Cubanita

August 1, 2005
Gr 10 Up -Isabel Dí az is spending her summer between high school and college teaching art at a summer camp, avoiding her mother's pressure to embrace her Cuban roots, and flirting with an older man. Triana deftly weaves the Spanish language and the flavor of Miami's Cuban population into her fast-paced story. Although Isabel has moments of maturity well beyond her years, the tug of war between her mother's traditional ideas of how a young Cuban-American woman should behave and Isabel's struggle to become her own person will resonate with many teens, whatever their cultural background. Steamy scenes between Isabel and her sleazy love interest are well balanced between the gradual acceptance of her heritage and her evolving relationship with her mother. Isabel's story is an entertaining read that will be gobbled up by "cubanitas" and non-"cubanitas" alike." -Melissa Christy Buron, Epps Island Elementary, Houston, TX"

Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2005
When Isa Diaz starts dating a fellow counselor at an Everglades summer camp, everyone tells her he's bad news. Will she go all the way with him? Should she abandon her dream of attending college in Michigan when she learns that her Cuban-born mother has breast cancer? Isa's breezy, sarcastic voice goes a long way toward offsetting the plot's familiarity.

(Copyright 2005 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from May 15, 2005
Gr. 9-12. One great advantage in writing about one's own culture is the freedom to be irreverent. Triana, born in Miami to Cuban immigrants, takes advantage of the opportunity in a fast, hilarious, first-person narrative that focuses on Cuban American Isabel Diaz's coming-of-age. As with all good writing, the particulars of the story, the search for roots, and the conflicts in leaving home will speak to teens everywhere--not just those in immigrant families. At 17, Isabel struggles with hovering, overanxious Mami, who knows how to push the guilt buttons and won't learn proper English ("You'd think in twenty-six years, she could learn how to speak correctly"). Mami is sure that sexy, funny Andrew is nothing but trouble, but Isabel denies all the signs. The love interest and the truth about family help build a strong story, but the sentimental twists that allow Isabel to find and then leave home are not nearly as satisfying and fun as the insider's view of the community. Triana doesn't include a glossary; the Spanish is clear from the context, and as Isabel points out, the best idioms are not translatable anyway. Pair this with Nancy Osa's " Cuba 15 "(2003).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)