Quedando bien. (Fitting in)

By staff -- Críticas, 9/15/2006

YA–Originally published in 1997, this award-winning collection of short stories follows the lives of five Cuban-American teenagers living in Florida. Their tightly knit families speak Spanish at home; for dinner, they often enjoy their homeland dishes. They all face special challenges at home and school while trying to fit into mainstream culture. Sari feels embarrassed when translating between her seamstress grandmother and her clients; Mari is forced to complete a science project with little assistance from her mother who comes from work exhausted; and studious Tere remains silent in school to avoid being taunted because of her accent. All of these stories are somehow contrived: they all end on a positive note. For example, Mari is awarded the first prize and Tere eventually makes friends. However, Quedando bien will brings a ray of hope to recent immigrant teenagers facing seemingly insurmountable problems such as fitting into a new school or improving fluency in English. The translation flows easily and is devoid of regional expressions. Recommended for Spanish-language library collections and bookstores that support adolescent readers.—Maureen Beristain, Winspear Business Reference Lib., Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada