Author: Isabel Quintero
Year Published: 2014
Genre: YA Fiction
Pages: 284
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Location (my 2015 Google Reading map): USA (CA)
FTC Disclosure: I borrowed this book from my school library
Summary (from the back of the book): Sixteen year old Gabi Hernandez chronicles her senior year in high school as she copes with her friend Cindy's pregnancy, friend Sebastian's coming out, her father's meth habit, her own cravings for food and cute boys, and especially the poetry that helps forge her identity.
Review: You know it's summer time when I get to read a book in one day! Wahooooo! This book was really good.
Characters--Love them. All of them. Even the ones that weren't nice. Gabi's family was real, full of love, full of distrust and worry, and so important. Her friends were there for life even if they do fight and argue and hurt each other, they also love one another. There were good teachers and good boyfriends. There were bad boyfriends, too.
Plot--I love that we get the story through Gabi's journal entries. They are so real and raw, full of personal insights and teenage angst. But also upbeat, even when things were crappy. I do wish she wasn't so focused on food. Just because someone is overweight/fat doesn't mean they hide food and think about it 24/7. But Gabi is smart. And driven. And caring. And funny. And real.
I think this book would be a good one for our Latina students to read. The characters are just drug addicts or gang members, which is what so many books about Latinos consist of. These characters are parents, kids, friends, poets, athletes, and more. Yes, they have their drama (drugs, pregnancy, etc), but they are more than their issues and that's what matters.
FTC Disclosure: I borrowed this book from my school library
Summary (from the back of the book): Sixteen year old Gabi Hernandez chronicles her senior year in high school as she copes with her friend Cindy's pregnancy, friend Sebastian's coming out, her father's meth habit, her own cravings for food and cute boys, and especially the poetry that helps forge her identity.
Review: You know it's summer time when I get to read a book in one day! Wahooooo! This book was really good.
Characters--Love them. All of them. Even the ones that weren't nice. Gabi's family was real, full of love, full of distrust and worry, and so important. Her friends were there for life even if they do fight and argue and hurt each other, they also love one another. There were good teachers and good boyfriends. There were bad boyfriends, too.
Plot--I love that we get the story through Gabi's journal entries. They are so real and raw, full of personal insights and teenage angst. But also upbeat, even when things were crappy. I do wish she wasn't so focused on food. Just because someone is overweight/fat doesn't mean they hide food and think about it 24/7. But Gabi is smart. And driven. And caring. And funny. And real.
I think this book would be a good one for our Latina students to read. The characters are just drug addicts or gang members, which is what so many books about Latinos consist of. These characters are parents, kids, friends, poets, athletes, and more. Yes, they have their drama (drugs, pregnancy, etc), but they are more than their issues and that's what matters.
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