Reviews for Estrella's Quinceanera

The average rating for Estrella's Quinceanera based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2007-12-30 00:00:00 Brad Dare Well, I admit I am biased. I wrote the book. And I love it. There aren't many Chicano authors who celebrate contemporary barrio culture like I do. Si Senor!

Review # 2 was written on 2018-02-20 00:00:00 Mike Sommers This was a 3 star book for me. I would have loved to give this a higher score but there were some flaws I couldn't overlook. First, the book is full of clichés. Poor girl on a scholarship starts a new school, gets new rich friends, and dumps her old friends. Girl is ashamed of her family, her culture, and her lifestyle. Girl likes poor boy but is sought by the rich, bad boy. Girl will learn many life lessons by the end of the book. Second, and what probably bothered me the most about the book, was the stereotype after stereotype of Hispanics on practically every page. While some stereotypes may have been included to portray the culture, some were of the roll-your-eyes-and-cringe variety. I would hope that any type of reader would pick up this book and not get a caricature portrayal of what it is to Mexican. I don't think the author did this maliciously, but I think it bordered on excessive use of stereotypes. I did continue reading and at some point decided to just enjoy the story for what it was. I wanted to know what happened to Estrella and Speedy (the poor boy, who might be a thug with a heart of gold)? Did she make up with her old friends? Would the quinceanera take place? It was a bit like watching a romantic comedy. Seen one, seen them all but you still love watching them. I think young girls will really love this book. I know I would have. And even though I never had a quinceanera, there's still that excitement that surrounds one. The author uses a lot of Spanish words (loved that) but she includes a dictionary in the back. She also starts out each chapter with a Spanish word and the general definition of that word, but also her own translation of it. These I really enjoyed. Would definitely read this author again.