Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they're being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of la lengua nativa-the mother tongue. This story seamlessly weaves two culturaswhile letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life. Eventually, Tía Lola and the children swap English and Spanish ejercicios, but the true lesson is 'mutual understanding.' Peppered with Spanish words and phrases, Alvarez makes the reader as much a part of the 'language' lessons as the characters. She can also cook exotic food, dance (anywhere, anytime), plan fun parties, and tell enchanting stories.

Tía Lola, however, knows a language that defies words she quickly charms and befriends all the neighbors. The last thing Miguel wants, as he's trying to fit into a predominantly white community, is a flamboyant aunt who doesn't speak a word of English. When Tía Lola arrives to help the family, Miguel and his hermana, Juanita, have just moved from New York City to Vermont with their recently divorced mother. Renowned Latin American writer Alvarez has created another story about cultural identity, but this time the primary character is 11-year-old Miguel Guzmán. This is an achingly beautiful story that will awaken profound emotions in the reader.

Without diluting the sorrow, Joseph ( Fly, Bessie, Fly, 1998, etc.) illustrates the good arising from the tragedy as the government cancels the hotel project and Ana Rosa begins writing the life of her brother. The heartbreaking result is Guario’s death. But when the day of the standoff arrives, the villager’s words and rocks are nothing against the guardia’s guns and bulldozers. The villagers band together, Ana Rosa writes an article, and her brother Guario becomes their passionate leader. Then an official informs the villagers that to build a hotel, the government has sold the land on which their families have lived for generations. We learn that Ana Rosa’s father drinks too much rum and Coke, especially on Sundays, when he becomes a lurching spectacle. As the novella proceeds, dark shadows begin to slink through the gentle days.

Ana Rosa’s family is very close by necessity, but it is her beloved brother Guario who has the job that supports them. A poet and writer at age 12, she steals bits of paper to record everything she sees, hears, and imagines. Each chapter begins with one of Ana Rosa’s lovely rhythmic verses. The linked vignettes and elegant prose vitalize the merengue music, colorful houses, as well as the people’s poverty and the tyranny of the government. This standout novella lustrously portrays Ana Rosa and the rich simplicity of her family’s daily life in the Dominican Republic.

The Color of My Words by Lynn Joseph