Once Upon a Quinceanera - Julia Alvarez

I have an interest in coming of age rituals and celebrations. I love birthdays, but the ones with particular meaning in different cultures and socio-economic groups hold particular interest - including bar and bat mitzvahs, Sweet Sixteens (thanks to MTV for indulging this fascination), debutante balls, and the quinceanera. Recently, there seems to have been a rash of books and movies about this latin phenomenon. In this non-fiction book by the author of How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, Alvarez explores the quinceanera by shadowing a young girl on the brink of her quince in Queens. Alvarez explains how the tradition evolved, and what it represents to families in the United States. Alvarez does not hold back her criticism - questioning why families struggling to stay above the poverty line would go into debt for a party. Yet, she answers her own question by looking at what the attention provides to Latinas, who are among the nation's most susceptible to teen pregnancy and dropping out of high school. Alvarez looks at how the quinceanera brings cultures together, and reminds "Americanized" youth to look back at their heritage with appreciation. She also looks at how the worshipping of material things and the need to outshine the neighbors has cheapened the tradition. Ultimately, this is not just a book about Alvarez's observations of a ritual, but also a memoir of her own life as the daughter of immigrants from the DR who never had her own quinceanera. Alvarez's perspective as a Latina in America, as well as a staunch feminist, brings a unique and powerful perspective to this fairy tale tradition.