Ferrer, Caridad - Adiós to My Old Life
Sat, Feb. 2nd, 2008 08:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterAli Montero has loved music, particularly playing the guitar, for her entire life, so making it as a contestant on Oye Mi Canto, a reality show targeted toward South America, Latin America, and parts of the US. She and 15 other people are trying to get voted in as the next Latin superstar. What follows is how Ali deals with being on the show, her burgeoning fame, her father's ambivalence about the show, and what may be a growing romance as well.
This is cute, snappy, and an easy read -- pretty much exactly what I was looking for. Ali's Latina, and it definitely influences her worldview and is there in everything, but the book also isn't about "Woe, my Latina identity, I struggle" or "Woe, I wish I weren't Latina" or anything. It just is. I also loved the small digs Ferrer put in on "exoticism" and that Ferrer takes the time to show a broad range of Latin@ cultures. I liked Ali's love for music, which was evident on every page, and I very much liked her relationship with her father. Though Ali jokes about overbearing Latin dads in the narrative, you can tell she doesn't actually think her dad fits in that category, even when he's angry.
There were some bits that could have been polished, though. I spent a lot of the book feeling like everything was too easy; Ali goes through some trials and tribulations, but you know she'll end up triumphing. In some ways, this is comforting, but in others, it makes for less emotional investment on my part. Similarly, setting up Fabiana as the villain of the piece was entirely too easy, and I disliked how her villainy was partially telegraphed by her love of excessive makeup and revealing clothes. Less virgin/whore dichotomy please!
Still, this was a fun read, and very relaxing.
This is cute, snappy, and an easy read -- pretty much exactly what I was looking for. Ali's Latina, and it definitely influences her worldview and is there in everything, but the book also isn't about "Woe, my Latina identity, I struggle" or "Woe, I wish I weren't Latina" or anything. It just is. I also loved the small digs Ferrer put in on "exoticism" and that Ferrer takes the time to show a broad range of Latin@ cultures. I liked Ali's love for music, which was evident on every page, and I very much liked her relationship with her father. Though Ali jokes about overbearing Latin dads in the narrative, you can tell she doesn't actually think her dad fits in that category, even when he's angry.
There were some bits that could have been polished, though. I spent a lot of the book feeling like everything was too easy; Ali goes through some trials and tribulations, but you know she'll end up triumphing. In some ways, this is comforting, but in others, it makes for less emotional investment on my part. Similarly, setting up Fabiana as the villain of the piece was entirely too easy, and I disliked how her villainy was partially telegraphed by her love of excessive makeup and revealing clothes. Less virgin/whore dichotomy please!
Still, this was a fun read, and very relaxing.