Queen of the Flowers by Delia Cerpa

Summary

The memories of a young Puerto Rican girl come to life in this charming memoir by Delia Cerpa that chronicles her growing up on an island paradise. Queen of the Flowers invites readers into another world in another time in a very special place - Puerto Rico. It is a place of lush tropical beauty, close-knit families, and old-fashioned values of a bygone era. Cerpa's master storytelling explores the life of young Garín and her nine brothers and sisters, and most importantly Mamá, a young widow who takes on the role as head of the family with skill and strength. Queen of the Flowers is about family, love, loss, and island culture. It deftly delves into questions of coping with death, family roles and responsibilities, childhood rites of passage, and finely described emotional experiences that shape this girl's mind and life. Queen of the Flowers is a thoughtful, richly described coming-of-age story -- one that is sure to touch hearts and minds.

My Thoughts

Ok.  My honest opinion.  This is a bit tough.

I really hate posting reviews that aren't positive.  I dread it every time I have to type one up.  But, here I am again, posting a not-so-wonderful review.

Here's the thing, as a book written for adults to read, this book is written as if a child wrote it instead of a grown, educated adult.  Not enjoyable for me.  On the flip side, if it has been written for a child to read it has hard subjects that I wouldn't necessarily recommend that a child read.

I feel especially bad for writing a review that it truly about someone's life.  It isn't that I didn't like hearing about her life and the way she grew up and things like that, it's just that the WAY it was written bothered me.

Unfortunately, I will have to give this book 2.5 stars.  Like I said, the stars do not reflect the story of her life, it reflects the writing.

*Note: I received this book in exchange for an honest review.