Review Detail

Chela can't wait to start the sixth grade. Both her and her best friend Nora dream how this will be the year. Then tragedy strikes. Chela's beloved father has a stroke. Her grandmother moves in to help and the scent of her overpowering cologne fills the home. Chela tries to make sense of all this while battling the nasty girls at school and hoping everything will go back to the way it was before.

This is a great coming of age story that shows a young Latina girl's love of her family. I especially loved her portrayal of her apa-her father. She compares her family to a solar system is which her father is the sun and the rest of her family are the planets that rotated around him. The sense of family is strong in this story. It's refreshing to read stories where the Latino family isn't the stereotypical broken one with cholos on every corner. No, in this story you feel the love that binds this family together.

The nasty girls felt a little predictable at times though the author does a great job showing how lonely it can be to be shunned by those at school. Even her best friend Nora joins the group. But Chela rises to the top with the love of her father and family.

Another thing I loved in this story was the way Spanish is woven throughout with dichos-sayings- that show the culture.

I loved Chela's father too. This is a sweet coming of age story that rings true.