Rating: 
Summary: Don't Waste Your Time with this book.
Review: This book gets 2 stars from me because there was not enough action for me.What I enjoyed in the book is how Mr. Hernandez always caused drama and trouble like chasing his wife around their yard with a rifle and telling his kids that they were worthless. Also there was a boxing match in the story that kept me entertained and when the main character's sister had a miscarriage was pretty interesting. What I didn't like about the book was that it was lots of dialogue instead of action which made several chapters boring. From this book I learned that all families have problems but they always find some way to find a conclusion because the Hernandez family had tons of problems. This book should be read by 13-14 year old males because this book is mainly for teenage boys but females may enjoy even though I didn't.
JM
Rating: 
Summary: Parrot in the oven :Mi vida
Review: I thought this book was great!Victor Martinez did a great job of portraying the feelings of a young boy with a lot of family problems.This book can be read by anybody who has had similar problems or has been in similiar situations... You'll just can appreciate a good reading book.
Rating: 
Summary: THE SORRYEST BOOK I RED.
Review: This book deserve no star because this was hella sorry it was the sorryest book i ever read. I'll give a dam art book a star but not the dam parrot in the oven they can't even come up with a damn name. what that book needed was action not some fony wanna be cholos. and the thruth i didnt liked the book because wats the point of some guy writing his whole life story about going to drugs stores and robbing medicine and selling it for half of price that was hella dum...
Rating:
Summary: The most boring book I ever read
Review: I didn't like this sorry book at all I found it to be weak and distasteful especialy those wanna be gangsters who went to the drug store to steal medicine then go out side and sell it for half off what the hell was that all about. over all it was sorry.
Rating: 
Summary: Mi vida
Review: The book The parrot in the oven write it by victor martinez this book was about a mexican family that came from mexico. many a guy who is 14 years old he was themager character in the story. They had a miserable life because of his father because he was an alcoholic and he never was there for hi family.
Rating:
Summary: Mi Vida
Review: This was about a family that the dad was very mean to his family. he whad went to jail because he tried to shout the mom but the police came in time and they went back to the house. many was the one that told his parents that the police was coming and so they went in the house. the police went to the house to say what was happening the father said that anything was happening. the police didnt believe him because they sow the mom when she went in the last room to take the gun so she could hied it. then the police went to find it and they did find it. the dad went to jail because the mom said that he was traing to do something to her. then th dad came back from jail he was the same person again. he put the kids to work very hard. the last thin g that happend was they they were happy the whole family and every body was bigger and they worked.
Rating:
Summary: "Parrot in the Oven"
Review: I think that "Parrot in the Oven" overall is a good book. It is a well written story that brings mixed feeling out of its readers. It gives a different point of view of life than I am used to. It is about a Mexican-American boy growing up with a drunk for a father in a low income house. His sister Magda, brings in most of the money for the family to live on by working at Valley Laundry. It tells of life in the gangs and how the children get hit and abused by their parents. Trying to find love that their parents did not give, daughters will do anything to be loved, like sneaking out to be with boyfriends and that sometimes leads to them ending up pregnant. In the story Manny, the narrator, tells about going to school one day and how his teacher feels sorry for him because he is wearing shoes that are three sizes too big with huge holes in them. The teacher gives him money and drives him home. The dad sees them pull up; the teacher says a few words to the father and leaves. Then the dad searches Manny and takes the money he was given by the teacher to use for drinking. In another part of the story he tells of when the father took a gun and tried to shoot his wife, but the police came and arrested him before too much harm was done. Then it tells of how the wife gladly welcomes him back when he gets out of jail. The part I do not like is when Manny tells of himself being beaten by his parents and by others. I have never been around domestic violence or ever really seen child abuse, for which I am very glad. I have never met or been in a gang. I would never even think about joining one after reading this book and hearing of what gangs do. Victor Martinez portrays the story of Manny's and his family's life well. Sometimes, since I do not speak Spanish, I became lost when he used words or sayings without an explanation of their meaning. A glossary at the end would have been amazingly helpful to me and other non Spanish speakers. I would have never chosen this book myself but after reading it for school it opened my mind to a different way of life.
Rating:
Summary: The Real Deal
Review: "Parrto in the Oven" has a main character which is Manny. Through out the novel Manny goes through many experiences which help him to discover his real self. It is not just Manny who transitions but his whole family as well.
Victor gives an excellent, realistic profile of a low class Chicano family. The way he detailed this novel almost makes it come to life, the details drag you into the book. This book does not give just a story but gives a story with meaning. Whoever the reader might be, that person is going to close this book and feel that he/she has learned something or even better see their lives through this novel. What is mostly important is that Victor offers an insider's view but at the same time offers an outsider's view of a Chicano family. The insider's view informs the readers about the struggles, cultural differences, experience, and a women's place in a Chicano family. The outsider's view provides expectations and stereo typical of how a Chicano family is or should be. What is also wonderful about this book is that it does not give you just what a four year old, sixteen year old or a thirty year old goes through in a Chicano family but it provides a wide range of ages. This provides the reader with more points of views on a Chicano family. The House on Mango Street is also a good Latino book but it focused more on the American dream and Parrot in the Oven mi vida focused more on family issues. There is nothing that I think Victor Martinez could have done better on his first novel. I definitely recommend this book everyone because it gives you an opportunity to experience what a real Chicano family is all about.
