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138. Fresh Off the Boat by Melissa de la Cruz...

August 25, 2009
fresh off the boatAbout the book:
Dear Peaches,
America is PERFECT! I love it here. I wish you could come visit--we could go shopping on Market Street and you could meet all my new friends...


Okay, so Vicenza isn't being totally honest with Peaches, her best friend back in Manila. But what fun is it being the new girl at snooty Grosvernor High? Or rooting through the Salvation Army for unholey cashmere sweaters? Or having culture-shocked, embarrassingly clueless parents? Maybe being Claude Caligari's ignored geometry partner is sort of fun, but Vicenza would rather be his girlfriend... or at least his date to the annual fancy-schmancy Soirée d'Hiver.

But Vicenza won't be friendless, fashionless, or "fresh off the boat" for long--it's only a matter of time before she sees what's right before her eyes and her luck begins to change.

drey's thoughts:
Fresh Off the Boat is a mostly funny, pretty heart-tugging, wide-eyed look at the life of an immigrant teenager. I sympathized with her need to "show off" to Peaches, because you cannot tell those at home how homesick you are when you're the one who made it to America! Or shopping at the Salvation Army when you used to wear designer duds. Or having no friends when you used to rule the roost. High school's hard enough without all of this, isn't it??

But Vicenza learns that while life in America's not all it's cracked up to be, she's lucky to have a friend who likes her just the way she is, even if she does think Isobel is a little weird. Sometimes. And the boys you want aren't always the boys you want to be with, because sometimes you're better off just window shopping. Pick up this entertainingly quick read from Melissa de la Cruz if you're a fan of her books, or of the genre (YA). Or if you've been an immigrant at one point in your life. Because seriously, some of the "FOB" stuff here applies regardless of whether you came to America for the first time in high school, or college. *grin*

Title: Fresh Off the Boat
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
ISBN-10: 0060545429
ISBN-13: 978-0060545420
Paperback: 243 pages
Publisher: Harper Trophy, 2006

Challenges: 100+, Support Your Local Library

2 comments:

bermudaonion said...

This book sounds like it would be fun, yet thought provoking. I love immigrant stories.

drey said...

Honestly, it was more fun than thought-provoking. In terms of immigrant stories, I prefer something with more substance. This being a YA novel, though, I think it hit the spot, being an immigrant story with heart.

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