The Queen of Water

by Laura Resau, María Virginia Farinango

Born in an Andean village in Ecuador, Virginia lives with her large family in a small, earthen-walled dwelling. In her village of indigenas, it is not uncommon to work in the fields all day, even as a child, or to be called a longa tonta- stupid Indian- by members of the ruling class of mestizos, or Spanish descendants. When seven-year-old Virginia is taken from her village to be a servant to a mestizo couple, she has no idea what the future holds.

In this poignant novel based on a true story, acclaimed author Laura Resau has collaborated with Maria Virginia Farinango to recount one girl's unforgettable journey to self-discovery. Virginia's story will speak to anyone who has ever struggled to find his or her place in the world. It will make you laugh and cry, and ultimately, it will fill you with hope.

Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Book Club, Coming Of Age, Historical

368 pages, Paperback

First published March 8, 2011

About the author

Laura Resau is the author of The Alchemy of Flowers, The River Muse (May 2026), and eleven acclaimed books for children and teens. Her books have garnered nineteen starred trade reviews, five Colorado Book Awards, and spots on “best-of” book lists from Oprah, School Library Journal, and the American Library Association. Trilingual, she’s lived in Provence and Oaxaca, and has a background in cultural anthropology, languages, and ESL. She teaches graduate creative writing at Western Colorado University. You might find her writing in her cozy vintage trailer in Fort Collins, Colorado, where she lives with her rock-hound husband, musician son, wild husky, and a hundred house plants.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a sad task every librarian must attend to, and that is the weeding of books that are not circulating. My comrade in books, Nancy, found this one languishing in the young adult section. On our shelves since April of 2011, this title has never gone out. Never. I took pity, and decided to bring it home with me.

I only wish I had liked it more.

Virginia was born in an Andean village in Ecuador. Her people were called indigĕnas by the mestizos, or Spanish descendants, and treated as second class citizens. When she was seven, Virginia was taken away to work as a maid and babysitter for a mestizo couple. Though she had been promised a paycheck and a chance to attend school, her abusive employer never came through on either commitment. When Virginia expressed her wish to learn to read, she was told that that would be unnecessary. "You're going to work for us your whole life." vowed her boss. At least her employer's husband was kind to her; he referred to Virginia as "my daughter." It was only when she got older, and he'd been drinking, that he came pounding on her bedroom door in the night. But, when Virginia finally got the chance to leave the couple and return to her parents, she hesitated. Going home meant living in poverty, and having no future other than farming and being a wife.

This is essentially a Cinderella story, only in this tale, Virginiaella needs no fairy godmother. She pulls herself up by her own bra straps, and makes her dreams a reality by working hard, and getting an education. Resau teamed with Maria Virginia Farinango to produce this novel based on a true story. I'm not sure why Farinango's life story needed to be fictionalized. (Is the stink of James Frey's A Million Little Pieces still hovering over biographies?) And while the story is compelling enough - I was never once tempted to stop reading - I think it would have had more impact if it wasn't shrouded as fiction. I also wish the authors had found a way to deliver their positive, uplifting messages without making them sound like hokey platitudes

Though I wasn't overly thrilled with this book, I'm going to feature it prominently during our summer reading library program. I hope someone else takes it out. For the right girl or young woman, this may mean the world. I would also suggest it as a possible choice for a book club. There's a lot to talk about, and I'm willing to bet your group hasn't read too many books set in Ecuador.

[DarthLolita · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm so conflicted about this book.

There's a lot of good in it, and there's a lot I learned from it. It shows a great deal of the conflicts that Maria Virginia went through, not just external, but internal. While I can't sympathize with all of her struggles, I can definitely sympathize with feeling like you're trapped between two worlds in terms of culture. At least I've always had a chance to chose how I want to identify and how involved I can be in my culture. After all the horrifying abuse Maria Virginia went through, it's no wonder she didn't know where she stood.

I left Ecuador when I was a child, but back then, I grew up comfortably above the upper middle class. My parents and their families struggled with poverty throughout their lives, but I didn't have the same struggles.

In the United States, I'm Hispanic. I've got dark enough skin and curly brown enough hair to be identified as such. Sometimes I trip over words and mispronounce them, and I speak Spanish with an accent that's a bit of a reflection of the "melting pot" status of Miami. Basically, I've got a "Miami" accent--a little bit Venezuelan, a little bit Colombian, a little bit Cuban, etc. So my ethnicity is always pretty obvious.

