Estrella's Quinceañera
Grade 5-10-Estrella Alvarez is finally getting her life together. She has earned a scholarship to an elite private school in San Jose and made friends with some of the wealthy girls. Now, however, she is ashamed of her mother and her home, and has dropped her former best friends. To make things worse, her mother and Tía Lucky are insisting on going through with herquinceañera, complete with mariachi band and puffy-sleeved orange dress. She has fallen for Speedy, a classmate from the barrio, but is forbidden to see him. As the plans for the party progress, Estrella's world implodes as she alienates her family and friends with half-truths and deceptions. It is left to her to cobble together aquinceañera, be proud of her heritage, and still be true to herself. The plot is fast paced, with engaging and likable characters. The protagonist's search for identity and fight for independence from her loving but strict family are wrought with humor, yet remain poignant and true. The tone of the book is light, but the teen's journey through the maze of culture and class is deftly handled.-Melissa Christy Buron, Epps Island Elementary, Houston, TXCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.