{"product_id":"the-time-it-snowed-in-puerto-rico-9780307460172","title":"The Time It Snowed in Puerto Rico","description":"It is 1961 and Puerto Rico is trapped in a tug-of-war between those who want to stay connected to the United States and those who are fighting for independence. For eleven-year-old Verdita Ortiz-Santiago, the struggle for independence is a battle fought much closer to home. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eVerdita has always been safe and secure in her sleepy mountain town, far from the excitement of the capital city of San Juan or the glittering shores of the United States, where her older cousin lives. She will be a \u003ci\u003ese orita\u003c\/i\u003e soon, which, as her mother reminds her, means that she will be expected to cook and clean, go to Mass every day, choose \u003ci\u003earroz con pollo\u003c\/i\u003e over \u003ci\u003ehamburguesas, \u003c\/i\u003e and give up her love for Elvis. And yet, as much as Verdita longs to escape this seemingly inevitable future and become a blond American bombshell, she is still a young girl who is scared by late-night stories of the \u003ci\u003echupacabra\u003c\/i\u003e, who wishes her mother would still rub her back and sing her a lullaby, and who is both ashamed and exhilarated by her changing body. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTold in luminous prose spanning two years in Verdita's life, \u003ci\u003eThe Time It Snowed in Puerto Rico\u003c\/i\u003e is much more than a story about getting older. In the tradition of \u003ci\u003eThe House on Mango Street\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eAnnie John\u003c\/i\u003e, it is about the struggle to break free from the people who have raised us, and about the difficulties of leaving behind one's homeland for places unknown. At times joyous and at times heartbreaking, Verdita's story is of a young girl discovering her power and finding the strength to decide what sort of woman she'll become.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSARAH MCCOY is the family columnist for \u003ci\u003eYour Health Monthly\u003c\/i\u003e magazine and has taught writing courses at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, and at the University of Texas in El Paso. As a child, she spent much time in Puerto Rico visiting her mother's family. She lives in El Paso with her husband.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Crown Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50844280946962,"sku":"9780307460172","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_f25fe02f-9974-4f0a-97f8-cebe792156a6.jpg?v=1737315722","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-time-it-snowed-in-puerto-rico-9780307460172","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}