Do not read this book if you are out in public and you have a problem crying in front of strangers. This book has a way of triggering you in a way only books that talk to your soul can. Culturally I am not Dominican but I am Puerto Rican; the island calls to me like the characters I'm able to identify with the heart of the characters in a way that I wasn't expecting. This book took me a while to get through as well because life moved faster than I can keep up with and I'm glad that it did. I'm glad that I was able to read this book slowly and take small bites of the book throughout the time that it took me to read it. There were nights this book brought me to ugly crying and other times when it left me giggling to myself. I don't think I would have been able to go on that ride quickly. Almost a five star read if it wasn't for the back and forth of the characters though I loved every single one of them in their own way going from one character in one chapter to the next character and another chapter sometimes caught me off guard but overall loved this book.