Carlota

by Scott O'Dell

Raised to take the place of her dead brother,  Carlota de Zubaran can do anything that Carlos could  have done. She races her stallion through the  California lowlands, dives into shark-infested waters  searching for gold, and fights in the battles that  rage between the Mexicans and the Americans. At  sixteen, she is fearless--and that pleases her  father very much.



Yet while Carlota  throughly enjoys her freedom, she wants to be more  than her father's "son." She wants to be  herself, brave and courageous but free to show  feelings of tenderness and compassion as well. Her  father thinks such feelings are shameful, so Carlota  must defy him. That will be the most difficult  battle of all.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Historical, Childrens, Classics, Novels

144 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 14, 1977

About the author

Scott O'Dell was an American author celebrated for his historical fiction, especially novels for young readers. He is best known for Island of the Blue Dolphins, a classic that earned the Newbery Medal and has been translated into many languages and adapted for film. Over his career he wrote more than two dozen novels for young people, as well as works of nonfiction and adult fiction, often drawing on the history and landscapes of California and Mexico. His books, including The King’s Fifth, The Black Pearl, and Sing Down the Moon, earned him multiple Newbery Honors and a wide readership. O'Dell received numerous awards for his contribution to children’s literature, among them the Hans Christian Andersen Award and the Regina Medal. In 1984, he established the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction to encourage outstanding works in the genre.

Reviews

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

If Scott O'Dell didn't tackle the task of writing about these lesser-known times and places in American history, who would? Also, his books are accessible to young readers, which makes them even more valuable tools in the spreading of historical knowledge. One knows when reading a book with Scott O'Dell's name on it that it will be exhaustively researched and finely honed in its details, no matter how obscure its subject matter may be.

I didn't know a whole lot about the historical background for Carlota before I read it. Apparently, when James K. Polk held office as Commander-in-Chief of our United States of America in the 1840s, there was a substantial section of land that he was eager to have added to the official holdings of the United States. Most of this land belonged to Mexico, so our president found himself in a bind as to how he could annex the desired land without too much trouble or expense. In 1846, as Scott O'Dell tells it, U.S. military forces intentionally goaded Mexico into attacking our country, giving the States ample theoretical reason to forcefully retaliate and push back the foreign marauders. Under cover of a war that the U.S. had no chance of losing, Mr. Polk would make the land-grab that would acquire huge sections of Texas, New Mexico and California as new legal territories. This short war between Mexico and the United States serves as the historical backdrop for Carlota.

Carlota has personal issues with the way that her father has brought her up to act more like a young man than a woman. The reason that he raised her almost like a son is that his first son was killed by white soldiers, and whether with full intent to do so or not, he has groomed Carlota to be a sort of replacement for the boy. War with the white men across the border is going to be coming very soon, and the Mexicans living in the California region will need every soldier they can get in order to to have a chance of emerging victorious from the conflict.

Though the impact that Carlota's upbringing has had on her frame of mind as a now sixteen-year-old is an important thread in this story, I wouldn't say that it's the main one. Carlota has a lot to figure out about the way that she wants to live her life once her father is eventually gone, and it's not going to be easy for her as a young female to run her father's entire property and make all of the important decisions. Add to that heavy responsibility the chaos that is beginning to reign as the United States government pushes its land border further and further south, and before long Carlota will be living in a new country, trying to adjust to its new system of laws and figure out how dramatically the changing of the bureaucratic guard will affect her future.

There are some good moments of adventure in this book, like when Carlota dives deep under water to search a sunken hulk for the treasure it holds, and nearly loses her life as a giant clam latches on to her hand. Carlota is never an emotionally overwhelming book, and doesn't really generate any pathos by its characters; but then, that's never been Scott O'Dell's style of writing. What this book does well is to present a time in American history as authentically as possible, teaching us something about both our nation's past and the constant ways of human nature in a story that won't fail to hold people's attention. I might consider giving two and a half stars to Carlota.

[Shoshi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best part about this book was dreaming up a sequel where Rozario (sp?) becomes Big Buff Rozario and uses Dona Dolores as an ottoman. Oh, and the Mexican jumping beans.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to read another Scott O’Dell book after loving The Black Pearl, a book I read as a child. The setting intrigued me, California while it still belonged to Mexico. Even the author’s story piqued my interested. He traveled extensively throughout Latin America in the 1950w and 60s. How different it must have been back then… Unfortunately, his book Carlota had none of the intrigue or the mysticism of The Black Pearl. I can’t imagine liking this book as a child. I certainly didn’t like it as an adult.

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a fine book. It’s another one I have in my classroom. I was mostly intrigued because it’s about Spaniards in Southern California during the Mexican American ward. Kind of interesting story but there wasn’t much of a conclusion.

