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Estrella's Quinceanera

by Malin Alegria (Goodreads Author)

3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 · rating details · 229 ratings · 59 reviews

For as long as Estrella Alvarez can remember, her mother has been planning to throw her an elaborate quinceañera for her fifteenth birthday -- complete with a mariachi band, cheesy decorations, and a hideous dress. Just thinking about her quince makes Estrella cringe. But her mother insists that it's tradition.

Estrella has other things on her mind, anyway -- like dating Sp...more

Paperback, 288 pages

Published May 22nd 2007 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (first published March 21st 2006)

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Hispanic Charcters and Themes in YA

34th out of 63 books — 35 voters

Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden

Bitch Magazine 100 YA books for feminist readers

42nd out of 104 books — 32 voters

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Feb 27, 2013 Andrea rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bob

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Apr 26, 2013 Katrina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult-literature, fiction

Estrella’s Quinceañera was recommended to me last year by a local middle school principal who had heard about the book and its positive reviews on NPR. It sounded like a perfect book for our Vamos a Leer book group, so we put it on our reading list for this year. The book was a quick and enjoyable read, and while I was processing my own thoughts about it, I decided to check out what other readers had said about the novel. While many of the reviews and comments were quite positive, I was shocked...more Estrella’s Quinceañera was recommended to me last year by a local middle school principal who had heard about the book and its positive reviews on NPR. It sounded like a perfect book for our Vamos a Leer book group, so we put it on our reading list for this year. The book was a quick and enjoyable read, and while I was processing my own thoughts about it, I decided to check out what other readers had said about the novel. While many of the reviews and comments were quite positive, I was shocked at the intensity of some of the more critical or negative ones. Many of these accused the book of being overly simplistic with flat characters, or wrote that the ending was just too good to be true. There was something about these comments that troubled me, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I found myself going back to comments from teachers who said their students couldn’t get enough, and that in fact, many girls read the book over and over. Many young adults had nothing but praise for the book. Where does this leave us as educators when we have such disagreement in the responses and reviews to the book?

I was reminded of a quote I’d recently read in Anna Quindlen’s What I Learned from Reading– “. . .in circles devoted to literary criticism, among the professors of literature, the editors and authors of fiction, there was sometimes a kind of horrible exclusivity surrounding discussions of reading. There was good reading, and there was bad reading. There was the worthy, and the trivial. This was always couched in terms of taste, but it tasted, smelled, and felt unmistakably like snobbery” (p. 11). I have to wonder if this snobbery is at work here. While Estrella’s Quinceañera didn’t move me the way some of the other books we’ve read this year have, that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth reading. Teenagers love this book. It resonates with them, and I can see why. Among all of the discussions today about how hard it is to get young adults to read, why wouldn’t we promote a book that has been so well received by the very teenagers we’re trying to encourage to read? I feel like the things that Estrella struggles with are authentic. Having won a scholarship to a prestigious private high school, Estrella finds herself in a place quite different from the neighborhood she grew up in. She struggles to decide who she really is, who she wants to be, and what her identity as a Mexican-American teenager means to her. It’s a book that is relevant to teenagers today–Estrella argues with her parents, loses friends, has guy troubles, and has to figure out the kind of person she wants to be through the decisions she makes on how to live her life.

As the NPR article points out, it is the quintessential coming of age story, but what sets it apart is that it’s written from the point of view of a Mexican-American protagonist, which sets it apart from the majority of other similarly themed novels. I loved how each chapter began with a Spanish/Spanglish word in defined in Estrella’s own words. Not only does it provide vocabulary or cultural references that will be familiar to many Spanish speaking youth, it will also expose those unfamiliar with the language or culture to new knowledge. It also provides a context that encourages students to predict what might happen in the chapter.
For those who criticize the book for its too good to be true ending, arguing that life never works out that perfectly I’ll defer to a quote from Edward Albee that I read in Quindlen’s book: “Read the greatest stuff but read the stuff that isn’t so great, too. Great stuff is very discouraging. If you read only Beckett and Chekhov, you’ll go away and only deliver telegrams at Western Union” (How Reading Changed My Life, pg. 51). I couldn’t agree more. Estrella’s Quinceañera is a feel good ending–and sometimes that’s exactly what we want and our students need.
Besides–who wouldn’t love an author who wears a bright orange quinceañera dress to meet students and talk about her book?!

