Download or read book Once Upon a Quinceanera written by Julia Alvarez and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2007-08-02 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, a “phenomenal, indispensable” (USA Today) exploration of the Latina “sweet fifteen” celebration, by the bestselling author of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents and In the Time of Butterflies The quinceañera, a celebration of a Latina girl’s fifteenth birthday, has become a uniquely American trend. This lavish party with ball gowns, multi-tiered cakes, limousines, and extravagant meals is often as costly as a prom or a wedding. But many Latina girls feel entitled to this rite of passage, marking a girl’s entrance into womanhood, and expect no expense to be spared, even in working-class families. Acclaimed author Julia Alvarez explores the history and cultural significance of the “quince” in the United States, and the consequences of treating teens like princesses. Through her observations of a quince in Queens, interviews with other quince girls, and the memories of her own experience as a young immigrant, Alvarez presents a thoughtful and entertaining portrait of a rapidly growing multicultural phenomenon, and passionately emphasizes the importance of celebrating Latina womanhood.

Download or read book Estrella s Quincea era written by Malin Alegria and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2007-05-22 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this touching debut novel, Estrella Alvarez is about to turn 15, and there's nothing her meddling mother and T'a Lucky want more than to throw her a gaudy "quinceaera"--a party that Estrella would rather avoid.

Download or read book Damas Dramas and Ana Ruiz written by Belinda Acosta and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2009-08-11 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: All Ana Ruiz wanted was to have a traditional quinceañera for her daughter, Carmen. She wanted a nice way to mark this milestone year in her daughter's life. But Carmen was not interested in celebrating. Hurt and bitter over her father Esteban's departure, she blamed Ana for destroying their happy family, as did everyone else. A good man is hard to find, especially at your age Ana was told. Why not forgive his one indiscretion? Despite everything, Ana didn't want to tarnish Carmen's childlike devotion to her beloved father. But Ana knows that growing up sometimes means facing hard truths. In the end, Ana discovers that if she's going to teach Carmen anything about what it means to be a woman, it will take more than simply a fancy party to do it... "Belinda Acosta's Damas, Dramas, and Ana Ruiz delivers all its title promises and more: it's a book about damas of all ages, from teenage girls to the struggling mothers of those teenage girls; it's packed with drama so you don't want to stop reading; it's a novel that deeply and honestly tells the story of Ana Ruiz, her own coming of age as a woman and as a mother. Belinda Acosta is up to all of the challenges of such a rich panorama of characters and events. She's sassy, she's smart, she makes it look easy! But it takes a lot of hard work and a pile of talent to write such an engaging, touching book. A wonderful quinceaera of a novel!" -- Julia Alvarez, author of Once Upon a Quinceaera: Coming of Age in the USA and Return to Sender "Lively and perceptive... Acosta empathically captures the innermost feelings of her characters." -- Booklist

Download or read book Fat Chance Charlie Vega written by Crystal Maldonado and published by Holiday House. This book was released on 2021-02-02 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Coming of age as a Fat brown girl in a white Connecticut suburb is hard. Harder when your whole life is on fire, though. A NEW ENGLAND BOOK AWARD WINNER! Charlie Vega is a lot of things. Smart. Funny. Artistic. Ambitious. Fat. People sometimes have a problem with that last one. Especially her mom. Charlie wants a good relationship with her body, but it's hard, and her mom leaving a billion weight loss shakes on her dresser doesn't help. The world and everyone in it have ideas about what she should look like: thinner, lighter, slimmer-faced, straighter-haired. Be smaller. Be whiter. Be quieter. But there's one person who's always in Charlie's corner: her best friend Amelia. Slim. Popular. Athletic. Totally dope. So when Charlie starts a tentative relationship with cute classmate Brian, the first worthwhile guy to notice her, everything is perfect until she learns one thing--he asked Amelia out first. So is she his second choice or what? Does he even really see her? Because it's time people did. A sensitive, funny, and painfully honest coming-of-age story with a wry voice and tons of chisme, Fat Chance, Charlie Vega tackles our relationships to our parents, our bodies, our cultures, and ourselves. An NPR Best Book of the Year! Named to the TAYSHAS Reading List A POPSUGAR Best New YA Novel! A Cosmopolitan Best New Book! A Bustle Most Anticipated Debut!

