Estrella's Quinceañera

Id been hearing for ages how the new big thing in adolescent lit was the Latina influence, but I hadnt seen a whole lot of evidence of it until Malin Alegrias Estrellas Quinceanera. This is a delightful book that any teen (especially girls) can relate to, even if they arent of Hispanic descent.

Estrella Alvarez is about to turn fifteen and shes dreading it. Not so much the birthday itself, as the huge party (Quinceanera) her mother and aunt want to have. Shes sure its going to be a tacky and embarrassing eventcomplete with mariachi band, an incredibly ugly puffy-sleeved orange dress, and even a dancing choreographer.

The real problem behind her dread of the party is Estrellas own confusion with her identity. On the one hand, shes at home in the barrio and with her crazy family. On the other, she goes to an elite and exclusive private school on scholarship and has rich white friends that she feels just wouldnt understand the other half of her life. Since getting into the school, she has dropped her former best friends and embedded herself firmly into what she thinks is the right life.

Then things get more complicated with the arrival of Speedy into her life. A former classmate and boy from the neighborhood (who sees nothing wrong with being from the neighborhood), Speedy isnt the kind of guy she feels she can introduce to her new friends. But even so, she cant seem to resist him, even with her fathers disapproval.

With the help of Speedy, her new friends and her old friends, Estrella finally learns how to balance her life both her new and old one. She learns how to be true to herself and to stop trying to make herself over based on what she *thinks* her friends want her to be.

Alegrias first novel is a good introduction to the life of a Mexican-American girl whos not quite sure where or who she wants to be. I really liked the vocabulary blurbs at the beginning of every chapter (Im determined to use fu-fu-rufu in a sentence) and the fact that none of the characters are perfect they are, instead, human. The ending wraps up everything nice and neat, which may or may not be true to life, but does leave the reader with a warm and fuzzy feeling and hope for Estrellas future.

I recommend this one for readers aged 12 and up.