But it wasn't like that in Ecuador. Speaking to my father about it, it's clear to me that he grew up aware of the division between the classes, the racism toward those of darker skin color, etc. There's a very detailed social hierarchy there--one most people outside of Ecuador wouldn't even consider.

I left before I really got to experience that world or understand it. I learned about the race problems here in America. I've dealt with them and I've seen them and I'm still learning about them. The U.S is my country now and will be until I die. But I don't know how comfortable I feel at idea of being so ignorant of the place I came from.

So reading this book was kind of an odd experience. I guess I wasn't expecting to learn so much, but I'm glad I did. I was really invested in Virginia's story, and I was really heartbroken to hear the things she was put through. It was a reminder of some of the things I witness in Quito too--just little moments from people's lives, moments that I now realize show parallels to the things Virginia experienced.

I just wish, honestly, that the writing in this book had been better.

This was not exactly written by an Ecuadorian woman alone. This was written by a woman who met Maria Virginia and interviewed her and translated it and then editorialized. A lot. Props to the writer, she actually admits on her website she fictionalized and tweaked a lot of the events to better represent the socio-cultural context of Ecuador and she merged other stories into this.

But...

Do you see what's wrong with this?

I admire Resau for trying to help a woman have her voice be heard, but I'm so annoyed by the idea that this couldn't be written entirely by Maria Virginia, that this couldn't be kept 100% true with some occasional "I don't remember this exactly, but I do remember..." or "and while this never happened to me, it has happened to others..." moments.

Also, it does start to ring less than true with dialogue like, "My revenge will be getting an education... One day she'll ask for my forgiveness. In the end, I'll win."
Come on. That's the kind of thing you think up on the shower three days later and repeat in your head over and over again wishing you could have said it in the moment. And that entire scene with the Mother's Day Play... I kept wondering, did that really happen? Seemed a little too perfect to me. When it came up again later, I was still having trouble believing it.

And since this WAS apparently written by a professional writer, how the hell did anyone let lines like "this book is the key that will open the lock to the door to a new life" get through to the final product?

At least *try* to reword it, will you? Nice sentiment, but so awkwardly constructed.

Usually I'd pull the old "life is stranger than fiction" card, but that's the thing--I don't know. It's difficult to really believe in this book knowing parts of it were fictionalized. When cheesy things happen, I don't think, "man, life sure is weird." I think, "lol that's so fake."

And in general, I hate that it was done to "appeal" to wider audiences. That's the worst possible thing you can have in your mind when trying to tell a story--whether fiction or non-fiction. Maria Virginia's story doesn't have to be every Ecuadorian girl's story. In fact, her story doesn't have to be a reflection of every indigenous girl. You don't have to fictionalize it to "appeal" to a wider audience. Who gives a flying fuck about the audience? If you have something worth saying, people will listen. And if you don't think you're saying enough--then seek out more voices and write more stories!

It makes me kind of sad to bash on this book so much because the content really is fascinating. Seeing so much of the internalized racism that Maria Virginia experiences is terrible, but it's also kind of unexpected how quickly she's forced to assimilate toward this other social class. She's constantly at a conflict, reminded of where she comes from, wanting to blend in, wanting things to be different, wanting the roles to be reserved, wanting to be something else. It's a complicated thing.

It's pretty sickening how quickly the family that's forced her to work tries to brainwash her, the father of the house trying to groom her while the mother finds any excuse to beat her.

She reveals a bit more about her own family life. There were already dark hints about her parents, but once she delves into it, it just complicates the entire thing more. Her family life wasn't perfect either. After she's reunited with them, she's not very close to them. Mostly, she starts to build her own life separate of them.

I also love that she's the one to decide to go to school. She's so young when she makes that choice, but she's set on it immediately. And she's so persistent! She learns to read, she goes to school, and she prepares for higher education.

Last year, when I read I Am Malala, I couldn't help but be in constant awe at how passionate Malala was regarding education for girls, and how she kept pushing for it even after it turned terrifyingly dangerous. Seeing girls everywhere, from any part of the world, be told they don't "need" to learn and still want to pursue it is a really incredible and admirable.

I'll give the writer credit where credit is due--Maria Virginia's personality does shine through. She is really spunky, and she is really determined and curious. It's nice to hear so much about her memories and her actions, because it kind of lets her character shine.

I do kind of wish there hadn't been such an over the top emphasis on it. Show don't tell and all that--I can tell she's spunky. You don't need to remind me every twenty pages or so.