[Meredith · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a great disappointment. Carlota's character was not very developed, and a lot of loose ends left me wondering, "what happened" at the end of the novel. Her father's eagle/the purpose of the eagle was a mystery- though very important to her father (a status symbol perhaps). And while she wished to be seen as a capable person, yet a blossoming and delicate female, she chose one over the other in the end to please her father. For me, the best part of the book was learning about rancho barbecues in the 1800s. Not my favorite O'Dell book.

[itchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

titular sentence:
p7: "One day my Carlota will be good on a horse if, if you leave us alone."

Now there's a somewhat graceful ending.

My basic Spanish came in handy, at least.

Gotta love Scott O'Dell for giving us these historical fiction of such obscure subject matters.

Hasta la vista, Scott.

[Crystal Coates · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not his best work.

[Mell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a middle grade book, and I enjoyed the cultural aspect of Spaniards in 19th Century California. I know nothing about the history of the region, so I don't know if O'Dell is accurate. Carlota is a great main character: a smart, capable, and independent teenage girl. The novel's ending is quite open. Intriguing.

This book is the closest I felt I could get to the Summer Challenge prompt to read a book I was assigned in school but didn't. (I was such a nerd that I read pretty much everything. And was too worried about bad grades to skip readings.)

But I did defy a junior high Library Science class assignment to read O'Dell's Island of the Blue Dolphins. I read the first chapter and then faked my way through the required book report. The Librarian totally busted me and gave me a very low grade. Ack! Maybe that's why I've suffered through pretty much ever book assigned ever since....

I did finally read Island of the Blue Dolphins in high school. I loved it, wept through most of it.

[Tommy Tran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carlota is a very strong and brave woman, however she proves a powerful point in the novel that women can be just as good as men when racing their stallion, battles and basically. When she was not yet borned, her brother had died and so her parents tried to replace the boy with this new born child. Carlota has her stallion ride through all those tough times. For example, in the book, they tell a story about how she was in a war. However she only had her stallion and a small blade strapped to her leg. She makes her stallion charge straight toward to the enemy with no hesitation. This meaning, she has those guts to do anything. Like she could have died when charging toward the enemy but she had the guts to just go. Carlota is a very strong and brave woman that proves a powerful point and lesson to all the other girls that doesn’t have the skills she does. I would rate this book a five out of five stars since it gave a really powerful point and had an important theme to it.
-Tommy Tran

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so sad this book was written long before the YA Renaissance. It could have been big, beefy, filled with historical detail and characterization. Instead, it reads more like the rough outline of a story I want to read. We meet Carlota after some defining moments of her life have already happened on her father's ranch in pre-statehood, post Mexican War California. She loves riding, exploring, and doing other 'manly' things of which her grandmother disapproves. There are a few moments when her marriageability is fussed over, and when she compares herself to her long-dead older brother. But, nothing is fleshed out. We moved from scene to scene as if it were a storyboard rather than a real story. Characters are flat, their motivations immediately apparent. Even in moments of danger, I never felt like anything dire would result. To top it off, there are multiple mistakes in the little snippets of Spanish in the dialogue. I'm so disappointed!

[Paola · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Carlota by Scott Odell is about this strong and brave women and when she was not yet born she her brother had just died and her parents tried to replace there son with Carlota because Carlota could do something her brother could have done like she had battles in the US and she tried to fill in her brother shoes by helping out with her fathers yard and her daily chores. She was a young girl who was mostly raised like a boy but that didn't stop her from doing stuff that she wants to do, but Carlota doesn't want to be her fathers son she wants to be herself. I rated this book a 5 because this because she shows that girls can do things men can do and it shows an importance theme.

[Felgona Adhiambo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of historical fiction, and this book didn't sway my opinion much. It vividly portrays pre-white rule Southern California and accurately depicts the deceitfulness of the latter. The symbolism, like setting the eagle and Rosario free, added depth to Carlota's coming-of-age and breaking free from her imposing father and grandmother whose expectations tugged at her in opposite directions. She does finally come into her own or at least the ending teases toward this. Some storylines were left hanging though, not sure why. For instance, what became of Don Manuel whom Carlota's grandmother was keen on fixing her with? Overall it was a nice quick read.

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing in this is weirdly stilted and formal- like someone who studied a language for six years in grammar school but has never actually spoken to a native speaker. If the goal was to emphasize the foreignness of the place/people/story, than congrats! I'm not at all sure it was intentional.

[Ceridwyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great premise, that of a girl raised as a son in the world of the Californios. Some fine adventure including diving underwater for treasure. However, I felt the plot drove the characters rather than the other way around.

