Caramelo

Rating:
Summary: Enchanting story and people
Review: This is a wonderful book. It is especially good if, like I do, you love Mexico and her people.

Rating:
Summary: Never Been More Proud!
Review: This was absolutely the most wonderful book I think I've ever read! I've always been proud to be Mexican- American but now it feels more beautiful than ever. She touched the corners of my mexican soul with this novel. I was definitly sad when I completed the last page. It was like my journey had ended. She took me to places and times in Mexico I've never imagined. Cisneros definitly sparked my interest into asking my grandma and great tia's about my family history and stories. She's definitly an inspiration to a young latina like me just beginning college. I've recommended this book to all the mujeres in my family and my amigas and I will continue to.

Rating:
Summary: A stroll throught Mexican life
Review: Caremelo is a novel written literally by Sandra Cisneros, however the narrator is a young girl who tells family stories, with the help of her grandmother and her imagination. She tells of her family's countless summer trips across the border to Mexico, she talks of the time when her father is put in the situation of either choosing his wife or his mother, she tells the story of when they gave her a really bad haircut and she even talks about the time when her grandparents where young kids. Basically Caramelo is full of Mexican stories and legends.
This book is not like any other novel that flows in chronological order, Cisneros writes Caramelo in a way that makes you want to keep reading. It bounces back and forth, which not all readers may enjoy, but personally I like this writing method because it keeps me anxious, which in turn makes me want to keep reading in order to find out what happens next.
Another thing I also enjoyed about the way Caramelo is written is that it has Spanish references, like for example some Spanish words are used to add sizzle to the stories. I enjoyed this because I not only read and speak Spanish but I was also raised in a Mexican-American home, which greatly helped to understand these references. Basically I really enjoyed Caramelo and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading cultural stories.

Rating:
Summary: Libroluver
Review: I absolutely loved this book! Cisneros' way with words touched up an old painting of mine that's been in my heart, unseen, for years. There were so many things that I had not thought about since childhood, regarding my family and culture that she brought back to life in this book. I can see how this might be a tough read for Non-Latinos, but it is a nice peek into the Mexican-American culture nonetheless.
I gave this book 5 stars because I was glued to it. I laughed and cried and went back to reread because I was so touched at times.

Arriba Caramelo!

Rating:
Summary: Long but kinda worth it
Review: this book was very long and hard for me to get through but in the end it was worth it if your in to reading long beggains in books that dont get good until the end

Rating:
Summary: absolutely incredible
Review: Celaya --- Lala to all --- is the youngest child with 6 older brothers of a first-generation Mexican-American family. Her nuclear family and her uncles Fat-Face and Baby's families regularly drive to Mexico to spend the summer with "the Awful Grandmother" and "The Little Grandfather". Lala's recounting of family adventures form a charming mosaic from the eyes of a child in the first part.

The second part harkens back to before Lala was born, and tells the tales of the granparents' youth, her parents' youth, and the tanglings of emotions therein.

The third part shows Lala's teenaged years in Chcago and Texas, and how the past all comes together and explodes around her.

Throughout it all, caramelo represents many things -- the color of someone's skin, a style of a shawl, the sweetness of life ....

This is an awesome read. I particularly enjoyed it being a first-generation person myself, who had to make the cultural leap on family vacations to visit my own grandparents in another country. But this will be a stunning and entertaining read to all no matter what their background.

Rating:
Summary: Caramelo
Review: I listened to this book on tape and found it to be the most irritating book I've ever tried to listen to. I couldn't finish it. the voices were so distracting I couldn't get the actual story being read. Good luck to anyone else trying to get through it.

Rating:
Summary: A first time author would never be able to get this to print
Review: Will Sandra Cisneros always be our token Mexican? Will she always get away with mediocre writing? My suspicion is yes, she will. My husband and I enjoyed bits of the book--Cisneros has a good ear for dialogue--but much of the book was painfully obvious and pointless. It felt self-important with that midwestern writer workshop aura to it and everytime a character enters a room he/she must list the contents of the room. We listened to this on a road trip and it might have made the trip that much longer. I also had a copy of the book--which I recommend over the audio (to avoid the screechy whiney voice). Unfortunately, Chicana lit. rises and sets with Ms. Cisneros when it would do better to spotlight Viramontes or Castillo or even Denise Chavez for that matter. Don't let her kid you. Cisneros is not our Shakespeare, she is our Danielle Steel.

Rating:
Summary: Exquisite
Review: This is a wonderful read even if it is long. The story frames three generations from life in old Mexico to growing up in San Antonio. The characters are unique and creative. The book will make you cry and laugh all at the same time. Truly a masterpiece.

Rating:
Summary: Sweet
Review: The experience of reading this book surprised me : I enjoyed it! Although a voracious reader, I had read another work by Cisneros and I despised it. The title fits the story because it it is simply sweet.