17561. WHEN I WAS PUERTO RICAN BY ESMERALDO SANTIAGO. This paper provides a brief, favorable review of Santiago’s autobiographically-inspired novel about her childhood years in Puerto Rico and teen years in a poor neighborhood of Brooklyn. Praises Santiago’s skill at characterization and at holding the reader’s attention throughout the novel. KEYWORDS: book review nonfiction Puerto Rico Puerto Rican poverty Brooklyn. Written 2005. MLA Style. 4 pages, 14 footnotes, 1 bibliographic source. 902 words.