The Secret Blog of Raisin Rodriguez

by Judy Goldschmidt

Twelve-year-old Raisin Rodriguez has been uprooted from her life in California and plopped down in Philadelphia with her mother, sister, step-father, step-sister Samantha, and Samantha's cross-dressing poodle Countess. The only way Raisin can survive the painful transition is by recording every detail in a secret blog she keeps for her best friends from home. Raisin shares her latest musings and spills about every humiliating incident that prevents her new friendships from taking off. She even describes the arrival of her dreaded period, just after her thirteenth birthday. But humiliation doesn't begin to cover what Raisin experiences when someone at her new school discovers her blog and prints it out for the world to see. This hilariously painful and heartbreakingly hysterical novel offers a glimpse into the mind and heart of a truly unique character with an unforgettable voice.

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Childrens, Fiction, Chick Lit, Middle Grade, Teen

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 21, 2005

About the author

Judy Goldschmidt is the author of the popular Secret Blog of Raisin Rodriguez series, which follows a young girl as she leaves her childhood home and must make new friends. Judy first got the idea when a friend of hers was using Crest whitening strips to whiten her teeth and Judy wondered whether or not the strips could be used to put highlights in someone’s hair. Deciding that this was a funny question for a character to ask, Judy decided to write a book based around such a character and the Raisin Rodriguez story was born.

Unlike Raisin, Judy attended a private religious school and sometimes feels like she missed out on the quintessential thirteen year old experiences. Looking back, Judy recalls her own teenage years a bit differently than the character Raisin. Judy often wishes she could be as funny as Raisin.

Currently, Judy lives in the Big Apple – New York City.

Reviews

[IlOvEzEbRa!!!!:):):): galway · Rating 5 out of 5]

WELL I AM STILL READIN THIS BOOK.it is definatly a chick book.not for guys!!!!lol. but it talks about a girl named raisin and she moved to a dif. state and left her to best friends behind.she is tryin to fit with the hailys and the fionas(the popular girls) but tis not workin out for her so every day she trys harder and harder.so she tried out for the schools soccer team and made it!!!!!but she is no goood she just tried it casue the fionas and haliys were on the team.and is tryin to be there friends.(tryin to be one of them)and keeps on tryin and tryin but is not workin and the worse part about it is she is not good at soccer and she started her ...... so that ruins every thing but this boook is a really funny book also i highly recomend this book to teens and pre teen girls 100%!!!!

[G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Warning: This review may contain spoilers.

"The Secret Blog of Raisin Rodriguez" is about Raisin Rodriguez who keeps a secret blog. Yeap, that's pretty much it. This was a fun and easy book. I think this book has kept me company a lot when I was younger- around 10-11 or so. There was just something about Raisin and her quirky ways that kept me interested in her story.

This book is nothing special. It's a normal book about a normal girl with her own blog. The normalcy of it all appealed to me, I think. The situations that Raisin were embarrassing, and I'm sure that entertained me a lot back then. I think that after reading this book, it inspired me to make my own blog. I had my own shares of embarrassment back then. I talked about anything and everything and my best friend read it all! Talk about shame. Until now, I am still mortified just thinking about it. I guess I have a fair inkling of what embarrassment Raisin might have felt.

Anyway, here are 3 stars for the nostalgia and the fun that Raisin Rodriguez gave me!

[Rae]

Another book I read in middle school & the one thing I vividly remember is her “examining herself” in the mirror for the first time & saying that “she” looked like the mean teacher/librarian that worked at the school. I believe the teacher was named Mervys or Mervyn? I literally haven’t read the book in 14 years but it’s funny that’s all I remember from it.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Horror of horrors. It's all over. My life is over. My youth has passed me by. Everything has changed. Nothing will ever be the same. Especially on the fourteenth day of every month, when I'll be riddled with cramps, afraid to go swimming, reluctant to wear white, and just plain nasty to anyone who so much as looks at me without permission." (p. 113)

Raisin Rodriguez moves with her newly-remarried mother from Berkeley, CA to Philadelphia. She writes a daily secret blog about her new school and classmates for her Berkeley best friends to read, but when Raisin forgets to log out of a school computer, her secret blog isn't so secret anymore. Not a great book, unfortunately. Raisin is pretty shallow, the drama of the secret blog was predictable, Philadelphia was not depicted in any sort of recognizable fashion… but I could see it being an okay pick for reluctant readers, or for a reader who wants a quick, light read. There are several other Raisin books out there (that the author probably wrote in her sleep), so you could keep reading all about her if you like her. She isn't that bad, and some parts are funny (like her reaction to getting her period).

[Carissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

i read this hoping it might be a contender for a “multicultural” title for next year’s summer book list. it seems like all multicultural titles are about kids who are having a really rough life and i’m always on the lookout for books that are about normal, average kids who happen to have a more diverse cultural heritage. sadly, this is not that book. the only indication that raisin might be hispanic is her last name. perhaps it’s because the author’s last name is “goldschmidt”? sigh. still, it’s a pretty decent coming-of-age story with horrifyingly embarrassing moments (like when raisin gets her first period and her stepfather sits next to her on the bed, slaps her on the shoulder and says, “dudette, i heard you became a woman.’) and bridget jonesian thought processes. i did giggle aloud a few times, but i’m not sure it’s anything i’d ever put on a list that i would recommend for boys to read.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book about teenager's life, fascinating stories and strange events.
What's up with teenagers? Well they're going through much more complicated paths than anyone. This girl who's from bright and active California moving to Philadelphia. Now she has to start a new life with new friends, new school, and a new family. How much more complicated can it be? Yes it can be more complicated, now she has to deal with love problems, beauty problems, and other basic problems. At least she still has her old friends from her hometown. But yet there's a lot more problems to see.
Reccommend this to girls who are having problems with their teenage life, guys who want to know what's up with teenage girls, and others who would like to know how do teenagers get through their years.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was another awesome book that tells the story through blogs/chat logs. im obessed with those kinds of books right now ^-^
anyhoo, it's about a girl named Raisin (shame on her parents for naming her that!!) who has lived in California all her life, but her parents get divorced and her mother remarries (I think its her mother... correct me if im wrong... i haven't read it since last summer). so Raisin moves away from sunny California to stupid Pennslyvania. she keeps in touch with her friends by keeping a blog about everything thats happening. Everything, from that squirrly boy Jeremy always bugging her, the popular girls Fiona and Hayley, and her crush, CJ. because no one will ever find her blog.
Right?

[Lillian Jillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome! Raisin is full of taste, charisma, and character. Which I found ironic, considering raisins do not have any of these valuable qualities. Although the names that the author chose to use (i.e. Fiona, Pia, & Claudia) for some of the essential characters were aged slightly and didn't quite fit but the rest of the book was a laughing fit for me. This author has a great, fresh, and young point of view. She developed her characters brilliantly and likably ("*cough* Sparkles!") So much that I could draw clear pictures of Jeremy, Fiona, Hailey, Bliss, Madison, Lynn, Roman, Ferguson, Sparkles, etc. But somehow I found it hard to picture Raisin. Judy Goldshchmidt, when masked as Raisin, has a definite future in comedy. ;)

[Jennie · Rating 2 out of 5]

While struggling to fit in at a new school, and cope with her step family, Raisin describes her trials and tribulations in a secret blog meant for her friends back home. However, Raisin is humiliated when her blog is discovered by her classmates.

I felt this book was quite silly and ultimately shallow, Goldschmidt essentially writes chick lit for the seventh grade crowd. Also the language is a bit dated for today’s generation; Goldschmidt writes as a woman attempting to sound like a teen. However, there are some important lessons about peer cruelty, self esteem, and Internet self publishing.

[Amy Snyder · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute adolescent book that I will place in my classroom for struggling readers. Many of them will be able to relate to Raisin and her parents divorce. I liked the idea of Raisin blogging with her friends back home as a way to communicate. I could also understand her need to be accepted by the popular girls and trying to fit in. I was disappointed by the ending where she finds friends with the alternative students. It came out of nowhere and I just don't see them accepting her after her blog is released, especially the girl who she had made fun of. I do think it was funny that they had the boy dog dressed up as a girl. But who names their kid Raisin?