[Josie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful little book. A nice change of pace from what I've been reading. This book came from a school library discard pile. Glad I picked it up.

[Kendra B · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Annika Ringnalda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 I read this book for school, not expecting too much of it. While it was not my favorite book, I found it more enjoyable than I thought I would.

[Brenda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bleh. At least it was short.

[Clementine A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't waste your time. If you like the premise, please do yourself a favor and find a similar book that is actually well written.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean really...does Scott O'Dell write anything that isn't amazing? For those of you who follow my blog, you know that I was having trouble getting through this book but O'Dell in no way bears any responsibility...this was purely a "me" thing, and with two kids under three I am just way too tired most nights to get a whole lot of reading done.

Finally today I finished it, and boy, O'Dell outdoes himself once again. I love his work, the way he writes, his characters, the plotlines, his settings - it seems that each book I read by him is better than the last.

Book Summary:

Carlota lives in the California lowlands and spends her days trying to take the place of her dead brother. Her father is so devastated by the loss that he tries everything to make Carlota into what he wanted. She does everything he would have done - races her stallion (against her grandmother's wishes), dives into shark-infested waters searching for gold, and fights battles that rage between the Mexicans and the Americans. At sixteen she is fearless - and that pleases her father very much.

But while Carlota thoroughly enjoys freedoms most other women are denied, she wants to be more that her father's "son." She wants to be herself, brave and courageous but free to show tenderness and compassion as well - things her father does not encourage. He thinks those feelings are shameful, so Carlota must defy him at a huge cost. That ends up being her most difficult battle of all.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book, but like many Scott O'Dell books, it was a little hard to get into. Once into it though, I couldn't put it down. He does an amazing job with the setting - you really do become invested in the place and events of the time period. The War with Mexico is one that is not typically written about in young adult literature so it is nice to see O'Dell bringing that time period into the genre. There are lots of Spanish terms throughout the novel, some which I understood and others which I did not.

The story of a young girl paving her way in a man's world is not an uncommon one and I think he did a great job with her character. Her interactions with the men she encounters - vaqueros and gringos - are interesting and are really what defines her character.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book failed to be something bigger than the flighty portrayals of everyday California rancho life. If only the author had delved deep into the social and political issue that frames the end of the rancho era; if only the author had explored the significance of gringos coming to California; if only he had discussed the impact of the Mexican-American war on rancho citizens, or California's annexation into the U.S. Then there's that big question that is prefaced at the beginning of the story: who does California belong to? The content provided in this book was not enough to provoke any serious thinking on these issues, and focused more on Carlota finding her place in future California.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel a bit bad for rating this book so low, but after a lot of thought, it is my final decision.
The book isn't bad; the concept is great, and the time and setting of the story are interesting. Sadly though, the book is very short, and there isn't much of anything in it, other than potential for a story. I think that if it had been longer, I would have enjoyed it more. I did like Carlota a lot, but I wanted more. More of her, of her story, of her complicated relationship with her dad. If the story had been longer, those points could have been explored more, and the book would have been so satisfying and cool.
Unfortunately, it ended up just being a bit disappointing. :(

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carlota de Zubarán is a young woman living in the times when México owned California and was having battles with the U.S. She was trying to fill the shoes of her dead brother in helping out with her father's land and the daily chores, etc. that were required for it's upkeep. This was a wonderful story and very interestingly described. I got a feel for the everyday life of Mexican people during this timeframe.

[Jodi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh! I have read several books by Scott O'Dell and have loved them but this one was a disappointment. My children and I stuck to it and have to say the ending was a disappointment. My daughter even took the book from me just to confirm I had read it through to the end because the ending had such an unfinished feeling. Sigh!

[Lupe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carlota is a brave young women that tries to "fit" in ever since her brother died. Scott O'Dell made Carlota into a strong representation of a female role. The risks she took to have her fathers approval was alot. I think some of those risks weren't the answer to the love or the approval of her father.

[Louise Leonard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very poorly plotted and developed. More like a plot idea that O'Dell never bothered to develop than a novel. Little characterization or growth. You want to like this book since it features a female in a man's world but there isn't enough to make a connection. This could have been magnificent. Don't waste your time.

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

The setting of the book was California during the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848. I didn't really like the characters in the story. Carlota is a strong, independent young woman and the story is about her daily life on a ranch. My niece is looking for short historical fiction novels to help improve her reading skills.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's kind of confusing to me. I end up skipping these huge blocks of text because I don't understand what's going on.

[Tweller83 · Rating 2 out of 5]

An ok book.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it in elementary school, totally related to a Mexican girl who "shockingly" rode horses just like the boys.