Summary

It is autumn in the New York barrio. 15 year-old Maria is caught between sadness (where she refers to herself as Maria Triste) and memories of happiness in her native Puerto Rico (where she refers to her old self as Maria Alegre). She remembers how her mother would call her “paloma” for “dove” when Maria was happy, and “ratoncita” for “little mouse” when she was sad. Maria lives in a basement apartment where she looks forward to spring. She longs to sprout like a flower. She lives with her father by his promise that she may do so until she finishes high school and is accepted into a good American university. She knows her father needs her more than her mother. She writes a letter to her mother, Mami, where she admits she misses the Spanish language and the sun...