Other reviews:
Papertigers writes: “Alegría’s book deals with the age-old theme of real friends accepting you for who you are: but adds a modern Latin twist to the story. Girls will love the pop culture references; all the drama via cell phone rings true. In the end, the birthday party Estrella puts together on her own has a little something for everyone… just like Estrella’s Quinceañera.”

We have a free educator’s guide for the book available on our blog at: http://teachinglatinamericathroughlit...
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Dec 18, 2012 Livin' la Vida Latina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Reviewed by Sandra Lopez, Author of "Esperanza" and "Beyond the Gardens"
Member of Livin' la vida Latina

Review: What do most of us do when the topic of quinceañeras come up? We sigh, we roll our eyes, we cringe so hard that we shrivel up inside like a burnt out match. The feeling's mutual in just about everyone. That was exactly how Estrella Alvarez felt in this story.

Even though I have never had a quince myself (thank god,) this story gave me warm nostalgia as I recalled my own years of growi...more

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Aug 11, 2012 Sandra Lopez rated it 4 of 5 stars

Review: What do most of us do when the topic of quinceañeras come up? We sigh, we roll our eyes, we cringe so hard that we shrivel up inside like a burnt out match. The feeling's mutual in just about everyone. That was exactly how Estrella Alvarez felt in this story.

Even though I have never had a quince myself (thank god,) this story gave me warm nostalgia as I recalled my own years of growing up in a barrio. I remembered the "cholo losers" and the busy-body neighbors; the buttinski mother and t...more

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Mar 09, 2012 Viviana Martinez rated it 5 of 5 stars

Estrella Alvarez is a young Mexican- American girl whose mother wants to throw her a quinceanera, a traditional party that celebrates a girl turning into to a young lady. Estrella had just received a scholarship which made her change schools. She is now attending Sacred Heart a private,and more prestigious school. Now that she is attending a new school Estrella she is hanging out with new kinds of people. Estrella does not want a quinceanera sh believes it is too tacky. I mean the poofy dress,...more

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Feb 14, 2012 Miriam rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, fiction

I enjoyed this book, most of all, for its themes. The author did a great job portraying the confused heart of a 15-year-old Mexican-American girl as she learns who she is. She struggles to be wade through the expectations of both her rich white friends and her Spanish-speaking community. Also the author takes a realistic look at the prejudice within Estrella's own family/community toward other Mexican-americans.

What made me give this book a 3 instead of a 4: Character flatness--the white friend...more

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Oct 01, 2009 Mariah Bohannon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone

Recommended to Mariah by: my cousin

Estrellas’ Quinceanera is a book about girl whose mother is making her have a quinceanera that she doesn’t want. A quinceanera is a traditional party Hispanics give a female in their family when becoming of the age of 15. Quinceanera means sweet 15 in Spanish. It is a party as big as a wedding but only for one person. The reason they celebrate quinceaneras is because in the Latin cultures it is believed that when a female turns 15 she is now a woman and along with becoming a woman, come a lot of...more Estrellas’ Quinceanera is a book about girl whose mother is making her have a quinceanera that she doesn’t want. A quinceanera is a traditional party Hispanics give a female in their family when becoming of the age of 15. Quinceanera means sweet 15 in Spanish. It is a party as big as a wedding but only for one person. The reason they celebrate quinceaneras is because in the Latin cultures it is believed that when a female turns 15 she is now a woman and along with becoming a woman, come a lot of extra privileges and responsibilities. The reason Estrella doesn’t want to have a sweet 15 is because she is embarrassed about her culture and thinks that if she were to have a quinceanera her friends at the private school would think of her different. She thinks they would think of her different because they are all from the more higher class part of town and over there they don’t celebrate quinceaneras because most all of the Latinos live in the other part of town. My favorite character in this book would probably be Speedy because he is the one that actually convinced Estrella into having a quinceanera and not being ashamed of who she was, where she lived, and her ethnicity and culture. Although, my least favorite character was Estrella because I didn’t really like how her attitude and negativity. “I think the author wrote this book for entertainment, to teach about Hispanic culture, and to teach the reader about not being ashamed of where you come up from. The reason I liked this book and why it kept me reading is because I understood every single thing that was going on in the book. Not because I was ever ashamed of my culture, but because I’m 14 about to have a quinceanera , I was involved in my sister’s quinceanera, I know a lot about where she was coming up from, and I know a lot about my culture and could relate to the book. Yes, the ending of the book was very predictable, but in the beginning, what I thought was going to happen didn’t happen. If this book was made into a movie the actress I would choose to play Estrella from the book would be Jenifer Lopez. Because she is a good actress, plays good roles in a lot of other Latino movies, such as “Mi Familia”, and I think she would know a lot about quinceaneras since its coming from her culture as well. Estrellas Quinceanera was a very good book! I would really recommend the book to anyone who enjoys reading books about culture, learning, love, parties, or comedy.(less)

