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Taína

By: Ernesto Quiñonez
Narrated by: Daniel José Molina
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Publisher's summary

A uniquely dark, coming-of-age novel rife with urban magical realism, love, and redemption, from the author of Bodega Dreams

When Julio, a teenager living in Spanish Harlem, hears that Taina, a pregnant15-year-old from his high school claims to be a virgin, he decides to believe her. Julio has a history of strange visions and his blind and unrequited love for Taina will unleash a whirlpool of emotions that will bring him to question his hard-working Puerto Rican mother and his communist Ecuadorian father, his beliefs and even the building blocks of modern science (after seeing the conception of Taina’s baby as a revolution in nature).

After meeting Taína's uncle, "El Vejigante", an ex-con with a dark past, he accepts his proposal to support her during her pregnancy and becomes entangled in a web of crime that, while taking him closer to Taína, ultimately reveals a family secret that will not leave him unscathed.

©2019 Ernesto Quiñonez (P)2019 Random House Audio
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Critic reviews

"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 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)

What listeners say about Taína

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Sad but fun

I enjoyed the suspense of not knowing who the dad was but sadden to learn the truth

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Great

Two angels did not fight to make Taina's baby. I wish the truth had come out.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Excellent Performance of Complicated Story

Molina nailed Julio’s perspectives in this awesome story. I grew up reading Zora Neale Hurston and felt this is the Puerto Rican version of Their Eyes Were Watching God (which is another great Audible performance).

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Anticlimactic

Nice storytelling by the narrator and there was a lot of promise but it fell flat. Taina was completely unlikeable and the ending dissatisfying. Also it was supposed to take place during the 2000s but until he mentioned Ipod I thought it was set in the 80s and for some reason that threw me off. Towards the last few minutes I realized I wasn't going to learn the truth about anything and it was a big let down.

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