Nancy Osa

This is about a girl who is about to turn 15 years old. Her Cuban grandmother was expressing to her that traditionally she would be celebrating with a Quincenera because this is the age that a girl enters womanhood. She is confused on how she wants to celebrate her birthday. The reasoning behind her dilemma is that she's half Cuban and half Polish but more importantly she feels 100% American. So this young girl has a major decision to make about her 15th birthday.

When I have read this book, it made me start thinking about when I turned 15 and when I had gone through the whole Qunicenera tradition because of my Hispanic Heritage. And also because my entire family line on my father's side had entered womanhood by having a Quincenera.

I wouldn't use this book in my future classroom or lesson plans because it's a little way advanced for the age I work with.… (mehr)

This is a humorous book centered around a girl living in Chicago who is turning 15. Her grandmother is determined she will have a traditional Hispanic quince with a court and frilly dress.The plots become entwined with Violet's involvement in a public speaking team at school, her impending quince and her fascination with her father's home of Cuba. She is even more intrigued by Cuba when her father refuses to talk about his heritage. This curiousity gets Violet in trouble near the end of the book and as the reader you feel her pain as she is severely reprimanded by her family. I felt it all was so unfair to Violet yet I did not come from her parent's background. Amid this seriousness of that subject is the haliriaty of her crazy family who love to play dominoes and party. There is the element of love as Violet experiences her first boyfriend Clarence. Her brother Mark adds just the right amount of sibling problem as he gets on her nerves.
The book reads slowly through its almost 300 pages but proves to be a fun one to read.… (mehr)