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Nov 25, 2012 Shonna Froebel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is an interesting view into the world of a young woman, Estrella, who is caught between two cultures. Estrella lives in the barrio on the east side of San Jose, California, and she has received a scholarship to attend a local private school. As she tries to fit in with the white girls at the school, she finds herself at odds with her culture and home life. Things come to a head with her fifteenth birthday, when her mother and aunt start planning her traditional Mexican quinceanera. As she s...more

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Nov 01, 2011 Agatha rated it 3 of 5 stars

14-year-old Mexican-American Estrella Alvarez is trying to navigate her way in her world and decide whether she is Mexican, American, or both. She lives in the barrio but attends an elite private school in San Jose on scholarship. She feels pulled b/w her old friends in the barrio and her new rich, white friends at Sacred Heart. Meanwhile, her mother and her Tia Lucky are excitedly planning her quinceanera but Estrella is only mortified by their “tacky, Mexican” celebration. Also, she is attract...more

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Jun 22, 2010 Saya rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010

This book, although probably geared to a 12-16 age-group, is still enjoyable and insightful, especially for anyone who's been pulled in different directions by conflicting cultures. The story is about Estrella, about to turn 15, and facing the doom that is a traditional Mexican Quinceanera, which marks a girl's passage to womanhood.

I liked the quirky little dictionary-definition chapter-intros of Spanish/Spanglish phrases: several made me sniggle* like a mad person.

It gives a really authentic ac...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Luisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: older-teens

Since Estrella received a scholarship to attend Sacred Heart, an expensive private school where she meets her rich friends Sheila and Christie, she’s abandoned her life-long friends Tere and Izzy and is embarrassed by her parents and neighborhood. When her mom insists on a Quinceanera to celebrate Estrella’s entry into womanhood, Estrella is further embarrassed. The big, poofy, orange dress, tacky crown, cheap recuerdos and mariachi band make her long to be more like her friends from Sacred Hear...more

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Jul 31, 2011 Abby rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I actually hated this book. It is just so SO unimaginably awful that I'm not even sure how I finished it. It has absolutely NO substance, and it is incredibly unrealistic. Also, its just plain dumb- the whole concept.
I originally got this because I wanted to learn more about Quinceñeras/Latin Culture because of my step dad, and also my step brothers cousin who was going to have a Quinceñera but didn't want one; her predicament seemed almost identical to the main character in this book by the lo...more

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Apr 07, 2010 Alondra rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really recommend this book to anyone , but especially someone that has parents with really high expectations and goals for their kids. I say this because Estrella's parents treat her like a little girl and they control her every move, they also make a lot of decisions for her. But one thing for sure is that they judge a person by their appearance, like for example they tell Estrella not to hang out, with this guy because he dropped out of school. but when we got to know him more he was also a...more

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May 24, 2012 Toniruthless2014 rated it 5 of 5 stars

