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3.12 AVERAGE
3.12 AVERAGE
Incredibly wealthy girl only realizes her privilege at the very end of the book and even then, still tries to convince these not great girls to be her friend. No thanks.
More MG than YA. I understand the other reviewers' issues with the book, and while I don't agree, I definitely see them as valid. I think I have lots of students who would be interested in reading about a wealthy Latina... it seems like every book with a Latino/a protagonist in our school library focuses on their poverty. That definitely doesn't excuse the more problematic aspects of this book, though.
After 3 1/2 chapters I’m going to file this under life is too short and I just don’t care.
I'm glad I read this one before purchasing for my library. There's too much profanity to work for middle school. I was tired of this book and Camilla pretty early on. She accuses everyone of being racist with she is pretending to be a poor scholarship student. She doesn't come clean until almost the end of the book, and then everything wraps up a little too quickly. If I found out someone who I had considered a close friend for months had been lying the entire time, I'm not sure we could still be friends.
Also, the tone of this book is off-putting. Is it trying to be funny?
Also, the tone of this book is off-putting. Is it trying to be funny?
I wanted to love this novel for its over-the-top telenovela-ness, but there are distinct parts in which no matter how much I wanted to go with the "it's all just a TV drama!" flow, I hungered for more. I wanted, for example, for the main character, Cammie, to offer some more reflection and growth as a character, given some of the great moments and meditations on U.S. perceptions of whiteness and of being Mexican. I wanted, also, for her actions to have deeper ramifications and not be so neatly resolved in the book's final pages. Nonetheless, the first 3/4 or so of the book are an enjoyable read. I just wish for a different ending.
I started out loving it, but it got worse each chapter. It was fun to read about Cammi's life in Mexico City, but after that, it felt like the book was more a summary than an actual novel. Characters like Tiggy, Willow, and Milly were two-dimensional, and Cammi's supposed boyfriend, Amadeo, showed up for a total of like 5 pages and had no personality at all besides behind hot. It made good points about immigration, race, class, and the intersection of all three, but in the end, it just wasn't written thoroughly enough. It felt like reading Spark Notes.
Edit: Reading through other ppl's reviews, I'm realizing that the race aspect was handled even worse than I thought. And Cammi sucks, obviously. (Also, totally forgot about Tapestries' cultural appropriation. That was crazy.)
Edit: Reading through other ppl's reviews, I'm realizing that the race aspect was handled even worse than I thought. And Cammi sucks, obviously. (Also, totally forgot about Tapestries' cultural appropriation. That was crazy.)
Cammi has grown up as the daughter of one of the most famous actresses in Mexico, and all the paparazzi and news crews that come with it. When her mom is offered a role on a tv series in the United States, Cammi and her parents move to Los Angeles. When school starts, at the private academy she's enrolled at, she struggles to find a friend group and starts to work in the school's cafeteria kitchen, learning how to cook. Soon she is befriended by two more wealthy girls who like Cammi is at the school on scholarship because of her heritage and working in the kitchen. Cammi doesn't correct them and they continue to think her family is poor. The lie continues to grow as the book continues and Cammi starts to realize the importance and power of stereotypes.
A heartwarming story of a young lady trying to fit in while not forgetting her home. As a reader I felt for Cammi and the lie she felt she needed to keep perpetuating. It was also a refreshing story to learn more about Cammi's culture and to see her maturing throughout the book.
A heartwarming story of a young lady trying to fit in while not forgetting her home. As a reader I felt for Cammi and the lie she felt she needed to keep perpetuating. It was also a refreshing story to learn more about Cammi's culture and to see her maturing throughout the book.
I appreciate the messages and themes this book set out to impart, but unfortunately that's what the whole book boils down to: messages and themes.
While it's refreshing to see Latinx lead characters who do not fall into stereotypes -- including those who, on the surface, live a more "stereotypical" existence -- it's just really hard to get behind this book's protagonist, who literally spends the bulk of the book lying to her friends as a way to "get back" at them for their racist misconceptions rather than let them get to know who she really is to dispel those same ideas. Because everyone knows the best way to conquer racism is through lies, right?
The prose was fine, the characters were fine, but overall it mostly just felt like a sermon searching for a plot to carry it into the realm of fiction.
While it's refreshing to see Latinx lead characters who do not fall into stereotypes -- including those who, on the surface, live a more "stereotypical" existence -- it's just really hard to get behind this book's protagonist, who literally spends the bulk of the book lying to her friends as a way to "get back" at them for their racist misconceptions rather than let them get to know who she really is to dispel those same ideas. Because everyone knows the best way to conquer racism is through lies, right?
The prose was fine, the characters were fine, but overall it mostly just felt like a sermon searching for a plot to carry it into the realm of fiction.
really a 2.5 but i rounded up. i just wish this book centered around cammi’s life in mexico because that was the best part of the book and would have been a fantastic setting w her famous parents and everything