"Emigrating from rural Puerto Rico to live in a tenement with seven (eventually ten) siblings, an inquisitive grandmother, and a strict mother who won't allow her to date, "Negi," 13, is ready to spread her wings. She yearns for her own bed, for privacy, and for her father, who stayed in Puerto Rico. When she starts to defy her mother, she discovers the dangers and fears, as well as the heady pleasures, of independence"--P. [4] of cover.