Cuba 15

Most Recently Read Book:

Cuba 15

By Nancy Osa

I accidentally found this book. I was wandering around Barnes and Noble looking for a book that my hispanic students could relate to. I know the Clique books are popular right now, and manga is popular, but I was hoping to find something written from the perspective of a hispanic young adult/teen that would be easy for my students to relate to. I did find this great book that I ended up relating to!

This is the story of Violet Paz who is a high schooler in Chicago (love it!). Her dad is Cuban and her mom is Polish. She has recently turned 15 and her grandmother, abulea, wants to help plan a quinceanera for her, which is like a sweet 16 party. The writing is really great and it's a nice story of a young girl growing up very American, but at the same time celebrating her Cuban heritage. It was a fun read.

I personally could relate to this book because my mom is from Guatemala and I have never been there but have had to try and learn about the culture from her and other family members. It's hard to really know what it means to be Guatemalan without ever having been to the country but I am proud to say that my family is from Guatemala. In the end, this is definitely a book that I was able to relate to and I think for sure I will be reccommending this to my students.