5 comments about Farmworker's Daughter: Growing Up Mexican in America.

1. These biographical vignettes surely represent the experiences of many immigrants to the US. But they also describe the problems faced by most families as they struggle with the challenges of personal differences, adolescence, bad luck, and poor decisions. As a result it failed to inspire either my sympathy for the characters or a sense of need for immigration and/or social reform. Sadly, it is boring. The style is not professional; it is not even "good writing". I expected a story of hope and inspiration or a call to activism but was disappointed. I regret my reaction. Perhaps it would have been different had the story been told by a seasoned author.



2. Teens will be moved and inspired by Rose Castillo Guilbault's memoir, "Farmworker's Daughter: Growing Up Mexican in America" (Heyday Books, $11.95 paperback). The chapters in this richly detailed book arose from a series of essays first published in the San Francisco Chronicle.
   Guilbault is best known as an award-winning broadcast and print journalist who now is vice president of corporate affairs at the Automobile Association of America of Northern California. Her memoir recounts the intellectual, cultural and emotional trek from her youth in the border town of Nogales, Mexico, to growing up in California's Salinas Valley. Guilbault fights bigotry, economic hardship and sexism. She eventually finds success in the world of words -- although the phrase "I can't" has no place in her vocabulary. [This review first appeared in the El Paso Times.]



3. We haven't read the book yet, but our eleven-year-old, grand daughter did. She liked it so much, that she patterned her school report about her grandmother on it.



4. Rose Castillo Guilbault's memoir is a great addition to the narrow field of autobiographies by Mexican American women! Well written and honest, this memoir will help readers, teens and adults, experience what it was like to grow up as a working class Mexican American girl in Arizona and California in the 1950's and 60's. In spite of our cultural differences, after reading this book I feel a kinship to this author. I believe that Rose and I could have been friends if we had gone to school together. I look forward to her next memoir because I sense there is much more of her life story that needs to be told.



5. The story of Rosela begins in Mexico, in a dry land where people need much and many times do not have enough. She and her mother take the journey up, to unknown lands with so much uncertainty...but with an incredible desire to see their lives amount to something other than a shunned, divorced mother and her fatherless daughter. Mexico will remain Rosela's identity throughout her memoir, sometimes she loves this fact, others ( like when she was a teen in the 60's she wishes it were not so) she wishes she could be, and especially look more like her blond American friends. She lives in time when immigrants lives were even more uncertain than they are today, a time when the Vietnam war was full force, and the excitable 60's and 70's were rolling through. I enjoyed reading about how this impacted her as a foreigner, and what the feelings were towards her during this time.
   
   Rosela does not set the goals that would be acceptable for her to reach (as an immigrant in a small town), but she longs for dreams that will satisfy her, and fulfill her purpose. She grew up an outsider, but not only an outsider when she was in California, but also when she went on trips back to Mexico. Life is not easy, and mistakes are made, but Rosela's story is one of hope, dreams and much courage. I was honored to read Rose Castillo Gibault's memoir, the lessons she learned are not only for her situation, but I found them completely relatable. Because I could easily relate to this feeling of not fitting in very well, or depending on other's mercy to feel "at home", Farmworker's Daughter was that book that just feels right. Not pretentious, preachy or condemning, but just the right blend of truth, reality, and life.
   
   The writing of Farmworker's Daughter was really great, I enjoyed reading from the perspective of the little girl, then adolescent, then college age woman. It had really good follow through and lead me on right to the end of the book very smoothly. I loved reading this book, check it out!
   
   
   
   Here are some quotes ( I love quotes so I always have to include them!!):
   
   "As a teenager I once asked my mother why she had left since she always talked about the greatness of Mexico. Maybe she had given up too much to come here, I suggested. She thoughtfully considered what I knew to be an impudent comment, and I immediately felt guilty. She shook her head sadly and looked into space, as if her gaze could travel back in time and pinpoint the precise moment she had made that momentous decision. [...] "There was nothing to loose. There was nothing for you and me.""(p. 23).
   
   " Once I stepped outside my door, I was all alone and had to fend for myself. The only thing I feared more than school was disappointing my mother, so I hid my anxieties" (p. 48).
   
   "One of the most memorable episodes during my years in Mrs. Rojas class was the day our class picture was taken and Mrs. Rojas announced that the prettiest and most photogenic person in class was Ramona--a shy Mexican girl. The blondes were shocked, Ramona blossomed with new self-confidence and the rest of us were struck by the notion that a Mexican could be considered beautiful" (p. 86).
   
