Fifteen-year-old Ana
Canción never dreamed of moving to America, the way the girls she grew
up with in the Dominican countryside did. But when Juan Ruiz proposes
and promises to take her to New York City, she must say yes. It doesn't
matter that he is twice her age, that there is no love between them.
Their marriage is an opportunity for her entire close-knit family to
eventually immigrate. So on New Year's Day, 1965, Ana leaves behind
everything she knows and becomes Ana Ruiz, a wife confined to a cold
six-floor walk-up in Washington Heights. Lonely and miserable, Ana
hatches a reckless plan to escape. But at the bus terminal, she is
stopped by César, Juan's free-spirited younger brother, who convinces
her to stay.
As the Dominican Republic slides into political
turmoil, Juan returns to protect his family's assets, leaving César to
take care of Ana. Suddenly, Ana is free to take English lessons at a
local church, lie on the beach at Coney Island, dance with César at the
Audubon Ballroom, and imagine the possibility of a different kind of
life in America. When Juan returns, Ana must decide once again between
her heart and her duty to her family.
In bright, musical prose
that reflects the energy of New York City, Dominicana is a vital
portrait of the immigrant experience and the timeless coming-of-age
story of a young woman finding her voice in the world.
