Once Upon a Quinceañera

I’ve never been a party princess like this book’s main character, Carmen, but I have volunteered as a dress up foam character at a children’s party (once). It ain’t a cake walk.This work is light and accessible in its approach, but the content is heavier upon closer inspection. Carmen’s dramatic setup feels almost artificial, but that’s hardly the point - the emotions of the teenage experiences feel real, especially as expressed through an authentic voice penned by the author. And this is a hard feat to achieve, if you can understand that most adults like us have lost ourselves in the never-ending grind of being grown up.Occasionally, the supporting cast of characters around Carmen can feel downright mean spirited, insensitive, or even broken. And they can both directly or indirectly (subconsciously) mistreat her. But the story isn’t about them. Nor is it about Carmen. The story may just as well be about any of us, no matter how mundane or ridiculous our environment, situation, or the players within are. The story is about growth and development: as much about how we press back against the negativity around us, as it is regarding how we embrace the nourishment of the positives forces.Not my usual read, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. Looking forward to Monica’s next work.

I loved this book. 1.) It's not a dystopian YA with stupid or absent parents. That's a unicorn in YA fiction. 2.) It's not set in New York City, which seems to be the dominant location if the book is not dystopian. Refreshing. 3.) I learned about some Latino culture I didn't know much about (quinceneras) and enjoyed the detail provided for the setting in Miami. 4.) The heroine was not the usual 'nerdy smart girl who gets makeover' or 'nerdy girl in love with jock' which seems to be high percentage of YA books. She is beautiful but not particularly studious or book smart. 5.) The family dynamic/drama is HYSTERICAL. Telenovia at its finest. I recommend this book highly.

This book hit. The author did a beautiful job of balancing humor with deeper and heavier topics like what it can really be like within Latine(o,x) families when you deal with family members who aren’t doing their own inner work to heal and behave in hurtful and toxic ways. My heart hurt throughout this book reading how the main character was consistently being gaslighted and told to just forgive, let go, and move on and at the same time was so validating to read about her standing up for herself and refusing to believe that narrative or continue to allow those family members to define who she truly was. I have family members similar to the tia and prima so this really hit close for me. I resonated with this story so much and it definitely helped my inner-niña heal. I lived for the quince tea because that can 100% be real, like we don’t play when it comes to quinceañeras lol. I loved the plot, because it’s so different from anything I’ve ever read, the Beaty and the beast element was also super cute. I love that this was deeper than just a romance, because don’t get me wrong the dialogue was so freaking good, I was eating it up. I wish we could’ve known more at the end when it came to Carmen’s future but I love that estrangement for the sake of healthy boundaries and self-love is being normalized within our culture, thanks to stories like this. Highly recommend!

This was well written with a strong storyline and character development. I would buy and read from this Author again.

Indulgent, smart, and unputdownable. I'm buying it as gifts for friends!