   "It was great to be popular in Mexico by acting out being an American, because in the United States I certainly didn't feel like one" (p. 112).
   
   " Those Americans found Mexicans in Mexico charming, but those same Mexicans, it seemed, quickly lost their "charm" once in the United States. My cousins were proud, and being snubbed left them with little desire to explore beyond the small-town prejudices. They did not return" (p. 114).

1 comments about Mi Casa/my House (Somos Latinos / We Are Latinos).

1. My house is about the Rodriguez family and their home. I was excited to learn this family lives near my home. The pictures are wonderful. The author has taken much care when taking the photos.
   
   I enjoyed the dual language format. It allowed me to practice my knowledge of Spanish.

No comments about Juan Bautista De Anza (Latinos in American History).

5 comments about Sin querer queriendo.

1. Lo recomiendo es su totalidad. Un libro que no debe dejar de leer si es Fan de Chespirito, o sea casi todo el mundo!. Cuenta su vida de una manera graciosa, inteligente, donde hay alegrías, tristezas, chispa, emoción y buen humor. Cuando empiezas a leer es difícil soltar el libro.



2. Es un libro muy entretenido, ameno y divertido, fácil de leer, ya que está logicamente estructurado. Lo recomiendo. Merece la pena conocer la vida de este genio, que nos tiene "mal" acostumbrados a esperar siempre lo mejor de él.



3. si duda un libro que todo aquel que lo lea hace que se sienta orgulloso de su cultura hispana, como siempre el titulo de grande se queda corto ante el virtuoso chespirito.



4. Sin querer queriendo es un libro ameno, gracioso por momentos e interesante por otros, que nos da a conocer detalles de la vida de este genio llamado Roberto Gomez Bolaños. Las fotografias incluidas ayudan a complementar la lectura. Recomendable a todos sus seguidores!



5. El mundo esta repleto de libros. Unos buenos. Otros malos.
   Este es uno de los buenos libros. Hay que leerlo. Su prosa es captivante, su historia es altamente imitable para nosotros los que pensamos tener pocas esperanzas. Sus puntos de vista son claros, sinceros, directos y sin compromisos hacia ninguna entidad o punto de vista.
   Me emociono haber leido este libro no solamente una vez si no muchas mas en su totalidad. Y con admiracion y respecto dedico estas lineas a ese genio de nuestra gente, Roberto Gomez Bolanos.

No comments about David Farragut: First Admiral Of The U.S. Navy (A Proud Heritage: the Hispanic Library).

No comments about Bandido: Oscar "zeta" Acosta And The Chicano Experience.

No comments about Autobiography in Early Modern Spain (Hispanic Issues).

2 comments about Jennifer Lopez.

1. You aren't going to gain great insight on what makes Jennifer so driven or anything like that. But it was fun to go through it and see all the pictures, most of which I had never seen before. They also give you some interesting tidbits on her personal life. If you're a fan and want something fun about J.Lo, I'd get this.



2. You aren't going to gain great insight on what makes Jennifer so driven or anything like that. But it was fun to go through it and see all the pictures, most of which I had never seen before. They also give you some interesting tidbits on her personal life. If you're a fan and want something fun about J.Lo, I'd get this.

3 comments about Home Is Everything: The Latino Baseball Story: From the Barrio to the Major Leagues.

1. This book is very well photographed and written. The photos are stunning and colorful as well as informative and narrative. Not your stanard picture book, this is much better and will have a longer shelf life as the players are legendary. A must have book for the photographer, the sports fan and the Latino communities around America.



2. In Home Is Everything, Marcos Breton presents story vignettes of Latinos involved in American Baseball, told in both English and Spanish, and enhanced with full-color photographs by Jose Luis Villegas. Slices of daily life training and competing in this great sport, as well as the names and brief profiles of remarkable and dedicated people, comprise this celebration of baseball which is enthusiastically recommended for the fans of Latino players.



3. This is the best book I ever read! Marcos Breton is an amazing writer and historian. Usually, all you ever hear about is Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle, but now we get to hear about Roberto Clemente, Fernando Valenzuela, and Jorge Posada too! Viva Baseball! This book is a valuable addition to any library.

No comments about Cesar Chavez and La Causa (Library of American Biography Series) (Library of American Biography).