Oh, and her early obsession with MacGyver is so amusing. Even when dealing with really dark subject matters, when she somehow makes a connection or imagines herself pulling a MacGyver-style act of heroism...it's so funny.

(Oh, and, tangent time. It's just one last thing because it was bothering me the whole time: I understand where this sentiment kept coming from. Maria Virginia grew up wanting to be like the beautiful women of tv and entertainment in general. She had a very specific image of what the indigenous older women looked like. And the worst woman in the world--the one who practically made her a slave--shared that in common with them. But it seriously grosses me out the amount of emphasis that she kept putting on the appearance of overweight women. Every time she mentioned the way the doctor's chin looked like or her fat hands or her stomach, I kept thinking, "who gives a shit how fat she is? That's not what makes her a terrible person, you know."

Even after a period where Maria Virginia wishes so much she was skinny that she stops eating and gets vitamin deficiency, THAT gets brushed aside really quickly to, "now I eat well but I exercise. See? Healthy! Unlike the Doctorita. Have I mentioned she's fat?"

YES. I know. I. Get. It. That's not what's wrong with that woman--the fact that she's violent and racist is enough to go on. And how convenient that the weight of the men is never brought up. I don't know. I kept expecting the book to make some kind of reflection or comment on that, but it never did. Yes, this is being written from the POV of her as she grows older, so technically there's not a lot of introspection going. But there should have been some. When it comes to her skin tone--how dark it is, how she looks compared to others--there's some insightful comments and thoughts. It's not like the writing couldn't treat issues of self-identity well, so what was the deal?

I don't know. It really bothered me. It's such a shallow thing to focus on at random.

Rant over. Back to the review).

In the end--there is a lot of good in this book, and the story, the content. But I'm not rating Maria Virginia or her accomplishments or her life. I'm rating this book. I can't really bring myself to give it three stars or higher because of the writing. It's not just distrustful, at times, it's not as well written as it could have been.

I do applaud these two women for trying to get this story out there to reach people. There is some merit in that and I'm sure they'll continue to try and do great things. I just wish their next endeavors are a bit more successful in their execution. And like I said--don't let my rating discourage you from reading the book yourself.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have the privilege of knowing both these ladies and I am absolutely thrilled that they had the opportunity to work together and create this amazing novel. For anyone who is interested in how close this is to the truth, Maria says it's 98% truthful. The novelization occurred to make the story more readable and easier for readers to relate to.

Maria Virginia is one of the most remarkable women I've ever met - her story does not end with her achievements in the book. In fact Laura says that one the hardest part of putting the book together was trying to decide where to end it - Maria's accomplishments are amazing. I met Maria through a mutual friend who had hired her (in Northern Colorado) to help out around her property. Maria helped my friend with the gardening and canning and other chores and earned enough money to attend college in Ecuador to work towards a degree in Psychology.

Needless to say I loved the book. In all the times I had chatted with Maria we had never talked about the past, only the present and future, so even though I had an inkling of what her past was like, I never knew the full extent of it. Reading it I could hear Maria's attitudes of life is hard but you don't have to let it overwhelm you.

Well worth your time to read.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oops, I finished already. I could just never tell what was going to happen and I HAD to keep reading.

In some ways this reminds me of certain books that were popular with kids in middle school (and, as I understand it, still are)--slightly graphic, exploitative books about abused children, sometimes memoirs. (Come to think of it, those are popular with adults, too.) I say that ONLY to point out that I think there's a big audience for this book, which I wasn't expecting at all. This book is the opposite of exploitative, seldom even approaches "graphic", and above all, features lovely, simple, skillful writing.

There are so many things I want to say. To say that it has most easily-understood depiction of Stockholm syndrome that I've read is an oversimplification.

Virginia (surely you don't mind if I call you Virginia, right? what else could I call you, now?) doesn't shy away from her own faults and weaknesses; the authors present them baldly. But her bravery and persistence are written matter-of-factly, the way it probably seemed at the time.

I can't help wondering how things might have turned out if Virginia hadn't been beautiful, but I also feel sure that she would have found another way. I wonder how much the opportunities that her beauty brought her really made a difference in the long run?

...I might come back and write more later. It's that kind of book.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is both an extraordinary story and an extraordinarily well-written one. The book tell the true story of Virginia, who is more or less sold into slavery when she's only seven, and what happens to her over the course of the next ten or so years. This is not a long-ago story, either.

Parts of it are very hard to read, especially if one is easily bruised by gratuitous cruelty. Parts of it are like what one imagines surfing on the back of a dolphin would be like, purely joyful. There are a lot of bittersweet moments in Virginia's young life.

The cultural divide is a large one for me- there's very little that I knew about Ecuador before picking up this book, so in addition to the story as story, I was also picking up fascinating bits of Equador.

Highly recommended. Thanks to Wendy for pushing this.

[Karlan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Based on the true story of a seven year old Indian girl in Ecuador sent to work for a cruel couple as a virtual slave, the novel is emotional and upsetting. Her story is rather unbelievable as she cares for an infant and keeps house for working parents at such a young age. This happens in other parts of the world and is not unique. As she matures, her situation must change. The story is skillfully constructed and not told in a chronological fashion. It is a moving story of a bright girl who overcomes disastrous conditions.

[Kay Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book 4 stars but it really is a young adult book. I think it would be amazing for young girls to read it as teens or preteens, because the way Virginia overcomes all the obstacles put in her way to become educated and then comfortable in her own skin is so inspiring. I loved her inner thoughts and the fact that it is based on her real life makes it all that much more interesting. The issues of race, class, and background are all woven into the story in a setting, Ecuador, that i had never read about before.

[Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually wasn't that excited about reading this book, my friend insisted that I should and I'm really glad I did. It was beautiful, I never knew what was going to happen and that made me always wanting to continue reading it until it was done. And it was beautiful, again. My emotions were totally moved with the stream of pleasant and unpleasant events. I'd just say, for the third time: it was beautiful.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were not many highlights in this book,with the exception of the main character. I personally did not get any poignant message for it. Even though it was based on a true story,the content of the story was simply forgetable.

[Amy Mahoney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the story fascinating but the writing disappointing—even for a younger audience.

[Maria Gabriela · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sad but so beautiful! I cried :(

[Lucy.W · Rating 5 out of 5]

To begin with, a novel like the Queen of Water was never a book I intended on reading. It was half way through my freshman year, 5 minutes into class when my English teacher Mrs. Trammel began to count down. There was only one reason for this and it was the 10 minutes of silent reading rule. Now, of all days today was the day I decided I could live without a good solid book weighing down my backpack, much to my misfortune. I glanced around the classroom in horror scrabbling for a book, anything that would help me avoid the much dreaded shame-walk to her boring old bookshelf (not to mention her seeing I lacked basic preparation would've deduct from my daily grade). On the empty table across from me a lonely worn out paper back sat tucked behind a stack of textbooks. I dodged a few passersby and stealthy snatched up the book, sat back down, and pretended this book belonged within my finger tips. As the class grew silent I skimmed over the cover and grimaced. Just the sight of the words "... based on a true story" made me cringe, I was strictly a fictional kind of person and I assumed this story would never satisfy my mind's eye. I gave in to the surrounding silence and began to read.
The plot built up slowly, taking its time painting the landscape of a small Andean village in Ecuador, mountains and valleys, open skies like no other and a golden sun. The book begins to play out the life of a seven year old indigenous girl named Virginia, who is stolen from her home to work as a servant by a mestizo couple. "Mestizos" are an ethnic group of Spanish descent, speaking Spanish with fair-skin and fancy last names. The world I was introduced to was no different from the segregation of many countries I had learned about. Throughout her life Virginia must fight to keep her spunk and internal flame, something that is constantly tested . She is degraded, beaten, and told to believe the purpose of an indigenous girl like herself is to serve the members of a higher class. Despite betrayal, heartbreak and shadows upon her world she teaches herself to read and write in secret and find love in everything she does. The queen of water is truly an inspiring journey about perseverance and self and I believe anyone like myself could be changed by such a soulful story.
I will never understand the origins of a superiority complex driven between two cultivated ethnics but I am glad the novel was able to help expose readers to the exploitation of girls around the world whose families grow up in poverty. When I held this book in my hands for the very first time it was never my intention to judge it's cover so poorly. I still question to this day why the beautiful cinnamon-brown woman with long dark hair and golden beaded necklace never intrigued me as much as she does now.

[Sharath · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is a cheerful, first-person narrative of how Virginia, an indigenous girl in Ecuador, is taken away as a slave by a middle-class Spanish family, and how she manages to overcome the odds that are stacked completely against her. While the book does talk about her many successes and eventual triumph [spoiler alert!], there is certainly an element of suspense as the reader is constantly left to wonder as to what could happen next. The first-person narrative style of the book makes this effect very realistic!

