Once Upon a Quinceañera

January 1, 2021

Gr 9 Up-When Carmen Aguilar starts her summer internship at Dreams Come True, she is dreading the long days ahead dressing up as a party princess. Quitting is not an option since she needs the internship to graduate high school, so she does her best to play the part. No matter how bad she expected it to be, she did not imagine that her ex-boyfriend, Mauro, would be one of her co-workers, and her dance partner. As if things couldn't get worse, Carmen learns that the company has been hired by her younger cousin, Ariana, for her quincea�era. After a recent family argument left the two estranged, Carmen finds it almost impossible to face Ariana and her overpowering parents. As the Miami summer unrolls, Carmen struggles with her unresolved feelings toward Mauro, while also trying to handle the dysfunction that plagues her extended family. Gomez-Hira makes Miami come alive with her descriptions of clubs, sunsets, and Latinx culture. The characters, most of whom are Latin American, blend their culture into their dialogue, lending the book authenticity. Though there are times when the teenage romance drama seems a bit overdone, many readers will likely enjoy the emotional outbursts and over-the-top passion. The scenes between Carmen and Mauro, a few of which contain sexual content, often are cliched, but readers looking for mushy sweet talk won't mind. VERDICT A charming novel that will appeal to teens looking for a love story.-Karin Greenberg, Manhasset H.S., NY

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2021
Being a professional princess isn't as glamorous as it's cracked up to be. Carmen Aguilar's summer job is the only thing standing between her and the last credit she needs to graduate from high school. Working as a princess for hire at children's birthday parties in Miami is grueling--and goes from bad to worse when Carmen's ex-flame, Mauro Reyes, is hired to play the Beast to her Belle. Overwhelming awkwardness and the temptation to rehash the downfall of their relationship has Carmen on the brink of quitting when the whole company is hired to work the quincea�era of someone with whom Carmen is all too familiar: Ariana, her dramatic and entitled cousin. After a major falling out almost four years ago, the cousins and their families have barely spoken. The t�as are hoping that this quince will mend their family ties and bring them back together permanently, but Carmen can barely stand to be in the same room as Ariana, let alone tolerate the months of rehearsals required for the big day. Tempers fly, old wounds are reopened, and romance is in the air as this princess endures complex family dynamics and the infuriating attention of her very own Prince Charming. Characters are well developed and dialogue crackles in this energetic tale. Carmen is Cuban and Puerto Rican, and many other characters are Latinx. Compelling relationships and characters dazzle like a quincea�era tiara. (Fiction. 14-18)

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January 18, 2021
To earn her high school diploma, a Miami teen must spend the summer performing with her ex-boyfriend in Gomez-Hira’s charming contemporary YA rom-com. “I’m not exactly the buttercup-yellow satin, bluebirds-singing-around-her-head type.” For 18-year-old high school graduate-in-waiting Carmen Aguilar, life isn’t a fairy tale—except when she’s posing as royalty at children’s birthday parties. Thanks to a botched final project, Carmen needs to secure a final academic credit with a do-over in the form of an internship with Dreams Come True, a party princess company. But when her estranged Tía Celia hires Dreams Come True to perform at her cousin Ariana’s quinceañera, and her boss assigns her ex-boyfriend Mauro to be her dance partner, Carmen has to confront her past mistakes—and the memory of her own canceled quinceañera—to get a storybook ending. Debut author Gomez-Hira’s writing delights, handling the romantic tension between Carmen and Mauro, as well as the strained, aptly layered family dynamics and Miami setting, with fun and flair. Fans of Jane the Virgin will have a ball. Ages 13–up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.