Ordinary Girls is a memoir written by Jaquira Diaz, a Puerto Rican women. In this memoir she talks about her experiences growing up and how being a Puerto Rican women has impacted her life. In the beginning of her book, she has an introduction labeled “Girl Hood” and it’s an introduction not about her life specifically but what it means to be a girl and also live as one and the transition into women hood. The first couple of pages (pgs. 10-15) Diaz is reminiscing of the times she spent in Puerto Rico as a child in 1985 and the stories her father told her while her mother was ignoring him and smoking her cigarette and her brother asleep. She also mentions how her mother and father met when Jaquira’s mom was in high school and father in college. Jaquira then goes and introduces “La Otra”, the other women in pages (22-29). La Otra was a their neighbor that was in love with Jaquira’s father and tried to get as much information out of Jaquira about her father. The neighbor would ask her questions regarding her father and his interest and one day even sent him food and when Jaquira’s mom found that out, everything went downhill. “La Otra” had a huge impact on Jaquira’s life because Jaquira witnessed first hand how an outsider ruined her family and parents relationship. Jaquira also saw a side to her father that she never did, her father would lie to Jaquira and her mom and tell her that Jaquira was lying about the encounters he had with the neighbor. Many more real life and eye opening events take place after this one as well that has helped Jaquira Diaz become he women she is now.