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Synopsis
Evie Gomez finally has it all: a sweet boyfriend, two mejor amigas, and an upcoming sixteeñera that's the talk of the school. Qué cool, no?
Too bad reality has a way of ruining things. When her grades start to slip, Evie's parents threaten to cancel her party. The good news? All she has to do is volunteer in the community to raise her grades. The bad news? Since it's the middle of the semester, the best remaining option is working at the Southern California Horse Reserve. Then again...ranchero life? Charros? Maybe things will work out after all.
Or maybe not. Things with boyfriend Alex start to fizzle, party-girl palRaquel slides down a spiral of boys and booze, Dee Dee -- who only recently re-entered Evie's life -- considers moving back to Mexico City, and to top it all off, Evie's flirting with someone she never expected to like -- ranch hand Arturo (even with his que fugly cowboy boots).
Things can't get más complicated...can they?
Children's Literature
In this sequel to Honey Blonde Chica, Evie is back and ready to plan her sixteeñera. Everything should be going smoothly, but a lot of problems are popping up. From her boyfriend Alex s frequent trips to surf without her to her friend Raquel s drinking, it seems like everyone around her is changing. And when her school s quality check comes in the mail and shows her grades slipping, her parents threaten to cancel the party if she cannot bring her grades back up. But how can she do that in only a few weeks? By doing volunteer work for her Civics class and writing a paper about it for English, of course. She starts at the Southern California Horse Reserve the next week and finds she really does enjoy working with the horses. But her personal life is still slipping. Will everything still come together for her sixteeñera? Or will Evie be all alone for her sweet sixteen? This is a book for mid- to older teens, as it deals with drinking and drugs and includes some references to sexual activity. While one of the characters, Raquel, is obviously having a problem with these things, there are enough casual references to make some readers uncomfortable. Some of the story lines wrap up a little too neatly, but overall it is a good representation of teenage life and the issues that go along with it. Reviewer: Kathleen Foucart