Despite the harsh and often dark reality, Virginia comes across as a person with tremendous determination, strong resolve and maturity far beyond her age. In moments of doubt, she always responds with spunk and her own answers to life’s difficult questions, inspired by the famous escape acts of television hero MacGyver! These and other incidents hint at her vivisma (clever nature) and keep the reader thoroughly entertained. The author also highlights a very unique human trait – to be able to face adversity with courage as well as to keep up a charming face. At the same time, the author is careful not to glorify Virginia as a larger than life character. She does show her vulnerable side when Virginia is forced to seek help when the situation is beyond her control.

Overall, the uplifting/feel-good nature of the book leaves the reader with a warm feeling at the end, happy to learn that it all went well for Virginia.

[Kathy Hiester · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Queen of Water is a heart wrenching tale by Laura Resau. The main character, Virginia, was born in a large but underprivileged family in an Andean mountain village in Ecuador. Society is divided sharply between the working native Indian people and the governing descendants of Spanish conquerors. At age 7, Virginia is sold to be a servant to a wealthy family. For eight years she endures her enslavement which includes malevolence and thrashings but she is determined to make something better of her life.
5 ++++ Stars as the story of tragedy and triumph will stay with you and you will feel the need to recommend it over and over.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I only picked this book up for a challenge. The title, cover, and summary of the story didn't interest me at all. I'm glad I decided to read it though, because this book was awesome. The fact that it's based off of someone's life and she helped write the book made me love it even more. If there ever was a second book about Maria Virginia Farinango, I would read it in a heartbeat.

[Shelby · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Sheerin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Virginia’s story is one that will make you laugh at her antics, cry with her at the abuse she faces at a tender age and soar with her at her resounding success. It will make you believe in hard work and the mantra, “if you wish it, it will happen” just like Virginia did.

Set in an Andean village in Ecuador, it showcases a place so backward and people so poor that the indigenous families do not hesitate in sending off their kids with the rich Spanish descendants called Mestizos to look after the kids or work as maids. These kids are treated as little better than slaves, and being abused is their way of life. Virginia is a kid with spunk but because of a misunderstanding she ends up with a mestizo family. She is beaten and tortured, scared and abused. Yet she refuses to give in, always keeps learning and finally achieves much more than she ever hoped for.

The language is simple, and all the characters will leave their mark. Virginia, the family she lives with, and the strangers she meets who help her be who she is. Virginia’s determination, her strength and her positive attitude make her an inspiring figure. The story is one that we as Indians are quite familiar with. So I would have loved to have a better representation of the culture and the differences of the two sections of the society. The passivity with which Virginia’s coerced stay is treated makes one question how much are people willing to overlook and excuse, if the perpetrator is garbed in respectability? There is some repetition in the book that could have been done away with. However, when one is not ready to open their eyes to love unless being convinced of it, such repetitions are inevitable.

That it is a semi autobiographical work enhances the impact of what Virginia went through manifold. Many girls can take heart from her story to persevere and dream, and work towards it with passion. This book does what fairy tales do, tell us that a happy ending is there, even though it is far from being one itself. It tells us that hope works. So one should hold on to it.

[Leshae Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading insight into a different point of view of the country I am currently living in.

[Valentina Isabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Queen Of Water" by Laura Resau is a novel about a girl that lives in three different realities during her childhood and her teenage years. The main character is Maria Virginia, a girl that due to her parent's bad desitions suffers and goes through a lot of changes in her life. The author tells her story by Maria's perspective, she tells the story so good that you can remember every little detail about each reality Maria has lived in.
This book was very interesting to read because it taught me the different problems and sacrifices people have to make no matter in what reality they live in and that everybody suffers a little at some point. One thing I enjoyed about this book was the development of Maria through the story. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars because its a long book and I didn't got bored at any point and I can look back at every little detail of the story and remember it perfectly. I would recommend this book to anyone who is trying to find their identity because Virginia was also trying to find herself after all that has happened to her throughout her life.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edging 4 stars.

Books have the capability of opening the door for us into a whole new culture. And by showing it to us through the eyes of a person that belongs in that culture, it offers us a more authentic, engaged look of it. The Queen of Water achieved exactly that, while providing us an intricately compelling storyline. Yet although it excelled with its captivating narrative, it fell a little short with its pace, at times feeling choppy and rushed.