The book that i am reading is called Etrella's Quinceanera. This book is about a girl names Estrella and she is turning 15. Estrella is not at all happy about turning 15 and as long as she can remember her mother had always been planning her daughters Quinceanera. The things her mother is planning she doesnt like at all. She hates her dress and the decorations her mother is planning to have and she just isn't fond of this whole situation. All she wants is to have a regular party at a restarurant...more The book that i am reading is called Etrella's Quinceanera. This book is about a girl names Estrella and she is turning 15. Estrella is not at all happy about turning 15 and as long as she can remember her mother had always been planning her daughters Quinceanera. The things her mother is planning she doesnt like at all. She hates her dress and the decorations her mother is planning to have and she just isn't fond of this whole situation. All she wants is to have a regular party at a restarurant so she can invite her two best friends from private school. Estrella doesn't want her friends to know she lives in the barrio and tries to hide her home secrets until she falls for a boy named speedy a cholo that neither her friends nor parents would approve of. Caught between her family's wishes and the charm of her sophisticated friends, Estrella is forced to make some tough choices. This funny, touching book follows one girl's struggle to figure out who she really wants to be. To me the reason i would say the author may have wrote this book is because they have had an experience with this and wanted others to read about it to. This author to me did achieve her goal for the simple fact she did tell and get through her story and made her point. Yes the words are effective and powerful. I liked that she wrote in a way that i could understand everything that was going on in the book and it really grabbed me. In the book to me the characters are believable because they do things and feel like people in the real world do. Strengths that the book has is the way things are written for you to understand and they had definitions and meanings for words you didnt know. This book had no weakness to me i felt that it was very good and kept me engaged. This book is a fiction and the qualifications for her writing this is because she is also because she is Hispanic. Yes i do agree with the arguments in this book because some things parents want not all kids want the same thing. My overall response to this book was that i really liked it and it kept me wanting to read more and more. I would recommend this book to other because it's really good but also it could relate to someone.

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Jan 14, 2011 Andrea Ramirez added it

I think this book is really interested and its fun to read. I also like the book because i have never read a book so alike to life,true an so imberesing like estrella says. this book is about a girl who lives in a "barrio" (spanish word for neighborhood) and that got a schoolarship to a pravete school with rich kids. shes verry imbered of her family and her moms insist her to have a quinceanera wich she dont like and think there lame. she also dont want her parrents to meet her friends , since h...more

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Mar 11, 2010 Lupe Medina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: independent-reading

I give this book a 4. This book is not just a girly book; it talks about life, decisions, and cultures. Estrella, a Mexican fourteen year old, is having trouble communicating with her family. She is given the opportunity to celebrate her fifteenth birthday which is very special in Mexico, when a girl turns into a woman. Estrella doesn't want one, this celebration, because she wants to fit in with the American culture. This leads to tension when she decides to do it to make her mother happy, but...more

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Mar 31, 2009 Nora rated it 3 of 5 stars

For me, this book was ok. I've heard that it is based largely on the author's personal experience, and therefore the details of the story are, I'm sure, entirely unique. It's one of several smart-kid-from-the-bad-neighborhood-goes-to-private-school-and-learns-to-love-her-culture stories that my students just love, love, love. In fact, the 8th grade girls at my school can't get enough of this book, which is a great recommendation for it. I found it a little less compelling probably because I've r...more

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Oct 08, 2009 Liz Bottner rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book, especially the way English and Spanish Dialogue was incorporated throughout. A lot of times books about characters from different places are written all in English with no trace of the person's(s') native tongue. While not overly used to be considered confusing, the Spanish used in this book gives it a very nice touch that, without it, I don't think it would have had.

From the beginning until the very end, I was held by this book as I followed Estrella on her adventur...more

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May 02, 2011 LilyBee' rated it 3 of 5 stars

Have you ever read a story about a girl that has no confudence about where she comes from? Well this story is about Estrella. She's going to turn 15 and her mom, aunt want to have a huge party for Estrella. Estrella doesn't want it beacuse she doesn't want to be make fool of herself with the tacky maiachi band and her ugly silly puff-sleeved orange dress.
Estrella lives in the barrios and she goes to a private school on a scholarship. She even has all white friends. Estrella feels like her friend...more

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May 20, 2009 Anna rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Young Adults

Estrella Alvarez finally acknowledges in the middle of this book that she has become a

vendida (ven-'dee'dah) n., Spanish, informal: 1) English translation is sellout 2. most commonly used as a label for Mexican-Americans or any Latino/ born in the U.S. who thinks and acts white, someone who is embarrassed of their Mexican/Latino culture and Spanish language 3. a coconut: brown on the outside and white on the inside.

