Monday, January 29, 2007
Adios to My Old Life
***** Adiós to My Old Life by Caridad Ferrer. YA
Okay, so I bought this book out of Cherry solidarity, not because I expected to love it. I loved it anyway.
Ali is a 17-year-old musician. She lives with her widowed father, who's slightly overprotective. With the aid of her best friend Sosi, she sneaks out of the house to audition for Oye Mi Canto, a Latin version of American Idol.
When she wins the audition, her life is turned upside-down. She has to deal with her father's reaction to her deception and the conflict between what he wants for her and what she wants for herself, but that's just the beginning. Despite the fact that as the only underage contestant on the show, she has a chaperone (her father's best friend, Elaine), Ali is plunged into an adult world full of competition, backstabbing, and betrayal. Balancing it out is success, a better understanding between Ali and her father, first love, and above all, the music.
The best thing about Adiós to My Old Life is how real the characters are. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to turn on the TV and see an episode of Oye Mi Canto, or to browse through the CDs at the BX and find ones by Ali Montero or Guillermo, or Fabiana--though I wouldn't buy Fabiana's, and might hide it so nobody else could either, the bitch. Whoops. See what I mean? Real.
Other people have done much better jobs at dissecting this book--check here for a bunch of intelligent commentary, for example. I'll just say that Adiós to My Old Life made me laugh, cry, cheer, scream, and fill up my Your Music queue.
...more
Categories: Books, 5stars, YA
Comments:
<< Home
Wonderful review Darla! Adios is a great book, and that isn't cherry solidarity speaking. :) I'm so with you on Fabiana! :)
Post a Comment
<< Home