[Woogie12 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a girl named Raisin Rodriguez whos parents are divorced, and her mother thinks it would be better if they move. She moves to a new house, a new school, and she gets a new dad, how much worse could her life get? To keep in touch with her friends from her old school she keeps a blog. In this blog she keeps all this personal stuff. What is in it, what happens,and could her life get any worse?

[Jasmin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book The secret blog of rasin rodriguez is about this girl who blogs about her life. she moves away from her best friend and ends up to starting in a new school she bloge about her every day life and ends up hurting her new firend who she may really like she trys to put things back to the way there supposed to be.

I thought it was okay but its really notmy type. so if you like those types of books then go ahaead i think this would be your type of book.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the most hilarious book I have ever read!!!!! There is drama, fake barf, mental sisters and a poodle who looks like they ought to be a polar bear!! The part near the end where (SPOILER ALERT!!!) the blog is discovered, and raisin is humiliated at school, and no one wants to be her friend except the "alt kids" is the saddest thing. I was shocked that middle school kids would do that!!!! However, i highly recommend this book!

[Jerrica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda cheesy, seemed like the author needed to create a conflict in a hurry, though you kind of knew what the conflict was as soon as you picked up the book. There was a nice amount of humor, but the characters seemed kind of cookie cutter. Especially Raisin. What's her real name, Rae?

I don't know. It was a quick read though, and enjoyable.

[Mr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because Rasin does some wacky stuff in her new school and it is intering how she trys to fit in.I also like it because it creative she has a secrect blog to talk with her friends from her home town. pages: 202
Raquel G

[Phair · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seemed to be an American attempt at replicating the Louise Rennison books (Angus, thongs, etc). No where near as funny nor as good- not awful but just OK. I did not identify at all with the character who wanted desperately to be popular- at that age I wanted nothing more than to remain invisible.

[Dayna Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Raisin's mother remarries she moves from California to Philadelphia. In order to keep in touch with her friends in California, Raisin starts writing a blog. She begins telling them all her most personal secrets and her thoughts and feelings about the new kids she meets at school. No one will ever read it, or will they? A cute book with a real message about what kids put out on the Internet.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a girl named Raisin (no duh) and she has to move, so know she starts a blog with her friends from back home, and well, the new people from her new school find it and find all the things she has said about them!O Oh!;)

[Shila · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LUV THIS BOOK! IT IS AWESOME! READ IT! well, actually there was a disgusting part that maybe guys cant handle...GIRL DUCKIES, READ IT IF YOU HAVE A BRAVE HEART AND NOT AFRAID OF A MELVIN! u'll know what i'm talking about if uv read it, haha

[Claudia Cutter · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my favorite books!!! its written like a blog. raisin rodriguez just had to move and its her blogging back to her best friends pia and claudia (claudia!!!) i love raisin, if she was real i think we would be friends. :)

[Darshan Elena · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute little book that features Raisin, a quirky math genius of sorts who is adjusting to life in the wake of her parents' divorce and mother's remarriage. Raisin seems younger in life, attitude, and experience than her 13 years suggest, but that is somewhat refreshing...

[Mayday Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

HA! This book is hilarious! It also is rather scary, and reminds you that the Internet is most definately *not* a safe place.

I will never *ever* own a blog. :D

But the lead character wasn't so great. Her personality was too cliche.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love blog books, where people tell about whats going on, and that's what this book is all about. I recommend it for 4th-6th graders, or girls who like fiction. It is a very crazy book, (you would never know what happened with her dog!)

[Shea S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't decide what to think of this book. I think it's good but I think that it is much too similar to Click Here, a book about a girls secret blog getting out. But it has more character and a good plotline. I will keep posted.

[cali · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok this book is really funny and an easy read... i liked how entertaining it was! i read the next 2 in the series also.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Raisin. She makes the book. Her point of view is so refreshing and fun. I wish it were a little cleaner.

[Rachel kiwi · Rating 5 out of 5]

what gose around comes around

[Guadalupe Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in a book club. It was a really good book. it could relate to every girl that had a good experience on their boyfriend i really recomended to every girl.

[Daisy Saavedra]

This is a very good book that is about his gurl that suffers about love and how she likes a bot this is a very good every body should read this book

[Juliana Okereke · Rating 4 out of 5]

really good book i didnt like the ending tough