In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month today’s book recommendation/review is “Two is Better Than One” by Yolanda Romero Dorta. This story is about a woman named Segunda who leaves her precious island of Puerto Rico right after the Depression in the promises of a better life in New York where she can pursue her dreams and help her family back home. What she encounters is racism, gossip, abandonment, hardship, and a major culture shift. Yet in the face of those challenges she also finds friendship and a new identity as she solidifies her culture and self in this new land.
This story is near and dear to my heart as it mirrors the stories of so many other Puerto Ricans who came to the United States looking to better their own lives. It reminded me of the stories my Abuelos and parents told me and I related to Segunda’s daughter Sally who had to adapt being a Puerto Rican American who felt she didn’t fit in either world, the beautiful island of her ancestors Puerto Rico, and the current land she lived in, the United States. I also related to Segunda’s husband who came to New York with hopeful expectations to only encounter racism from both sides, not being white enough to fit in with those cultures and not being black enough to fit in with them. It is a conundrum many Puerto Ricans face and find that they don’t seem to fit in with any culture.
I loved the blending of the Spanish words within the story and relating all of Segunda’s new experiences to the old ones from her beautiful island that showed a glimpse of what island life was (& is) like. My favorite was when she compared her first glimpse of snow to the shaved coconut on top of her favorite dessert! It was the most perfect and beautiful imagery while also introducing her past and culture. Yolanda does amazing job of doing this. Giving imagery from Segunda’s past to show the reader what it was like while still keeping them in her present environment.
This was a short read but packed a punch of information and even history about the Puerto Rican and their people who came to the U.S. It was beautifully written and I will be reading it to my own children to remind them of their roots and where they came from. I highly recommend, for anyone as this story can relate to so many.
Have you read this book? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below!
Until next time: happy reading!
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