Virginia lives in Ecuador, where two prominent classes of people are strictly fleshed out. There are the mestizos, Spanish descendants who are majorly well off and own a lot of power; and then there are the indígenas, the poorer class, looked down upon by the mestizos. Virginia is an indígena who has always craved of being a mestizo. At the age of seven, she leaves her small village, sent to be a servant to a mestizo couple. Virginia finally gets to live the mestizo way of life, but not the way she expected it. She is surrounded by luxuries, but never gets to savour them. She lives with mestizos, but still gets treated like an inferior indígena. Despite the less than ideal conditions, Virginia still gets to experience the conveniences and advantages of living the mestizo way of life. As Virginia navigates through the journey of her life, she feels tugged between these two cultures that have both helped define her as a person. She must now use all that she has learned to try to polish the blurs residing in her identity.

This was a well-researched book. I can deduct this from the author’s note, but mostly from how the text felt extremely genuine, and honoured the uniqueness of Ecuadorian culture. The surroundings were structured with great care, bringing us to the heart of this hot, bright country. Everything was portrayed with vivid details, conjuring images of layered dimensions. I could almost taste the sweet, golden guavas, and feel the rich buzz of the bustling market wrapping around me.

The characters also felt incredibly true to their culture, elevating the authenticness of this book. Virginia was a protagonist that contained a lot of, well, character. Her vivísma personality gave flair to the story, and made everything a little more exciting. Her struggles were real, and the way she handled them also felt real. She possessed a lot of will and strength, but that doesn’t me she never succumbed to her weaknesses. In fact, she had many, but the relentless spirit inside of her never gave vulnerability a chance to define her.

The surroundings were well structured, the themes well structured, the characters well structured. Unfortunately, the pace of the story was not. The different pages of Virginia’s life felt choppy. There lacked a flow that would’ve helped connect her early years as an indígena, to the later ones she experienced under the housing of mestizos, and then to the ones when she tried immersing herself back in the indígena culture. Virginia’s story is worthy of a brilliant, colourful song, but instead it felt more like musical verses that didn’t match harmoniously.

Despite the lack of a balanced stride to the story, The Queen of Water was ultimately a satisfying book, weaving the different aspects of cultural identity into one lovely book.

[Tara Chevrestt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is somewhat like a fairytale... in the end anyway. The beginning, not so much.

Virginia comes from a very poor Indian family in Ecuador. References to the tv show MacGyver had me thinking her childhood was the 1980s and I was surprised by how very backwards Ecuador was. Virginia doesn't even know her birthday. Her family lives in a dirt hole basically. They work themselves to the bone for the white man who come sand steals their children and make them into slaves.

Virginia is forced to be a nanny. She is beaten for every little thing. She is locked inside the house even for entire weekends. She is not allowed to go to school. To make matters worse, as she enters womanhood, the man of the house begins to look at her in a very "unfatherlike" way.

It's a very sad story.. of a girl forced to be slave and denied the life she wants and deserves. She has a bright mind and teaches herself while locked in the house. She learns to read, does science experiments, writes poetry. Even worse, her kidnpaper/boss raises her believing her people, her heritage, her family even, is something to be ashamed of.

In the end, Virginia is asked to be enter a pageant for an Indian queen. How can she be an Indian queen when she is ashamed of being Indian? She must decide what side of the fence she is going to be on and come to terms with her heritage. It's nothing to be ashamed of.. and she can either continuing pretending to be "white" or she can become an Indian that can represent her people.

Extremely well written and hooked me from the get go. I have one quibble.. Virginia made me mad.. her weakness and inability to take any opportunity to leave her abusive captors angered me to the point I had to set the book down at times. I don't like weak heroines. I was yelling at her, "he's gonna rape you and you want to go back?? What the hell is wrong with you? Why didn't you leave when you had the chance??" and so on. I began to suspect that Virginia had Stockholm's syndrome, but as Virginia says, "Fear feels familiar. And freedom feels terrifying." I still didn't like it though.

She redeems herself in the end, however, and even brought me to tears with a heartfelt speech.

Favorite quote: "Have you noticed that if you really want something, you can make it happen? But you need to be sure it's what you really want, because sometimes, when it comes true, you realize too late that it's not what you wanted."