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Summary: A Caution For Parents & Techers
Review: One of the most enjoyable things about reading Victor Martinez book A Parrot in the Oven was how well the author related to topics taking place in the real word. As I read is novel, I came across some topics that might not be appropriate for children under the age of fourteen to read. I feel as a reader as well as a parent, I should express my concerns about this novel for younger readers.A Parrot in the Oven is about Chicano family of five that is struggling to make ends meet. It is a very stereo typical novel from the stand point that all Chicano's live in the projects, are uneducated, unemployed, have little to no income, on welfare and increasing the number of family members on a regular basis. Through my readings, I have found a few topics that I would like to caution parents,teachers and younger reader about. The topic consist of: abuse from the stand point of mental, physical, and verbal;gang involvement;sexual content in regards to attraction, pregnancy, and unprotected sex and violence. The narrator of the novel is fourteen year old Manny, who is trying to survive his family's life style and all that life has to offer him. Manny's father is very mentally and physically abusive to himself, Manny and his wife. Manny's father is an alcoholic who allows his drinking to get the best of him. The way his character is portrayed his drinking allows the reader accept his behavior as being noraml. With his drinking problem, he would fill with rage and never gave a second thought about the consequences that would follow his actions. Everything in life has a consequence that follows an action no matter if its good or bad. An example of the father's abusive behavior would be when he attempted to take the life of his wife with a gun because he couldn't deal with the embarrassment she cause in front of his friends at his usual drinking hang out. Manny's mother was just as abusive with her graphic language and how she was to physically hit one of the children. It seemed that she was taking her anger out on the children that had been building up form the fathers behavior. Shen never had much schooling and the father didn't feel that education was important. he felt atht is was necessary to work at a young age to help support the family even though he wasn't working himself. Manny's parents chose to use a very relaxed parenting style and each had their own issues to overcome. Manny didn't have a great relationship with his family members, but he seemed to admire his older brother Nardo. He would always reflect on how lazy his brother was, but hs admired his strength and courage. Manny never really had a positive role model that provided him with any stability. At one point, a teacher wanted to help Manny. He gave Manny money and a ride home that brought embarrassment to his family and angered his father because he was white. Manny was not a leader, he was a follower and wanted to belong to the popular crowd just like any normal teenager. Yet, there was always something blocking his path the popularity. manny's solution to that problem was to join a gang. Through the joining of the gang he would gain friendships, power and a sexual experience. Manny found out overtime that he wasn't gang member material and had no desire to bond with the group. While in school Manny developed an attraction for one of the teachers at the high school he was attending. He would always talk to another character named Albert and day dreamed about the different body parts on the teacher that aroused him. Manny was informed at one point in the novel that he could have his sexual desires fulfilled if he passed the initiation process. He would be allowed to caress and kiss one of the girls. Manny found out very early that sex was not all that it seemed through an experience his sister encountered. Manny's sister was sneaking out to be with a guy and having unprotected sex. She became pregnant and didn't disclose this information until a medical condition came about. She ended up having a miscarriage and became very ill. This brings up the issue of birth control, if it was used and its importance. Victor Martinez wrote a very interesting novel that I am sure many families no matter their ethnicity can relate too. It was very stereo typical, yet down to earth and true in the sense that many families are struggling over the same issues. Overall, I enjoyed the novel, but I do not think that its content is appropriate for an individual younger than fourteen to read without a parent or adult figure reading it first. Sincerely,
Ms. H
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Summary: Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida Review
Review: Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida by Victor Martinez is an exceptional fictional book for young adults readers. This is a multicultural book that will foster tolerance, overcome injustice, and depression in young adult readers. Ultimately, it helps adolescents learn and celebrate our differences and similarities. There are also many universal human concerns depicted in this book that will help young adults understand and love life to the fullest. One universal human concern developed by Victor Martinez, the author, in valuable and appropriate ways for readers is identity. Manny, the protagonist, is going through a lot of difficult problems trying to find a sense of self. According to Erick Erickson, he is in the identity versus role confusion stage. He is trying and experimenting new things to eventually develop a sense of self. For example, he joins a gang in his neighborhood to fit socially. In due course, he discovers that this is not what he wants for himself. When he returns home he says, " And it was wondrous, like a place I was meant to be. A place, I felt, that I had come back to after a long journey of being away." He realizes how important his family and home is for him. He learns from his experiences to appreciate them a good deal more. This is a great and valuable book for adolescent readers because it portrays several of the troubles an adolescent might be encountering. Adolescents reading this book will realize that there are other individuals that might be facing their same problems. It also shows how we can learn from our experiences and mistakes to become better human beings. And it is okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from them just like Manny. This book is also treasured given that there are not enough novels about Mexican-Americans. Therefore, when we read this book we learn to appreciate and learn a little bit more about the Mexican-American culture. We learn that even though we might have different cultures we are still human beings and should accept each other. Finally, I would definitely recommend this book to all booklovers and not just young adolescents. I read this book as a requirement for my Children's Literature class at California State University, Los Angeles and was fascinated. It is probably the best young adult book I have ever read. I am ashamed my grade teachers did not make this book a requirement. It was the fist time I had the opportunity to read a fictional book about a Mexican-American family. I was able to identify myself to characters in the story, which unquestionably made it more interesting. This is a book that you would definitely want to finish reading in a day because it is so interesting and want to know what happens next. This is a must read!
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