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Taína

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Julio, a young man of Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian origin who lives in the Spanish Harlem neighborhood of New York, suffers from strange visions. When he decides to believe Taina, a girl from his school who is pregnant, but who claims to be a virgin, his blind love for her unleashes a whirlwind of emotions that will lead Julio to question his parents, his religion and even the basic principles of science. Next to the uncle of Taina, an ex-convict with a dark past known as “El Vejigante,” Julio becomes involved in a network of crimes that, although they will finally bring him closer to Taina, will also end by revealing a family secret from which he will not leave unscathed.
 
“Latin American magical realism leaps over any borders and ends up in the barrio of Spanish Harlem. A love story, coming-of-age story, a mystery, a whodunit story, and ultimately a story of true love in the broadest sense.” —Julia Álvarez, author of In the Time of the Butterflies
 
Taína is a searing search for the meaning in what we choose to believe and the stories we tell ourselves. . . . This novel’s belief and trust in love is something we desperately need to hear.”
—Helena Viramontes, author of Under the Feet of Jesus
Ernesto Quiñonez was born in Ecuador, but arrived to New York City he was eighteen months old and was raised in El Barrio, East Harlem. Quiñonez is also the author of Bodega Dreams and Chango's Fire. Quiñonez is an Associate Professor at Cornell University, where he teaches Creative Writing, Latino Fiction and Magical Realism, among others. View titles by Ernesto Quiñonez
"Latin American magical realism leaps over any borders and ends up in the barrio of Spanish Harlem. A love story, coming-of-age story, a mystery, a whodunit story, and ultimately a story of true love in the broadest sense." —Julia Álvarez, author of In the Time of the Butterflies
 
Taína is a searing search for the meaning in what we choose to believe and the stories we tell ourselves. . . . This novel's belief and trust in love is something we desperately need to hear.” —Helena Viramontes, author of Under the Feet of Jesus

About

Julio, a young man of Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian origin who lives in the Spanish Harlem neighborhood of New York, suffers from strange visions. When he decides to believe Taina, a girl from his school who is pregnant, but who claims to be a virgin, his blind love for her unleashes a whirlwind of emotions that will lead Julio to question his parents, his religion and even the basic principles of science. Next to the uncle of Taina, an ex-convict with a dark past known as “El Vejigante,” Julio becomes involved in a network of crimes that, although they will finally bring him closer to Taina, will also end by revealing a family secret from which he will not leave unscathed.
 
“Latin American magical realism leaps over any borders and ends up in the barrio of Spanish Harlem. A love story, coming-of-age story, a mystery, a whodunit story, and ultimately a story of true love in the broadest sense.” —Julia Álvarez, author of In the Time of the Butterflies
 
Taína is a searing search for the meaning in what we choose to believe and the stories we tell ourselves. . . . This novel’s belief and trust in love is something we desperately need to hear.”
—Helena Viramontes, author of Under the Feet of Jesus

Author

Ernesto Quiñonez was born in Ecuador, but arrived to New York City he was eighteen months old and was raised in El Barrio, East Harlem. Quiñonez is also the author of Bodega Dreams and Chango's Fire. Quiñonez is an Associate Professor at Cornell University, where he teaches Creative Writing, Latino Fiction and Magical Realism, among others. View titles by Ernesto Quiñonez

Praise

"Latin American magical realism leaps over any borders and ends up in the barrio of Spanish Harlem. A love story, coming-of-age story, a mystery, a whodunit story, and ultimately a story of true love in the broadest sense." —Julia Álvarez, author of In the Time of the Butterflies
 
Taína is a searing search for the meaning in what we choose to believe and the stories we tell ourselves. . . . This novel's belief and trust in love is something we desperately need to hear.” —Helena Viramontes, author of Under the Feet of Jesus

PRH Education High School Collections

All reading communities should contain protected time for the sake of reading. Independent reading practices emphasize the process of making meaning through reading, not an end product. The school culture (teachers, administration, etc.) should affirm this daily practice time as inherently important instructional time for all readers. (NCTE, 2019)   The Penguin Random House High

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PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

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PRH Education Classroom Libraries

“Books are a students’ passport to entering and actively participating in a global society with the empathy, compassion, and knowledge it takes to become the problem solvers the world needs.” –Laura Robb   Research shows that reading and literacy directly impacts students’ academic success and personal growth. To help promote the importance of daily independent

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