[Brianne Durrant · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Queen of Water" is one of the most inspiring books I have ever read. This book is about the rivalry of two tries, the Metzos and the Indgenias. María was born on a poor farm, where her parents worked for the Metzos, who are rick. They wear expensive clothing, live in apartments, and own a car. Their language is Spanish and most people respect them. The Indgenias on the other hand, are poor farmers who live in mud huts. They spend hours farming, so their skin is cracked. Most indgenias are illiterate. Some serve the Metzos at a young age. Their outfits consists of gold chains around their neck, and traditional clothing such as fulcas and aulcas. Their language is Quiche. Although there are rich Indgenias, everyone looks down upon them. María, who was born as a poor Indgenia, is shipped away by her parents to live with a Metzo family named Doctoria and Niño carlitos. Doctoria is meaner than Niño Carlitos. She beat María whenever she did a simple little task wrong and called her "longa Tonga" which means "stupid" or "dirty Indian". She lived with them for most of her life. Because she lived with a Metzo family, her Ingenia culture slipped away. Instead of having cracked skin, she has smooth, light skin, and she spoke Spanish instead of Quiche. All she was good for in Dctoria's eyes is cooking and cleaning, so María decided she wanted an education. Aside from Niño Carlitos help with reading, she mainly taught herself what everyone her age were learning by sneaking Doctoria's Science books when she was away and reading them. She thought she was semi happy, but when her living situation gets worse and she escapes to live with her family again, she struggles to find out whom she really is.

This book is in María's point of view. Throughout this book, she changes drastically. When she first moved with Doctoria, she was scared and felt insecure, but as she grows up, she gets confident and bold.

This setting takes place in an Andean village in Ecuador, thirteen years ago.

The theme is achievement. No matter how hard a situation may be, if you really want something, you can achieve it.

I would recommend this book to freshman and up, because although this book has a little bit of Spanish, it has been explained and used appropriately throughout the book so that it is easy to understand.

[Alyssa McKendry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished an amazing book called the Queen of Water. The Queen of Water is about a young girl named Virginia Farinango who was born in an Andean village in Ecuador. Virginia lives with her poor family in a small mud hut. In her village it is not uncommon to work in fields all day long, even as a child. It is also very common to be called longa tonta (stupid Indian) by members of the ruling class of mestizos, or Spanish descendants. When, at the time, seven-year-old Virginia is taken from her village to be a servant to a mestizo couple, she has no idea what the future holds ahead of her. Over the years spent with the mestizo couple,Virginia quickly grows accustomed to the luxuries of the mestizo life. Virginia even finds it hard to remember how to speak her hometown language called, Quichua, and only knows how to speak Spanish, The Mestizo language. Virginia also finds it hard to remember the faces of her own family. While working for the mestizo couple she is beaten many times and told that the sole purpose of an indigenous girl like her, is to serve. But Virginia has a dream to one day be famous and not to be told what to do, how to act, how to eat, how to speak, she wants to be free. Virginia must fight to hold on to her spirit and humor. Virginia soon gets caught up between the decision of going back home to her parent's in a mud house and farm all day, or stay at home with the nasty couple but have a good chance to grow up and be someone successful? This novel is based on a true story and the writing is so good it keeps you hooked throughout.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although teens may not initially be excited to read this story about a culture very different from our own, I thought this was a fantastic book that kept my attention from cover to cover. The story is set in Ecuador and spans the life of main character Virgina from age 7 until her teen years. Virginia is an indigena in her country and as such is expected to be poor and ignorant, which is the case for her parents. When Virginia is 7, she is "sold" (She is narrating the story and never fully understands the transaction herself so readers don't either.)to a mestizo family to work as a maid and nanny. She finds (and creates) opportunities for herself to gain an education and become a success over the next ten years.

This story provides a detailed look into life and culture in Ecuador, something I didn't know I was interested in but definitely enjoyed reading about, as well as many well-developed characters. One thing I appreciated most about this book is that all the characters seem real. There are no stock "mean" or "bad" people, and also no "heroes." The characters are, much like real people, multi-faceted. Of course Virginia is the heart of this book and makes the story so compelling. And - it's all based on a true story, which makes it even more impressive! Although this is a far cry from the popular vampire and witch stories everyone is reading, this is well worth the time for an excellent, well-told story.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Head to your trusty thesaurus when you're trying to describe this book because you'll need plenty of adjectives to express just how excellent it is. This story of a seven-year-old indigenous girl whose parents allow her to be hired out as a servant to another family in Ecuador is heart-rending and riveting. Although Virginia has ambitions for the future and has been assured that she can visit her family each month, that never happens. Over time, she loses her language and cultural connections as she lives with the mestizo couple. The wife is verbally and physically abusive and bullies Virginia in all sorts of ways while the husband tries to protect her. Sadly, in the end, he, too, betrays her in his own fashion. Readers are sure to draw inspiration from Virginia's determination to survive and thrive eventually and her secret efforts at educating herself once she realizes that literacy and education are keys to a better future. Once Virginia is able to escape from her life of servitude, she is completely lost and feels caught between two cultures, ashamed of one, not really a part of the other. I loved Virginia's personality, which shines through the pages because of the honest, exquisite writing that makes her seem like someone readers would like to know. The book explores important issues through her own struggles to figure out exactly where she belongs.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Queen of Water," by Laura Resau opened my eyes to some of the problems of racism and classism in Latin America.