Download or read book My Mechanical Romance written by Alexene Farol Follmuth and published by Holiday House. This book was released on 2022-05-31 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Opposites attract in this nerdy YA romance from the NYT best-selling author of The Atlas Six! "It’s rom-com perfection."—Adiba Jaigirdar, author of The Henna Wars Bel doesn't want to think about the future. College apps? You’re funny. Extracurriculars? Not a chance. Joining a robotics club filled with boys who ignore her or--even worse--constantly ask if she needs help? Please, anything but that. But when she accidentally reveals a talent for engineering in class, she has no choice. Enter Mateo Luna, the handsome captain of the club. Teo instantly recognizes Bel's talent. He needs her on the team. And not just because he can't stop thinking about the tiny dusting of freckles around her eyes, or how she got him hooked on Taylor Swift--it's because Bel sees him. She challenges him. But when they seriously start butting heads, Bel wonders: Is there really room for a girl like her in STEM? In her YA debut, Alexene Farol Follmuth, author of The Atlas Six (under the penname Olivie Blake), explores both the challenges girls of color face in STEM and the vulnerability of first love with unfailing wit and honesty. Told from dual points of view, My Mechanical Romance is not only swoonworthy--it's downright empowering. A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection A Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers Nominee A Massachusetts Teen Choice Book Award Nominee

Download or read book El Barrio written by Deborah M. Newton Chocolate and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2009-04-14 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A young boy explores his vibrant Latino neighborhood, with its vegetable gardens instead of lawns, Nativity parades, quinceaera parties, and tejana and salsa music.

Download or read book Sisters Strangers and Starting Over written by Belinda Acosta and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2010-07-20 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sometimes the family you've lost can lead you to the family you need... When Beatriz Sánchez-Milligan turned her back on her troubled sister, she ushered in a lifetime of regret. So when the niece Beatriz never knew she had appears on her doorstep--announcing that her mother has died--she can't help but see fourteen-year-old Celeste as a chance to redo the past . . . despite her own family's objections. But Celeste is skittish around her new family. She can feel the tension radiating from her uncle and cousins and, despite her aunt's enthusiasm, is hesitant to share her dreams of the traditional quinceañera she and her mother had been planning. Overwhelmed, Celeste does what her mom did years ago: she vanishes. Terrified the past is repeating itself, Beatriz scrambles to uncover the mystery surrounding her sister's life and death?and build a future in which the niece she dearly loves is truly part of her family.

Download or read book The Tequila Worm written by Viola Canales and published by Wendy Lamb Books. This book was released on 2007-03-13 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sofia comes from a family of storytellers. Here are her tales of growing up in the barrio, full of the magic and mystery of family traditions: making Easter cascarones, celebrating el Dia de los Muertos, preparing for quincea–era, rejoicing in the Christmas nacimiento, and curing homesickness by eating the tequila worm. When Sofia is singled out to receive a scholarship to an elite boarding school, she longs to explore life beyond the barrio, even though it means leaving her family to navigate a strange world of rich, privileged kids. It's a different mundo, but one where Sofia's traditions take on new meaning and illuminate her path.

Download or read book What s Not to Love written by Emily Wibberley and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2022-02-01 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the game of love, there’s always room for extra credit An enemies-to-lovers YA rom-com filled with perfect banter, nerdy drama, and heart-pounding romance—perfect for fans of Morgan Matson, Emma Lord, and Sandhya Menon. Since high school began, Alison Sanger and Ethan Molloy have competed on almost everything. AP classes, the school paper, community service, it never ends. If Alison could avoid Ethan until graduation, she would. Except, naturally, for two over-achieving seniors with their sights on valedictorian and Harvard, they share all the same classes and extracurriculars. So when their school's principal assigns them the task of co-planning a previous class's ten-year reunion, with the promise of a recommendation for Harvard if they do, Ethan and Alison are willing to endure one more activity together if it means beating the other out of the lead. But with all this extra time spent in each other's company, their rivalry begins to feel closer to friendship. And as tension between them builds, Alison fights the growing realization that the only thing she wants more than winning . . . is Ethan

