E-book
Not a chance
Record details
- ISBN: 9781459802179 (electronic bk.)
- ISBN: 1459802179 (electronic bk.)
- ISBN: 9781459802186 (electronic bk.)
- ISBN: 1459802187 (electronic bk.)
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Physical Description:
electronic resource
remote
1 online resource. - Publisher: Victoria, B.C. : Orca Book Publishers, 2013.
Content descriptions
| Source of Description Note: | Description based on print version record. |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Teenage girls -- Juvenile fiction Dominican Republic -- Juvenile fiction Teenage girls -- Fiction Dominican Republic -- Fiction |
| Genre: | Electronic books. |
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- 0 of 0 copies available at Prince Rupert Library.
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Electronic resources
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2013 April #1
Imagine Dian's shock when her friend Aracely announces marriage plansâset for when she turns 15. Dian and her doctor parents had planned for Aracely to immigrate to their Canadian homeland to pursue higher education rather than follow the traditional pattern of early marriage in her impoverished Dominican Republic village. Who would throw away such an opportunity? Aracely's announcement and Dian's reaction quickly estrange the girls from each other. Mulder's provocative tale about a cultural clash avoids heavy didacticism with lively dialogue and carefully nuanced behavior for each of the believable characters. Readers will feel for Dian as she tries to establish her identity, engage her overbearingly politically correct parents, and begin a friendship with a Haitian boy that provokes a racist response from the community. It's a lot of growing up for one summer, but this engaging story intelligently takes on the matter of haves and have-nots. Who really has the better lives? Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2013 February #2
A Canadian teenager must decide if she knows what's best for her Dominican best friend. Every summer, Dian travels to the small Dominican Republic village of Cucubano with her doctor parents. Now 13, Dian would like to enjoy a "normal Canadian teenager" summer, but they drag her along again nonetheless. Once there, she discovers that her best friend, 14-year-old Aracely, is engaged. Dian cannot understand why Aracely would choose a typical village life over the chance to study to become a doctor in Canada. As a socially aware only child, Dian is a believably mature, introspective narrator whose fears for her friend feel justified. But when her disapproval threatens their friendship, readers will wrestle along with Dian as she decides whether to trust her friend or to be her savior. Dian's growth is succinctly chronicled as she evolves from a child struggling to form an identity apart from her parents ("parents like mine, who expect you to spend every waking moment saving the world") into a confident young woman ("I'm trying to help people, but I'm not raging at the world and refusing to enjoy life....It's about balancing"). Mulder's spare prose neither makes light of a delicate issue nor paints it with a broad brush. Quietly perceptive and provocative. (Fiction. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus 2013 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved. - Library Media Connection : Library Media Connection Reviews 2013 August/September
Dian's preoccupied parents go to the Dominican Republic each summer to set up a free medical clinic, the locals live in wooden huts and the closest city is two hours away. Her parents are very active in environmental issues at home and are disappointed when Dian quits her environmental clubs. When she arrives in Cucubano, Dian's longtime friend Aracely tells her that she is marrying the following year. Dian cannot accept her 14-year-old friend's choice, and begins to judge Aracely's culture, which offends Aracely. Dian eventually comes to understand that what makes her happy doesn't necessarily apply to everyone, and that she can't change the community's beliefs and traditions. Dian's struggle with cultural differences makes for interesting reading. The reader sees that Dian comes to discover that some of her own decisions can just as easily be judged by others. This is a quick read that may inspire some readers to reflect upon what Dian learns and apply it to their own lives. Alliso Bernstein, Educational Materials Reviewer, Cortlandt Manor, New York. RECOMMENDED Copyright 2012 Linworth Publishing, Inc. - School Library Journal Reviews : SLJ Reviews 2013 August
Gr 5â8âSet in present-day Dominican Republic, Not a Chance explores the contrasts between traditional island-culture mores and Western ideals. Dian, a Canadian teen, and her family visit Cucubano, D.R. every summer, but this year she is appalled to learn that her closest friend in the Caribbean town will be married now that she is 15. She and her do-gooder parents had plans to provide Aracely an opportunity for higher education in North America, but Aracely would rather stay near her family. While the two girls are at odds, a friendship develops between Dian and a Haitian boy, a social taboo in this small village. Because of the community's racial prejudice, the teens' social standing and Aracely's future are threatened. The story moves swiftly with animated writing and plenty of dialogue. Readers will empathize with Dian as she exposes her parents' pretensions: "What's the point of having family meetings if no one wants to hear what I have to say?" Though overbearing, they don't just talk about their values, they devote their summers to providing free medical care. The Dominican characters are likewise complex, welcoming the Canadian visitors, but shunning dark-skinned immigrants. Cultural details and Spanish words are incorporated into the text. Complicated issues, including children's rights, Western ethnocentrism, and racism, are all illuminated in this story of cross-cultural friendship and respect. Readers will grow in understanding, along with Dian, who concludes, "It's about balancing the dancing with the doing.âToby Rajput, National Louis University, Skokie, IL
[Page 104]. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. - Voice of Youth Advocates Reviews : VOYA Reviews 2013 June
For every summer for almost as long as she can remember, fourteen-year-old Dian has accompanied her doctor parents on a goodwill mission to the Dominican Republic. During their stay, they wear hand-me-down clothes and live in a simple one-room building so that they fit into the standards of the village. This summer, Dian is shocked to discover that her closest Dominican friend, Aracely, is engaged to be married when Aracely turns fifteen. Despite her pleading, Dian's parents refuse to intervene. Their greater concern is integration into the Dominican culture. Aracely herself is proud and happy, even as Dian pictures her friend rapidly descending into a life of babies and a grueling struggle to survive. When Dian is then forbidden to teach bicycle repair to Nerick, a Haitian boy, on the grounds that it will ruin her reputation, Dian realizes that it is up to her to uproot ingrained cultural prejudices. Readers will be challenged to look beyond truths born of cultural conditioning, as both Dian and Aracely struggle to understand one another. The conflict between Dian and her parents is believable. (Dian is continually recognizing techniques her parents have gleaned from Raising a Confident Teenager.) Mulder demonstrates her knowledge of remote village life in her depictions of poverty, spirituality, and conformity. Teachers and librarians concerned with language or sexually offensive material can relax on this one. Because the issues are so contemporary, it is the perfect multicultural novel.âDiane Colson. 4Q 3P M J Copyright 2011 Voya Reviews.
