What are the similarities between the novel Bodega Dreams by Ernesto Qui±onez and the novel Soledad by Angie Cruz?

Both
novels are recent works set in the impoverished areas of upper Manhattan, and they address
issues of how members of racial minorities creatively deal with issues of personal and ethnic
identity.

Bodega Dreams was published in 2000 by
Cuban-American Ernesto Qui±onez (born in 1969). Its main character is Willie Bodega, a former
member of the Young Lord gang. The novel recounts his adventures as a successful drug dealer in
Spanish Harlem, but around this central plot, he weaves a tale of the creativity and cultural
adaptations of the communityespecially the way in which personal, familial, and community
loyalties enable immigrants to survive and sometimes thrive.

Soledad by Angie Cruz was originally published in 2001, just one
year after Bodega Dreams. Cruz was born on February 24, 1972, in New York
City to a Dominican family. Just like Qui±onez has strong roots in his native Cuban culture,
Cruz, who is only three years younger than Qui±onez , has strong connections to
Dominica.

Her novel is not only set in a similar location but also deals with
the culture of recent immigrants and the ways they form bonds of loyalty to their families and
communities as a creative survival strategy in an environment where they are targets of racial
discrimination. She also addresses the question of how talented and creative characters try to
forge hybrid identities.