1 comments about American Chica (Spanish Language edition).

1. Arana's memoir is poetic, colorful and powerful. The book is a moving account of Arana's childhood, split between Peru and Wyoming. She weaves father's rich Peruvian family history into the evolution of Peru and counters it with her American mother's reticence to abide by the rules of the Peruvian society. The reader is split between which society is better: family-centered traditional Peru or independent adventurous America. Arana delicately examines the two cultures in conflict through various relationships: her mother and grandmother disagree on how to raise children and treat husbands; her parents have different goals for the family and expectations of each other; and Marie's little friends, depending on what country she's in, seduce her into one culture while she struggles not to abandon the other. A sense of conflicted identity, pride in one's heritage, and confused loyalties is the result--all told while coming of age suspended between North and South America. Highly recommended.

No comments about The Rebel (Recovering the Us Hispanic Literary Heritage).

1 comments about Dancing with Ghosts: A Critical Biography of Arturo Islas.

1. Frederick Luis Aldama notes that he could have written a hagiography because of Arturo Islas' "sensational and melodramatic 'up-from-the-bootstraps' story and its tragic denouement." But that would have been dishonest. Despite his talents as a writer, Islas was plagued with self-hate and was often moody, manipulative, narcissistic and unpredictable. Yet he could be brilliant, gentle, soft-spoken and, above all, generous. Aldama succeeds in synthesizing the disparate elements of Arturo Islas to produce what doubtless will become a seminal biographical study of an important figure in Chicano letters. [The full review of this book first appeared in Southwest BookViews.]

1 comments about Begoso Cabin: A Pecos Country Retreat.

1. Begoso Cabin is the account of a woman's experiences living in a remote canyon in the mountains of northern New Mexico. The author has described the land, the animals, the people in vivid detail. The book is replete with pleasing morsels of historical research beginning with the Pecos Indians who once hunted the area, the region's importance as the entry into Mexican territory on the Santa Fe Trail, the takeover of the Southwest by the United States, the legal hassles over the old Spanish land grant on which the Begoso cabin is located, to today's village customs and economy. Begoso Cabin partakes of a genre of women's writing that is characterized by such authors as Annie Dillard, Dorothy Gilman, Gretel Ehrlach and others who have retreated to the wilds to write their stories. Begoso Cabin is a good read, full of historical, and often humorous, anecdotes, sensitve landscape description, and sociological commentary on village life rendered in a vibrant and poetic prose.

1 comments about Tino Martinez (Latinos in Baseball).

1. You'll probably enjoy this book. It's written for a younger crowd, but if you are like me and can't get enough of your favourite player then this a must have for your collection. It's clear, concise and quite informative.
   I'd recommend it for any true Tino fan!

1 comments about My Sax Life: A Memoir (Latino Voices/Vidas).

1. Paquito d'Rivera is an undisputed virtuoso on saxophone and clarinet in both the jazz and classical worlds. One of the great innovators of Latin jazz in modern times, Paquito has always been at the forefront of the movement. Unless you are familiar with his random writings in numerous publications, most people were unaware of Paquito's talent of prose in Spanish and English. After penning his novel, Oh, La Habana! and the Spanish version of his memoirs, he has now released his memoirs in English or his anti-biography as he prefers to call it. Much like his lyrical improvisational style, Paquito d'Rivera's book is filled with his trademark humor and wit, bounces between decades here and abroad and includes personal antidotes and stories as well as those of his closest friends and collaborators. Destined to becoming one of the great jazz memoirs of all time, and definitely a must read for this year's music book releases, My Sax Life is highly recommended.

No comments about El Coyote: The Rebel (Recovering the Us Hispanic Literary Heritage).

5 comments about Gloria Estefan: A Real-Life Reader Biography.

1. If you like music you will love this biography about Gloria Estefan. This is an amazing story about a girl who moves from Cuba to Miami, Florida. She grows up to be a singer in Emilio Estefan's band. Then a little while later she graduates college and as you may have guessed, gets married to Emilio. They had two kids. There is a huge tragedy. She helped people who lost their homes in Hurricane Andrew. She also helped prevent kids from doing drugs.
   This is a great story for kids, especially if they want to be singers. I liked when the author talked to you directly and made you feel happy about her recovering from the tragedy.
   
   
   
   Fay Marshal the rapper



2. This book is very exciting. It tells everything about Gloria, from when she was a baby, all the way to when she had a baby.
   
   When Gloria was a baby, she had to move from Cuba, to Miami, Florida. When she was growing up, her dad got very ill. She had to go to school, learn English, and take on extra chores at home because her had to take care of her dad. During her life, she joined two bands. One was temporary and one was a career.
   
   While she was doing that, she got married to Emilio Estefan. She had two kids. Before the 2nd one there were 2 tragedies, but they got through them, and fixed them. Before the tragedies she got many singles out with her band, she had a good interesting life before the tragedies, but she had a good life after it too.
   
   In my opinion the author did an extraordinary job on this book. I also like that her word choice is awesome, because it is not boring.
   
   By Alabama



3. This biography is great for kids, especially who want to be famous some day. It's also an awesome book for anyone who likes to read exciting books about the lives of other people.
   It's about a Cuban girl named Gloria Estafan and her family at first. They are forced to leave Cuba. When she gets to Florida, she likes it better than Cuba.
   While in Florida her father gets a horrible disease. When she is in High school she gets great grades. At home she gets away from it all by playing music. She joins a band and the band manager is Emilio.
   Later she falls in love with Emilio, they get married, and have a child. Her band becomes famous after a while. Then a tragedy happens that keeps her of her feet for a while. But she still has her family.
   I think this book is fantastic because of the amazing pictures and fabulas word choice.
   By:Bob



4. This story is great, and exciting the first time I read it. The story is worth reading. This story tells about Gloria's life. In the middle of the story Gloria's life turns in to a tragedy. This story is good. I think you should read it because it tells what Gloria's life is like.



5. The author of Gloria Estefan did an awesome job explaining the life of Gloria. She started the book at Gloria being born then she had to move to Miami Florida. There she met Emilio and joined his popular band.
   Emilio and Gloria got married after they made some records and then made a lot more records together. Gloria her son and Emilio got to meet the president. On the way to one of Gloria's concerts a tragedy struck. Gloria still song after the tragedy and had another child. Emilio and Gloria had one big perfect happy family.
   I thought this book was very help full because before I read this book I didn't know anything about Gloria and now I know a lot. If you want to be a star or even just want a good book to read I would suggests this book.

No comments about Nuestros Heroes: Our Heroes.

No comments about Black Writers and the Hispanic Canon (Twayne's World Authors Series).