The Red Umbrella Review

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(More customer reviews)Lucia Alvarez wants what any fourteen year old girl wants--
to spend time talking about boys with her best friend Ivette, to go to the movies and dances, and to avoid babysitting her annoying younger brother Frankie. It's just that her parents are so old-fashioned. Can't they see Lucia is old enough for a little independence?
When soldiers from Castro's Revolution arrive in Lucia's small town, her life becomes more oppressive, not less. Freedoms and friends disappear overnight. Finally her parents make the heart-wrenching decision to send Frankie and Lucia to the U.S. Alone.
The Red Umbrella, set in Cuba during 1961, by debut author Christina Gonzalez brings a culture and its past to life with this story of two children who were part of Operation Pedro Pan. It is, in fact, a personal family story for Ms. Gonzalez as both of her parents were part of the exodus of 14,000 unaccompanied minors who were sent to the U.S. in the early 60's to escape Castro's regime. The story of Lucia and Frankie Alvarez is a part of history that's generally not well known. The Red Umbrella deals with their upheaval with warmth, pathos and sometimes heart-breaking sadness.
-- Reviewed by Michelle Delisle


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Bodega Dreams: A Novel Review

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(More customer reviews)Ernesto Quinonez' debut novel, Bodega Dreams, breaks through stereotypes, and enlightens the reader to the numerous human elements that make up El Barrio. Nevertheless, his purpose is not to explain the socio-economic group dynamic that makes up contempoary East Harlem. His purpose is to tell a good story. Unfortunately, I was expecting more of the former. As an Anglo who works in a Hispanic community, I thought the book would give me more insight into how Nuyoricans view themselves within New York's Latin American Community. For instance, the reality of inter-Hispanic relations is more complex than the author lets on. Although the subject is broached (inside the precinct house), Quinonez leaves it at it's barely scratched surface.
Although these expectations were not satisfied, my curiosity as a reader of a good novel was. Quinonez' hero, Chico, doesn't take a holier than thou attitude toward the seedier characters he meets, but accepts them for who they are: hoods, drug dealers, mafiosos, and the lowlife attorney, Navarro.
The descriptions of El Barrio are first rate. The reader gets an insider's view of Quinonez' home turf: the sights, sounds and smells that make up his neighborhood. What the author fails to do is explain why Chino's love, Blanca, a devout Pentecostal, falls in love with him and gets married at such a young age, despite his continued association with the local drug pusher, Sapo. Perhaps the courtship was edited out of the original manuscript. And although Chino seems to be a decent, inteligent fellow, how these two became married while full time college students is never satisfactorily answered. The plot was interesting, pitting the black and white concepts of right and wrong against the myriad grays that represent the realities of survival and prosperity in El Barrio. The characters of Chino and Sapo were well developed, but the lesser characters were one-sided. The social conscience of Willie Bodega, the Puerto Rican Social Activist turned drug dealer, was quite unbelievable. The dialogue was interesting, and often humorous, but oftentimes highly predictable. However, the climax was somewhat surprising, and did catch me off guard.All told, I found this to be excellent debut novel, and look forward to Quinonez' next book.

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The Dreamer (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers) Review

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(More customer reviews)ENTER THE DREAM! Were you a dreamy kid? The type of kid that parents & teachers nagged to focus more? Do you have a child like that? If yes, you will love this book. Inspired by the life of a real poet in Chile, Pablo Neruda, the book's prose is dream-like and poetic. It is greatly enhanced by award-winning artist Peter Sís, whose delicate, drawings enhance the magical world. Finally a book that favors the right-brain people (in this left-brain culture).
The main character dreamily ponders the world while cowering from his domineering father. However, Neftali's beholding of nature, his sense of wonder and his limitless imagination cannot be bound. He persists in his dream-like approach to the world. INSPIRE YOUR DREAMY CHILD -- This book will inspire young readers, future poets and all right-brain people. It's courageous, unusual and unique.



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Chain Reaction (Perfect Chemistry Novels) Review

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(More customer reviews)For the record, I fully blame Simone Elkeles for my obsession with the young adult genre. Before I got my hands on a copy of Perfect Chemistry, I thought YA novels were strictly PG rated and the most passionate displays of affection was a line saying, "We made out last night." Nothing was ever discussed in detail, let alone the smoldering way Elkeles writes a love scene. As if that wasn't enough, she doesn't flinch when tackling tough subjects like gang violence and teen sexuality.
I fell in love with this series three years ago, and this final installment was just as hot and sultry as the previous two books. Luis, being the youngest, was so much fun. He didn't have the jaded cynicism his older brothers had going into this book. He was a reckless, fun guy who liked to make people laugh. This is what made the revelation about his past all the more saddening (sorry, that's all I'll say - read the book to find out what happens).
I wasn't all that crazy about Nikki. I understood she got hurt in a major way by a major creep, but I felt some times she took her mistrust in Luis too far. Towards the end I warmed up to her, but for a little while I thought she needed a good slap. I did, however, adore her friends Derek and Kendall. For some reason I looked forward to any scene they were in.
I felt parts of this book, especially the end, moved too fast. I would have liked a little more filling in the Latino Blood storyline and Luis's reactions to what he discovered. I felt that came and went too fast. Then again, it might just be me with a serious case of the Oliver Twists, making grabby hands and begging for some more because I knew this series was coming to a close.
It could be argued that Elkeles's books in this series are formulaic. After reading the first, the other two play out the same way, but I went in expecting that. There are no real surprised, but I recently saw on the news that people are almost 40% happier when they read a book or see a movie already knowing how it will end. This book is a classic example of that: I love knowing that in the Simone Elkeles's world love truly can conquer all.


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Luis Fuentes is a good boy who doesn't live with the angst that his big brothers, Alex and Carlos, have always lived with. Luis is smart, funny, and has big dreams of becoming an astronaut. But when he falls for the wrong girl, Luis enters a dark world he's never known, and just when he thinks he's got life all figured out, learns some disturbing news about his family that destroys his positive outlook on life. Will that Fuentes bad boy streak come out with a vengeance and lure Luis to live on the edge like his new girlfriend and his own father?

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