Elizabeth Santiago

Taina Perez lives in a city; her neighborhood is nicknamed "the Dent." It is here that her life plays out much like that of many teenagers: school, friends, music, and frustration with being a difficult age where her mind is her own, but she is not yet her own person. Taina comes from a close-knit family. Her parents have split up; her Mom works long hours. Taina - called "Ty" for short - has many responsibilities at home besides her own schoolwork. Her older brother has been tossed out of the house, and she takes care of her little brother and her aging grandmother who is an intriguing woman despite her mind slowly going away from her. Ty loves her family and devotes a great deal of time to them despite sometimes wanting to do other things such as see a boy she admires or go to the library where the local librarian often seems to be the only adult who understands her. THE MOONLIT VINE tells Ty's story, but woven within it is a history of the Taino people indigenous of Puerto Rico and other locations in the Caribbean. Ty's family is Puerto Rican, but Puerto Rico is a vague location on a map to Ty and her siblings. They have not grown up there, and Puerto Rico does not seem real despite the fact that the family cooks Puerto Rican food and when dependable Uncle Benny comes over, plays some good Puerto Rican music. Ty doesn't have time to think about ethnicity or genealogy or history. She has to deal with life in the present. A bright student, Ty does not feel welcome at her school as she is used to speaking her mind, and her outspokenness is not welcomed by some of her teachers. Ty confronts racism in the classroom. She is a strong young woman, and even though her neighborhood is known for gangs, school somehow seems a more dangerous place. Suddenly, Ty's life changes when her grandmother entrusts her with a family secret along with some very valuable objects related to their Taino ancestors. As school becomes more intolerable, as grandmother's health declines, as the neighborhood gangs strengthen their powers, Ty goes through an amazing experience where she - and almost everyone she knows - is transformed. THE MOONLIT VINE is a wonderful book with a proud and mostly fearless heroine in Ty. The chapters that weave present-day city life with the history of the Taino people, and especially, their women warriors, educates the reader into an often-neglected historical view of the indigenous people of the Caribbean. The book is full of empowering females and Ty is someone any reader would like to get to know. Although classified as a Young Adult novel, THE MOONLIT VINE will be enjoyed by adults as well. Santiago has given us a present-day look at life in a city for a teenage girl battling discrimination in school and violence in the streets, while, at the same time, reminding us of another culture from long-ago where indigenous people fought similar battles in a very different world.… (mere)