Estrella or Star as she is known at the private school where she is a scholarsh...more

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Nov 30, 2010 Junieth added it

This book is about a girl named Estrella and she didn't know if shewanted her party or no,because her family was kind of loud and she was embarasse by her family. Estrella didn't like her family traition of a Quincianera but at the endshe'sgoing todeside to have it or not.

This book was really good beacuse Estrella ha to deside if she wanted her Quince or not but her family wass more excited then she was.

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Mar 31, 2008 J-Lynn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: latino-or-hispanic-kid-and-ya-lit, young-adult-and-adolescent-lit, native-american-kid-and-ya-lit, multicultural-kid-and-ya-lit, romance-ya-and-adolescent-lit, strong-girls-and-women, realistic-or-urban-kid-and-ya-lit

This is a strong story where 14 year old Estrella realizes that she needs to be herself and embrace her heritage and community. When Estrella gets a scholarship to a rich private school that is 99.9% white (they have to call her Star becaouse they can't pronounce Estrella), she thinks that in order to fit in she must turn her back on her family and friends. She becomes embarassed of her community and her culture. It isn't until she meets the confident and enigmatical Speedy that she begins to re...more

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May 12, 2010 Lizz rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Meh: pretty good story fairly well-written about poorish Mexican girl struggling with living in two worlds: posh private school and her barrio. The character is fairly real is that she focuses on herself in the situations and slowly learns to see other points of view, much like most 15 year olds.

Good food and clothing descriptions. But I was hoping for more.

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Apr 11, 2012 Kelli rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: cultures, young-adult

Estrella's Mexican culture clashes with the culture of her American friends as her mother plans Estrella's party of a lifetime. Shades of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." I enjoyed the look inside the culture, and could relate to the tension we often experience when we are pulled to be several different people at once.

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Jan 03, 2012 Courtney Milford rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, young-adult-lit

Sort of like the episode of George Lopez when Carmen has the quinceanera. Fun to read about a not wealthy Mexican-American girl who goes to a fancy girls' school and friends up with some non-Latino rich girls. Good to see her learn to appreciate her culture as she grows.

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Jul 08, 2011 Prima rated it 4 of 5 stars

It was a pretty good book. I thought I wouldn't really understand since it's about Hispanic culture, but it was easy to understand through a hispanic girl raised in America...trying to figure out how to balance her heritage and her home.

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Feb 24, 2011 Katie rated it 3 of 5 stars

the first book i'm reading from the Bitch Media 100 books for young feminists list. i love the spanish lessons at the beginning of every chapter. estrella is a strong main character with relate-able problems and a sarcastic, funny voice.

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Mar 17, 2010 Marsela Barajas rated it 5 of 5 stars

One thing "COUNT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!!" This book was amazing it gave you a lot of lessons. I learned 2 and these are my fav.This are peraphase 1. Dont let noone changed who you are in the inside and out.

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Sep 30, 2012 Chalida rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-since-baby-2-s-birth, books-read-since-baby-s-birth, good-for-teens

Really fun book and so far I've successfully recommended it to two 10th graders who have loved it. Cliched coming into your own story, but love Estrella and her heart.

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Oct 17, 2008 619 REY MYSTERIO *(63)* rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: silly

Estrella is a girl who lives in the east side of San Jose, California where only cholos/thugs(her words)live. She lives with her family which consisit of her mom, dad, brothers Rey and Bobby; which sometimes drive her crazy. She goes to school at Sacred Heart where she has two friends Christie and Shelia.She soon meets Speedy, a guy who she thinks her parents would consider a cholo. She starts hanging out with him and starts to like him, but she is unsure of her feelings.The most important thing...more

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About Malin Alegria

Malín Alegria was raised in San Francisco’s Mission District. She’s a graduate of UC Santa Barbara and received her MA in Education. She is a teacher, permaculture consultant, Aztec dancer, and performer. She’s preformed and wrote with Teatro Nopal & the WILL Collective. Malin’s is a member of SCBWI, TNAFA, and the ultra fabulous Nopalitas. “Estrella’s Quinceñera” was published by Simon &...more

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