false 3729525 1 Sonia Rodriguez was born in the United States, but her parents are Mexican immigrants who came to California before she was born. Her father has three Social Security numbers, her mother is pregnant (again), and neither of them speaks English. Sonia's mother spends most of her time in bed, watching soap operas, and letting Sonia clean up after her brothers. Sonia's father works dutifully to support his family, but he knows that his daughter's dreams are bigger than making tamales for family get-togethers. When Sonia attempts to put school work before her familia, her mother decides that it's time for Sonia to visit her grandmother in Mexico to learn "the ways of the old world." While in Mexico, Sonia spends time with her wise grandmother and her cousin Maria who teach her that while familia is important, the most important thing is to follow your heart. Sonia returns to the States determined to succeed in school, but the birth of her new twin siblings, inappropriate advances from her drunk uncle (Drunkle), and a forbidden relationship with an El Salvadorian boy push school to the back burner. If only Sonia can find the time to cook dinner, secretly meet with her boyfriend, avoid her Drunkle, AND finish her homework, she just might be able to graduate from high school... 3773298 30 9 2008 The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez total:65|5:14|4:22|3:20|2:7|1:2| 65 234 134 26 4 1 false false Mon Sep 29 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 30 06:09:23 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 30 06:21:03 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Jan 01 11:05:02 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 01 11:05:36 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false true Sat Oct 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Nov 05 08:52:12 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 05 09:14:27 -0800 2009
I think in an attempt to inform the reader about Mexican-American culture, Sitomer did way too much telling and not enough showing. Sonia says many times, "En mi cultura..." and "then I realized..." Her constant explanation of...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Feb 27 15:37:32 -0800 2009 Thu Mar 05 15:17:09 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false true Tue Apr 28 14:05:13 -0700 2009 Mon May 04 13:12:06 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 0 false false Wed Jul 01 17:28:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 01 17:34:55 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jan 18 17:43:52 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 17:43:52 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Nov 13 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 09 07:18:41 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 13 13:49:16 -0800 2009
The author has a very engaging way of writing (even though ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Nov 22 10:25:05 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 22 10:25:49 -0800 2008
I was born in the United States of America. That makes me legal.
Pero mis padres jumped the border to get here. That makes them illegal.
I have documents.
They don't.
I speak English.
They don't.
...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Nov 25 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 20 14:35:55 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 27 15:26:07 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Dec 09 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 10 17:30:41 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 11 11:30:01 -0800 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri Feb 13 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 30 05:53:30 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 30 05:53:30 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Dec 06 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 23 11:48:09 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 06 15:57:38 -0800 2008
The story is a little graphic and the language keeps it out of the middle school li...more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri May 22 07:02:36 -0700 2009 Fri May 22 07:03:37 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Nov 10 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 18 11:37:35 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 21 10:58:07 -0800 2008 What I did not like was that the book was not fair because sonia kept geting pushed around.]]> 3 0 false false Tue May 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun May 10 16:43:51 -0700 2009 Sun May 10 16:45:01 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Thu Jan 29 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Dec 19 08:55:28 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 29 09:18:58 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Nov 08 06:30:59 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 08 06:33:46 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Wed Jul 22 20:25:42 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 22 20:27:53 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Mon Apr 06 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 20 21:19:24 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 06 19:29:44 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=3729525