A novel based on a true story, "The Queen of Water" tells the story of Virginia, a little girl who is taken from her dirt-poor indigena family in mountainous rural Ecuador to be, basically, a slave to a slightly wealthier couple. To Virginia, who is only seven at the time, it's never clear whether she was sold, taken, or given away. She just knows that she is a housekeeper and child care provider to a couple who keep her locked inside the house at all times and won't even let her eat off the same plates the family uses.

As Virginia grows up in this household, her world begins to change when she learns how to read and begins to educate herself as much as possible. The story winds up being a testament to the power of education and determination. It's also a poignant memoir of how it feels to not belong anywhere.

Technically, "The Queen of Water" is a young adult novel. As such, it didn't go into as much depth as I would have liked. But it's a fascinating story, made even more interesting by being based on fact, and it's an easy read. If, like me, you don't remember much from that tiny bit of Latin American history you got in school, you might find this book eye-opening.

[Kellee Moye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed at:
http://www.teachmentortexts.com/2012/...

4.5 stars

The Queen of Water reminds me of Sold by Patricia McCormick. It is one of those books that you begin reading and you hope that it takes place a hundred years ago, but then throughout the book, you begin to realize that it only took place a decade or two ago. Virginia is an indigenous girl living with her family in a small village in Ecuador. When she is only about 5 or 6, her parents sell her to a rich mestiizo (Spanish) family with the promise of trips back to her family and money; however, neither of these things happen- Virginia is treated like a slave and dreams of a better future.

This book is about overcoming and discovering all that you can do. And what makes this book even more powerful is that it is based off of a true story- Maria Virginia Farinango told her story to Laura Resau who molded it into this beautiful novel.

[Erica T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story of a young Ecudorian girl basically sold into slavery by parents who were poor and considered low class because they are of Indian descent (as opposed to Spaniard descent). The family who takes Virginia into their home treats her as a slave and expects perfection of household and childcare duties despite her young age. The disadvantages Virginia faces seem insurmountable, and this book takes you through the story of her childhood/adolescence and how she overcame so many challenges.

This book is based on a true story and co-authored by Virginia, herself. Because some things have been summarized, combined, or changed the story is actually classified as fiction rather than a memoir. I would highly recommend this eye-opening book to everyone. It does contain child abuse but nothing overly graphic. I think the most shocking thing about this book, for me, was that this is not a story that happened years ago. It is a fairly modern story.

[Scot · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling, first person narrative coming-of-age story that begins with the narrator, Virginia, an indigenous girl in Ecuador about six years old, being taken from her family to be a general house servant to a lower middle class mestizo family. We learn a lot about how class consciousness and racism are embedded in the culture on many levels, but the specific sufferings and injustices of our heroine are counterbalanced by the assertive child's determination to look out for herself and her dream that somehow, someday, her life will turn out better.

Highly recommended for high school students and up. This would be a good choice for book clubs, as it deals with troubling issues such as abuse and discrimination, yet is a quick read with some lively, fun details. I particularly enjoyed the MacGyver (her favorite TV show--forbidden, but she watched it on the sly) motif that runs through much of the book.

[Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the kind of book that kept me thinking about it when I wasn't reading it and pulling me back often to continue Virginia's story. It always amazes the stories of real people out in the world, living lives of quiet desperation in conditions I'm totally unfamiliar with. What's more amazing is how they deal with what they face, what they learn and how they share what they've learned.

I love Virginia's determination, her spirit to rise above all the garbage she had to deal with and succeed in life on so many levels. I'd love to meet her! I'm grateful she persevered and that Ms. Resau worked diligently to get her story out, especially because Virginia said she'd someday write a book! Ms. Resau helped her do just that.

Awesome book - I encourage everyone to read it. My husband read it and liked it as well.