dianafdez's review
5.0
The very first line of the book basically gives you a feel of what the book is about. "Last night I pleaded with Death, but he turned a bony back to me, pushed Hope into the corridor and shut the door." (Page 1)
Carlie has recently lost her father to cancer and all her family is suffering from this loss. They have to move to a city that is the complete opposite of what they are all used to. They must adjust to their new life and make many sacrifices. As they spend more time there, they find that things may be different than what they thought they would be.
At the beginning Carlie isn't happy the way her life is shaping up to be. Her new school is nothing like the one she went to before and there were many things that she had to learn. At first she wasn't happy at her new school and didn't try to fit in but as the story progressed she noticed that there were many good things in Las Pulgas.
There were so many emotions that passed through her and I think it's a reason why I liked this book so much. She felt anger towards her dad for having died and left them the way they are but at the same time she's sad he isn't there anymore. One thing I loved is when her dad talked to her in her mind when she needed guidance.
Her mom and brother, Keith, had a lot of adjusting to do and the reader could tell the different ways that each were handling their problems. Keith gets in trouble but at the same time that brings him to accept their new reality. Their mom was always hurting for what had happened to her and her way of life had to change.
There were some amazing characters each dealing with different problems that I think brought them together. The ending was one that I really liked! It was emotional but I think it suited the book well. I had high hopes for this book and I'm glad to say that I loved it!
Carlie has recently lost her father to cancer and all her family is suffering from this loss. They have to move to a city that is the complete opposite of what they are all used to. They must adjust to their new life and make many sacrifices. As they spend more time there, they find that things may be different than what they thought they would be.
At the beginning Carlie isn't happy the way her life is shaping up to be. Her new school is nothing like the one she went to before and there were many things that she had to learn. At first she wasn't happy at her new school and didn't try to fit in but as the story progressed she noticed that there were many good things in Las Pulgas.
There were so many emotions that passed through her and I think it's a reason why I liked this book so much. She felt anger towards her dad for having died and left them the way they are but at the same time she's sad he isn't there anymore. One thing I loved is when her dad talked to her in her mind when she needed guidance.
Her mom and brother, Keith, had a lot of adjusting to do and the reader could tell the different ways that each were handling their problems. Keith gets in trouble but at the same time that brings him to accept their new reality. Their mom was always hurting for what had happened to her and her way of life had to change.
There were some amazing characters each dealing with different problems that I think brought them together. The ending was one that I really liked! It was emotional but I think it suited the book well. I had high hopes for this book and I'm glad to say that I loved it!
tyrean's review against another edition
4.0
I meant to just read a few chapters last night, but then the character and her heart-ache drew me in, and I finished it in one late night of reading. I highly recommend this very real, very gut-wrenching story of a teen girl's struggle to survive the changes that come after her father's death. There are funny parts, sad parts, and exciting parts.
lawralthelibrarian's review
5.0
Poor Carlie. After watching her father slowly die of cancer, a move across town might seem trivial; upsetting, but trivial. Fights with her mom, not getting asked out, rude neighbors, or a "pushy" English teacher (in the Tina Fey Mean Girls way) might also seem trivial. But all together? Carlie is helplessly watching her life fall apart around her.
Carlie's main problem with her new life in Las Pulgas is all the "poor people," as she sees them. Almost everything she dislikes about the people around her can be attributed to, in Carlie's mind, the fact that they are poor, or at least more poor and classless than the people she used to know. Even though Carlie and her family are in Las Pulgas because of financial problems, she doesn't see anything that she could have in common with her new neighbors and classmates. She puts on a tough front, but it's pretty obvious (to everyone) that she's just scared. She holds herself apart both because she feels she's better than those around her and also because the kids at her high school terrify her, something they pick up on all too easily. Eventually she makes a couple friends, but there is no Big Lesson about class consciousness. ::sigh of relief::
And through all of this growing and learning on Carlie's part, there are play rehearsals. The junior class is putting on Othello, and Carlie has been cast, against her will, as Desdemona. Opposite smokin' hot Juan. And Juan, very sweetly, refuses to take Carlie's crap. He calls her out on her assumptions about her classmates and about him. He drives her nuts (in good and bad ways), but he also protects her from some of her other, scarier, problems at Las Pulgas High.
For a while, this pile-up of problems distracts Carlie from the pain of losing her father. It's not as though she forgets about him or even stops being sad. She's just dealing with all of this other things first. But her father's advice keeps sounding in her head telling her to be strong, something she doesn't know if she can do anymore. When she finally faces her feelings about her father (with the help the scene in which Desdemona must say goodbye to her father), it is so real.
The Princess of Las Pulgas is an honest look at how Carlie deals with huge upheavals in her life, both a huge change of lifestyle and the death of her father. It still manages to be a suspenseful, romantic, and uplifting read.
Book source: ARC provided by the publisher.
Carlie's main problem with her new life in Las Pulgas is all the "poor people," as she sees them. Almost everything she dislikes about the people around her can be attributed to, in Carlie's mind, the fact that they are poor, or at least more poor and classless than the people she used to know. Even though Carlie and her family are in Las Pulgas because of financial problems, she doesn't see anything that she could have in common with her new neighbors and classmates. She puts on a tough front, but it's pretty obvious (to everyone) that she's just scared. She holds herself apart both because she feels she's better than those around her and also because the kids at her high school terrify her, something they pick up on all too easily. Eventually she makes a couple friends, but there is no Big Lesson about class consciousness. ::sigh of relief::
And through all of this growing and learning on Carlie's part, there are play rehearsals. The junior class is putting on Othello, and Carlie has been cast, against her will, as Desdemona. Opposite smokin' hot Juan. And Juan, very sweetly, refuses to take Carlie's crap. He calls her out on her assumptions about her classmates and about him. He drives her nuts (in good and bad ways), but he also protects her from some of her other, scarier, problems at Las Pulgas High.
For a while, this pile-up of problems distracts Carlie from the pain of losing her father. It's not as though she forgets about him or even stops being sad. She's just dealing with all of this other things first. But her father's advice keeps sounding in her head telling her to be strong, something she doesn't know if she can do anymore. When she finally faces her feelings about her father (with the help the scene in which Desdemona must say goodbye to her father), it is so real.
The Princess of Las Pulgas is an honest look at how Carlie deals with huge upheavals in her life, both a huge change of lifestyle and the death of her father. It still manages to be a suspenseful, romantic, and uplifting read.
Book source: ARC provided by the publisher.
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