Ana Maria Reyes Does Not Live in a Castle

Ana Maria Reyes is the second-oldest of four (soon to be five) sisters; they live with their parents in an apartment in Washington Heights. Anamay loves playing piano, but rarely has the peace and quiet to do so, and she's counting on her piano skills to help win a full scholarship to The Eleanor School. But Anamay's needs rarely come first: one of her sisters or neighbors always needs something that seems to be more important. At least Anamay's aunt, Tia Nona, understands her - and Tia Nona is getting married! She and her fiance offer to pay for the Reyes family's plane tickets - and Anamay convinces her father, a lawyer, to let them go. But in the Dominican Republic, Anamay sees a side of Tia Nona that dismays her, and when she tries show more to help Tia Nona's servant, a girl about Anamay's own age, her help backfires and she feels even worse. How will she set everything right?

Anamay is a realistic character with goals and dreams; in a crowded family, she struggles to share her parents' generous natures when she feels that it sometimes comes at her expense. But she has a strong sense of right and wrong, and is level-headed in a crisis. And it turns out that some of her hurt feelings are due to misunderstanding her parents' actions: for example, her mom spends extra time with her sisters so that Anamay can play piano.

See also: The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street, The Lotterys Plus One

Quotes

Last week Dona Dulce told me to forget the metronome and just play from the heart. But what did that even mean? After all, piano is like math. There is one right way that a piece of music should sound, and you have to concentrate and get it right. (73)

"Loosen up! Use your heart, not your head!"
What did that even mean? I always used my head when I did things well. After all, there wasn't any other way, right? (105)

"We all put up with each other," Mami said. "That's one of the great things about family. Nobody's perfect, but we still love and support one another." (169)

My parents lived so far from most of their relatives. How could they stand it? Maybe this was why they treated everyone in our neighborhood like family. A substitute family is better than no family at all. (185) show less

Ana Marie lives in a small apartment with her three sisters and her two loving parents who have recently announced the upcoming of a new baby. This is an issue for Ana because this means no more center of attention for the oldest sibling. While that may seem like a new challenge, Ana's main focus is getting into Eleanor School a private school located in New York City that is known for the best of the best musicians.