Playing for Keeps

Amigas #4

by Veronica Chambers

It's time for some Texas-sized adventure for Amigas Incorporated! After throwing dozens of quinceaneras for strangers, friends, and plenty of quince-zillas, Alicia, Carmen, Jamie, and Gaz could use a vacation. Unfortunately, with all their time spent planning, they've forgotten to make their own plans--for Spring Break! So when Alicia's mom mentions she has a friend who wants to throw a quinceanera for her daughter--in Texas--the group figures they can combine fun and business. Soon they are heading South. Alicia is excited to meet her new client, Jamie is pumped she can see her boyfriend compete in a big golf tournament, Carmen is looking forward to hanging with her cousins, and Gaz is psyched to be attending the South by Southwest music conference and concert. But with so much going on, it is hard to stay on task. Will Alicia be able to rein in the group or will the drama have her heading for new pastures?

Genres: Young Adult

208 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2011

About the author

Veronica Chambers is a prolific author, best known for her critically acclaimed memoir, Mama’s Girl, which has been course adopted by hundreds of high schools and colleges throughout the country. The New Yorker called Mama’s Girl “a troubling testament to grit and mother love… one of the finest and most evenhanded in the genre in recent years.” Born in Panama and raised in Brooklyn, Ms. Chambers' work often reflects her Afro-Latina heritage.

Her most recent non-fiction book was Kickboxing Geishas: How Japanese Women are Changing their Nation. Her other non-fiction books include The Joy of Doing Things Badly: A Girl’s Guide to Love, Life, and Foolish Bravery. She has also written more than a dozen books for children, most recently Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa and the body confidence Y/A novel, Plus. Her teen series, Amigas, is a collaboration between Chambers, producer Jane Startz, and Jennifer Lopez.

Veronica spent two seasons as an executive story editor for CW’s hit series Girlfriends, and earned a BET Comedy Award for her script work on that series. She has also written and developed projects for Fox and the N.

Veronica has contributed to several anthologies, including the best-selling Bitch in the House, edited by Cathi Hanuaer, and Mommy Wars, edited by Leslie Morgan Steiner.

A graduate of Simon’s Rock College at Bard, she and her husband have endowed three scholarships at the college in the fields of music and literature. She has been the recipient of several awards including the Hodder fellowship for emerging novelists at Princeton University and a National Endowment for the Arts fiction award. She speaks, reads and writes Spanish, but she is truly fluent in Spanglish. She lives with her husband and daughter in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Reviews

[Anna Francesca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a cute, light read. The characters were too two-dimensional, though. Even Valeria, who is supposed to be this cool, rebel, quince, isn't more than a list of adjectives that make her more goth than typically trendy. Plus, the amount of money that Valeria's family was pouring into her celebration made it seem less plausible that they would hire fifteen-year-olds from Miami to organize the festivities. I can see this being a book that female, reluctant readers may enjoy. I can see the aspect of integrating Latino culture being appealing. Overall, though, I can see other books as being better-written stories to engage those same readers.

[BCPL Youth Services Librarian]

Click to see book in BCPL's online catalog

[Jazmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does anyone know who the guy on the cover’s name is?