina continued to feel torn between her old life and her new life. She held many conversations with an older lady friend about how to fit into this awful new place, how to embrace change without letting go of her former life, and why she should even let go of what she loved. The longer Nina stayed, the more independent she grew. Nina even started to assert herself with her brother, demanding that he help her with housework and defying him with her choices of boys. Her brother wasn’t always sure how to handle this new sister, but in reality he had himself changed before she came to live with him. And here arises the darker and grittier side of being a stranger in an alien country. The longer she stayed in New York, the more Nina worried about losing her true self. Her brother might already have lost his way.

Part of Nina’s new life involved a love triangle, which only partly works for me. One of her options is a fellow student who wants to date her, but Nina likes him only as a friend. Her other option is a local barber named Luis who is handsome, rich, and mysterious with a troubled past. He sweeps Nina off her feet, while acting as a protector against her bullies and sending her expensive gifts. Combine this with her brother’s dislike of Luis and his role feels cliché. I enjoyed the moments when they shared casual conversations, but not so much those when he acted evasive or when the two become romantic.

Flowers in the Sky marks the welcome return of Lynn Joseph to writing after a ten-year absence. Despite its minor flaws, I highly enjoyed Flowers in the Sky. Like Nina, I missed my family greatly after leaving home. Moreover, I felt miserable in my new location, which consisted of so much pavement and noise. Yet also like Nina, I discovered the richness that change can bring. Flowers in the Sky should be a welcome title to multicultural shelves, while also telling a charming and universal story.
Nina loves her life in the Dominican Republic, especially her beautiful garden of flowers. She misses her brother Darrio who moved to New York City when she was just 5 years old. Everyone in her little village always talks about life in New York and how one can get rich and marry rich baseball players. Now that she’s 15, her mother believes she should go to New York to live a new life, but Nina is not ready to leave her garden and her island.

When her mother catches her flirting, she is uprooted from everything she knows and sent to live with her brother in New York. Life in Washington Heights is very different from the Dominican Republic, and Nina is very unhappy. She misses her garden, her friends and the cool island breezes.

When she meets 18-year-old Luis at the barbershop, a rumored drug dealer, she finds herself dangerously attracted to him. Darrio is not pleased, but Nina comes alive when they’re together. Her happiness is marred when she discovers a secret about Darrio that has her feeling worried about their future. It’s only a matter of time before the life she’s managed to construct for herself comes crashing down, and someone will have to be there to pick up the pieces and help Nina’s life to blossom once more.

“Flowers in the sky” is a look at the immigrant life of Dominicans who came to the United States hoping to create a new life for themselves. Their fears, hopes and dreams are shared with its readers, aged 12-16, in the hopes they’ll understand what immigrants go through to be reinvented in a new country. Joseph reveals the bright, and dark, sides of life for these new Dominican immigrants.
Love it really interesting book
It was a good and touching book, although I wanted more for the ending. It makes you think about your own life, as well as interpret hers.
Begrudgingly sent to NYC from her beautiful town in the Dominican Republic, 15-year-old Nina has strict directives from “Mami” to marry a rich man. Soon after she moves in with her 25-year-old brother Nina begins to question how he makes enough money to pay for their life in Washington Heights and send money home. Although a saccharine sweet love story is not so artfully woven in, Joseph thoughtfully details a young woman’s struggle to understand her new life in a place she never wanted to be.