Luz Lazo
In Once Upon a Quinceanera, a fascinating, exhaustively researched book about the celebration of a girl's coming of age, bestselling novelist Julia Alvarez, author of How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent and In the Time of the Butterflies, studies the ancient ritual that unites the U.S. Latino community and is rapidly evolving and spreading across ethnic lines…
—The Washington Post
Maria Hinosa
This is not just a book for Latinas. Once Upon a Quinceañera is for all of us...especially for those of us raising daughters in America today. (Maria Hinosa, Senior Correspondent for NOW/PBS, author of Raising Raul and Crews)
Seattle Times
A journey into experiencing a vital, exuberant ritual of modern Latino life...As an author, Alvarez is a terrific tour guide.
Chicago Sun-Times
Though [Alvarez] brings a critical eye to long-held myths...each page is a love song to the cultural ties that bind generations of women from a diverse group of countries.
Mary Pipher
A thorough, thoughtful, and important book. . . .Bravo, Julia Alvarez. (Mary Pipher, author of The Middle of Everywhere and Reviving Ophelia)
Washington Post
Fascinating, exhaustively researched.
Cristina Garcia
With grace and humanity, Alvarez explores the fascinating evolution of the quinceañera tradition in the United States, responding provocatively to a tradition that charms her and simultaneously clashes with feminist sensibilities. (Cristina Garcia, author of Dreaming in Cuban and A Handbook to Luck)
Entertainment Weekly
Alvarez's honest grappling with her caught-between-twocultures experience is compelling.
Kirkus Reviews
Bestselling Alvarez (Saving the World, 2006, etc.) uses the phenomenon of Sweet 15 parties for Latina girls to explore issues of . . . herself. Originally, the quincea-era was a party thrown to celebrate a girl's passage into marriageable womanhood when she turned 15, which is-or was until recently-the legal age of consent for females in much of Latin America. The parties are lavish affairs, with the dresses tending toward puffy and the ambience tending toward princessy. The specifics are extremely malleable, however, with traditions from Cuba and the Dominican Republic thrown into the Latin American mix. Like any marketable cultural phenomenon, the celebrations have been seized upon by the party industry; gown makers and planners stand ready to help parents spend thousands of dollars they don't have, while conventions and a trade magazine advise the professionals. Alvarez inserts herself into a number of quincea-eras (which she then melds into one for dramatic purposes), trying to figure out why the phenomenon has taken off in America in recent years and what it says about the Latin American experience. Unfortunately, the girls themselves are hardly illuminating: "It's like part of my culture" is a typical quote. Alvarez is no help either, using the topic of quincea-eras primarily as a creaky springboard to launch into windy, maudlin ruminations on growing up as a Dominican immigrant in Queens. With such a narcissistic narrator, it's no surprise the girls were less than forthcoming. Might appeal to those who enjoy MTV's My Super Sweet 16. Agent: Susan Bergholz/Susan Bergholz Literary Services
From the Publisher
Praise for Once Upon a Quinceanera
“Phenomenal...indispensable. Alvarez’s novelistic eye makes Once Upon a Quinceañera an intimate, intoxicating read.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“A journey into experiencing a vital, exuberant ritual of modern Latino life...As an author, Alvarez is a terrific tour guide.”—The Seattle Times
“[Alvarez] brings a critical eye to long-held myths...Each page is a love song to the cultural ties that bind generations of women from a diverse group of countries.”—Chicago Sun-Times
“Fascinating, exhaustively researched.”—The Washington Post
“Alvarez’s honest grappling with her caught-between-two-cultures experience is compelling.”—Entertainment Weekly
