false 2236319 1 Chela Gonzalez is a nerd and a soccer player who can barely contain her excitement about her last year of elementary school. But nothing happens as she imagines-her father is rushed to the hospital and her best friend turns on her. When Chela's grandmother arrives to help the family, the smell of her old lady perfume invades the house. It is a smell worse than Sundays. Sundays are sad, except they go just as sure as they come; but death is a whole other thing, and Chela doesn't understand that's what everyone is waiting for. <B>Booklist says that readers will "find the book's loving portrayal of Chela's family, its nicely realized setting, and its artful exploration of the problems of assimilation to be both engaging and heartfelt."</b> <B>School Library Journal calls it "a sweet coming-of-age story, telling of the cruelties of children toward one another and dealing with the loss of a parent."</b> Other praise: "Goooooolaso! Claudia Martinez scores! The Smell of Old Lady Perfume will linger on you for days. Anyone whose had to confront a cafeteria caste system, battle Mean Girls en espanol, or wistfully desire a father and daughter relationship reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird will love this book." --Michele Serros, author of Honey Blonde Chica and Chicana Falsa "This is a story of Apás and mijas and life and death set in El Paso--on the border between the North and South, Spanish and English, tradición and assimilation. And the biggest border of them all: the sixth grade, that mountain top where you can look back and see monsters under the bed and look ahead to even scarier things, like kisses, popularity contests and sudden absences that can fill a heart to bursting. Claudia Martínez delivers it all with her own sweet, sad and playful word-music, a sound like the border itself." --Rubén Martínez, Emmy award winning journalist and author of Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail 2242159 book 1 7 2008 The Smell of Old Lady Perfume total:28|5:13|4:7|3:3|2:4|1:1| 28 111 86 16 5 4 false false Sun Nov 30 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 05 13:23:02 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 05 14:47:42 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 3 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 13 10:06:13 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 16 08:48:09 -0700 2008 1 more...]]> 5 3 false false Thu Oct 16 08:37:25 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 18 09:22:07 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 3 false false Wed Oct 15 06:58:30 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 15 06:58:41 -0700 2008 4 1 false false Sat Nov 22 15:15:53 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 22 15:38:25 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false true Mon Nov 24 17:50:09 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 21 15:18:53 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 24 17:50:09 -0800 2008 Two things I re...more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri Jan 16 17:42:08 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 31 08:45:16 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 09:41:13 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 09:51:59 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri Dec 12 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 15 14:39:09 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 15 14:40:27 -0800 2008 5 1 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Dec 26 20:40:26 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 26 20:41:49 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 12 09:26:40 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 12 09:27:38 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Fri Jan 02 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 03 08:18:38 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 03 08:19:12 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Mar 26 10:57:12 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 24 06:55:40 -0700 2009
this is one of my 2006-2008 books]]> 1 0 false false Sat Dec 06 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 02 06:52:13 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 05 12:36:52 -0800 2009 Cool Mexican folk arty design concept.
Good job showing how difficult it can be to straddle the cultural divide.


I just wish the book itself was a good read. If it's a memoir, make it a memoir. Don't change the names and pretend it's fiction.

Disa...]]> 2 0 true false Mon Oct 13 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 14 03:38:52 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 14 03:41:03 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Fri Mar 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 21:23:45 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 21:32:04 -0700 2009 Chela is smart enough to qualify for an advanced course of classes. She is f...more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Nov 06 11:03:56 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 06 11:03:56 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Oct 28 16:22:24 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 28 16:22:24 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun Oct 25 16:46:47 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 16:46:47 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Oct 25 02:51:57 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 02:51:57 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=2236319