America's Dream

by Esmeralda Santiago

On Sale: 04/25/1997

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America's Dream

by Esmeralda Santiago

On Sale: 04/25/1997

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About the Book

"Lyrical [and] haunting, América’s liberating epiphany will have readers . . . on their feet and cheering." — Washington Post

Deftly written and fiercely resilient, América’s Dream explores the ever-shifting definition of what it means to be American and exemplifies the spirit of every immigrant who has dared to realize the American dream.

América Gonzalez is a hotel housekeeper on Vieques, an island off the coast of Puerto Rico, cleaning up after wealthy foreigners who don’t look her in the eye. Her alcoholic mother resents her; her married boyfriend, Correa, beats her; and their fourteen-year-old daughter thinks life would be better anywhere but with América. So when América is offered the chance to work as a live-in housekeeper and nanny for a family in Westchester, New York, she takes it as a sign to finally make the escape she's been longing for.

Yet, even as América revels in the comparative luxury of her new life—daring to care about a man other than Correa—she is faced with the disquieting realization that no matter what she does, she can never really escape her past.

Critical Praise

“[Santiago] establishes herself as a strong and irresistible new voice in fiction…this novel is involving and immediate, truthful and tender.” - Publishers Weekly

"Lyrical [and] haunting, América’s liberating epiphany will have readers . . . on their feet and cheering." - Washington Post

“Santiago has with this novel firmly established herself as one of the most powerful new voices in American fiction.” - Boston Globe

“Thrilling and page-turning. The fabulous journey of America Gonzalez...is laid out masterfully.” - Chicago Tribune

“I wish I could write like Esmeralda Santiago! Read this book; be inspired.” - Terry McMillan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Waiting to Exhale and How Stella Got Her Groove Back