Copeland, Libby Ingrid. "Cultural Go-Between: Author Esmeralda Santiago's Two Languages and Two Lives." The Washington Post (November 12, 1998): C01.

Copeland ties Santiago's early feelings of cultural disenfranchisement to "the vivid realism of her writing."

Gregory, Gwen. Review of Almost a Woman.

Library Journal (October 1, 1998):104-6. A positive review that praises Santiago's skill in writing descriptions and dialog.

Rios, Alexandra. Review of Almost a Woman.

Hispanic (June 1999):70. A review that emphasizes the author's courage in the face of the culture shock and the negative stereotyping that she encountered on the mainland.

Schon, Isabel. Review of Almost a Woman.

The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education (August 27, 1999): 37. Well-known Hispanic youth literature expert and critic Schon sums up the book as "a wonderful memoir about an immigrant family's experiences in New York amid the perils of poverty and the love of family and Puerto Rican culture."

Stuttaford, Genevieve, Maria...