Taína

By: Ernesto Quiñonez

Narrated by: Daniel José Molina

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 pregnant fifteen-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.

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 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

Sad but fun

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

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).

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.

Great

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