Download or read book Sixteen Scandals written by Sophie Jordan and published by HMH Books For Young Readers. This book was released on 2021-05-25 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The youngest of four daughters, Primrose Ainsworth is used to getting lost in the shuffle. When her parents decide to delay her debut into English society, Prim hatches a plan to go rogue on the night of her sixteenth birthday. She dons a mask and escapes to Vauxhall Gardens for one wild night-- and finds a masked stranger who becomes her partner in mischief and romance. -- adapted from jacket

Download or read book The Distance Between Us written by Reyna Grande and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traces the author's experiences as an illegal child immigrant, describing her father's violent alcoholism, her efforts to obtain a higher education, and the inspiration of Latina authors.

Download or read book Monsters Among Us written by Monica Rodden and published by Crown Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2021-01-05 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fans of Sadie and You will be riveted by this compulsively readable new thriller about a survivor of dating violence who uses her newfound awareness of everyday evil to hunt for a killer. When Catherine Ellers returns home after her first semester at college, she is seeking refuge from a night she can barely piece together, dreads remembering, and refuses to talk about. She tries to get back to normal, but just days later the murder of someone close to her tears away any illusion of safety. Catherine feels driven to face both violent events head on in hopes of finding the perpetrators and bringing them to justice with the help of her childhood friend, Henry. Then a stranger from college arrives with her lost coat, missing driver's license--and details to help fill in the gaps in her memory that could be the key to solving both mysteries. But who is Andrew Worthington and why is he offering to help her? And what other dangerous obsessions is her sleepy town hiding? Surrounded by secrets and lies, Catherine must unravel the truth--before this wolf in sheep's clothing strikes again.

Download or read book Butterfly Boy written by Rigoberto González and published by Univ of Wisconsin Press. This book was released on 2006-09-01 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the American Book Award

Download or read book Once Upon a Quincea era written by Julia Alvarez and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2007 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A cultural exploration of the Latina fifteenth birthday celebration traces the experiences of a Queens teen who encounters anticipation and stress while preparing for her quinceañera, in an account that documents the history of the celebration's traditions as well as its growing popularity throughout America.

Download or read book Once Upon a Quinceanera written by Julia Alvarez and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Once Upon a Quinceanera written by Monica Gomez-Hira and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2021-03-02 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Jane the Virgin, this immediately accessible and irresistibly fun rom-com debut will spin readers into an unforgettable summer of late-night dancing, broken hearts, second chances, and telenovela twists. Carmen Aguilar just wants to make her happily ever after come true. Except apparently “happily ever after” for Carmen involves being stuck in an unpaid summer internship. Now she has to perform as a party princess! In a ball gown. During the summer. In Miami. Fine. Except that’s only the first misfortune in what’s turning out to be a summer of Utter Disaster. But if Carmen can manage dancing in the blistering heat, fending off an oh-so-unfortunately attractive ex, and stopping her spoiled cousin from ruining her own quinceañera—Carmen might just get that happily ever after—after all.

Download or read book Once Upon a Quincea era written by Julia Alvarez and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The quinceañera, the fifteenth birthday celebration for a Latina girl, is quickly becoming an American event. This legendary party is a sight to behold: lavish ball gowns, extravagant catered meals, DJs, limousines, and multi-tiered cakes. The must-haves for a "quince" are becoming as numerous and costly as a prom or wedding. And yet, this elaborate ritual also hearkens back to traditions from native countries and communities, offering young Latinas a chance to connect with their heritage. Writer Alvarez explores this celebration that brings a Latina girl into womanhood, attending the quince of a young woman in Queens, and weaving in interviews with other quince girls, her own memories of coming of age as an immigrant, and the history of the custom itself. The result is an enlightening, accessible, and entertaining portrait of contemporary Latino culture.--From publisher description