β Scribed by de la Cruz, Melissa
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Dear Peaches,
America is perfect!
I love it here. I wish you could come visit -- we could go shopping on Market Street and you could meet all my new friends. And my new boyfriend. He looks exactly like Tobey Maguire (from Spider-Man , not Seabiscuit). We'll be the hottest couple at the SoirΓ©e!
I miss you!! xxxooo,
V.
Okay, so Vicenza isn't being totally honest with Peaches, her best friend back in Manila. But what fun is it being the new girl at snooty Grosvernor High? Or rooting through the Salvation Army for unholey cashmere sweaters? Or having culture-shocked, embarrassingly clueless parents? Maybe being Claude Caligari's ignored geometry partner is sort of fun, but Vicenza would rather be his girlfriend ... or at least his date to the annual fancy-schmancy SoirΓ©e d'Hiver. Instead, she's stuck going with scrawny family friend Freddie in an outlet-purchased, coupon-reduced dress that is nothing short of disaster!
But Vicenza won't be friendless, fashionless, or "fresh off the boat" for long -- it's only a matter of time before she sees what's right before her eyes, and her luck begins to change.
Grade 7-10βVicenza Arambullo, 14, is a recent immigrant to San Francisco. In Manila, her family was wealthy, but now they struggle to make ends meet. On scholarship, the teen attends a private girls' school where she is an outcast. She has a crush on a BMOC at a boys' school, and she's beginning to like a nice guy with whom she feels comfortable. She also has to fend off her parents' efforts to fix her up with a brainy Filipino. As the story progresses, readers will be curious about what will happen to Vicenza as she navigates her way around mean girls and romance. Much of the plot is predictable, but the story shines because of its character development and the depiction of the cultural divide. Vicenza is savvy in many ways, but naive in others. Her friend Isobel, a Parisian student, is her touchstone, and the girls are depicted in counterpoint to one another. This well-written, heartfelt novel is a worthy addition to most YA collections, but especially where there are strong immigrant populations.βAmy Patrick, New York Public Library
Copyright Β© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Gr. 9-12. Newly arrived from the Phillippines, 14-year-old Vicenza is a scholarship student at a snooty private girls' school in San Francisco. She dreams of love with Tobey Maguire, not having to shop at thrift stores, and being accepted by the wealthy, popular girls at school. Instead, she and her family work multiple jobs and squeeze every penny to manage private schools for Vicenza and her little sister. A new French girl at school becomes a good friend, and Vicenza copes with her mom's search for a bargain dress for the school dance and attempts to pair her with a nice Filipino boy. Like the popular The Au Pairs [BKL Jl 2004], there's a wholesome quality to this despite some rebellious (but not graphically described) behavior. Most immigrant teens will recognize the tensions that arise when young adults try to become assimilated as their parents both support them and cling desperately to traditional culture. The clothing details are delightful fun, as are Vicenza's innovative methods of trying to avoid the label of the title. Debbie Carton
Copyright Β© American Library Association. All rights reserved
π SIMILAR VOLUMES