1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
...a 'fresh' addition to the de la Cruz collection, June 2, 2007
This review is from: Fresh Off the Boat (Paperback)
There was a time when fourteen-year-old Vicenza "V" Esmeralda Rodriguez Arambullo lived a life that most girls only dream of, complete with servants, chauffeurs, unlimited shopping sprees to all of the great designer stores - Chanel and Burberry included - and luxurious, tres expensive haircuts. But that was back in Manila. Back, during a time, when her family had more money than they could count. Her mother, the owner of a booming restaurant in which the Manila president ate at herself, and her father, a businessman with all the right connections. But then, inexplicably, everything was different. Suddenly, Vicenza's parents, who always seemed quite content in their Manila dwellings, abruptly decide to leave for America, "the land of the free and the home of the brave," where countless opportunities will come their way. Unfortunately, here we are, months later, and things aren't going as smoothly as the Ambrullo family originally hoped. Sure, Chips Ahoy cookies are dirt cheap here in the States, but everything else is fairly expensive, including the rent on their home. Vicenza doesn't have it easy either. Luckily her problems don't really revolve around money, instead, they revolve around your typical, run-of-the-mill dilemmas, like being the new girl. As a brainiac, Vicenza didn't have any trouble landing a great scholarship to Grosvernor High School. Surviving there is another story. Every girl is blonde and beautiful, with money oozing out of their pores, and private planes to jet them off to the South of France whenever they feel like a little topless sun-bathing. Basically, everyone is beyond snooty, and refuse to even give Vicenza the time of day. After all, no one swathed in Gucci would ever dream of hanging with a girl who spends her afternoons working at the Sears cafeteria her mother set-up, or rifling through the sales racks at the Salvation Army, searching for a cashmere sweater that is devoid of holes. But all that changes when Vicenza meets Isobel Saint-Pierre, a French math wiz, with a love for the offbeat. Isobel becomes Vicenza's solace, and confidant, something that she hasn't had since she left her best friend, Peaches, behind in Manila. And even though she and Peaches confer through e-mail, everything Vicenza says is a lie, trying to make her life sound better in America. But then things actually do get better, when Vicenza meets Claude Caligari. Claude is the most gorgeous boy Vicenza has ever seen - aside from Tobey McGuire - and she's determined to get him to ask her to Grosvernor's yearly Soiree d'Hiver, a beyond fancy dance that gives everyone the chance to dress up in expensive gowns, and dance the night away. Unfortunately, Vicenza is nothing more than a clueless geometry partner to Claude. Someone he ignores three days a week, as he speaks over the teacher, and manages to earn the lowest geometry grades Vicenza has ever seen. Still, Vicenza finds him dreamy, and, with a little help, she believes she'll be able to snag the guy of her dreams. But when she learns that the flirty fox is harboring a girlfriend, Vicenza sees her chance quickly slipping through her grasp. And it will only be through a little self-realization that she'll be able to see what's truly lying right before her eyes.
Immigration is such a large part of today's society. However, we rarely get to see the effects of immigrating to a new culture through the eyes of a present-day teenager. Melissa de la Cruz seems to have embraced that idea within the pages of FRESH OFF THE BOAT, and turned it into a fun, inspirational, humorous learning experience. Vicenza is reminiscent of Meg Cabot's Mia Thermopolis - of THE PRINCESS DIARIES. She's awkward, and attempting to fit in at a new school. Of course, there is one extreme difference between the two, Vicenza is an immigrant, learning to navigate the streets of San Francisco, and find her niche in the American world. Vicenza isn't your typical teenage protagonist. She spends much of her time with her head buried in a book, and is hardworking. Not everything is handed to her on a silver platter, and she does what she can to please the people around her. Sure, Vicenza likes guy-watching, and gossip fests, but she's more brainy than many, and is quite goal-oriented and determined. She must contend with her lottery-obsessed parents, who seems to be in the midst of the biggest culture-shock of their lives, and is often made fun of by her wealthier classmates, yet she never really lets the ridicule get her down. Her relationship with Isobel Saint-Pierre is one of the aspects of FRESH OFF THE BOAT that adds a humorous touch to an otherwise sensitive, slightly harsh subject. Isobel is quirky and cool, and could care less what anyone thinks of her. She's obsessed with lycra, and feathers, and rides - dangerously, I might add - all over the place atop a Vespa. Isobel is like Vicenza's rock. She's supportive and carefree, and honestly cares about Vicenza, and any problems she may encounter. While Peaches was Vicenza's best friend for years in Manila, the reader may notice that her relationship with Isobel is much stronger, simply because she doesn't feel the need to lie about her social standing to her, as she does with Peaches. Together, Vicenza and Isobel make an indomitable pair, as the two work side-by-side to adjust to the harsh realities and rules the United States has to offer. Riddled with humorous episodes, and interesting flashbacks to Vicenza's days in Manila; along with a few very unexpected revelations, FRESH OFF THE BOAT is a FRESH addition to the de la Cruz collection.
Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Big Move, August 13, 2006
Vicenza is having a hard time adjusting to life in San Francisco. She was unfairly torn from her well-off life and friend in Manila, Philippines, and forced to emigrate to California, where she now shops at the Salvation Army, works in her family's cafeteria in Sears on the weekends, and is ignored by the snooty girls at her new school. Her life gets so bad that she actually goes to the movies with her family on a Friday night. Finally, V, as her friends call her, befriends Isobel, the French exchange student, who helps V see that if the other girls don't want her, she doesn't want them, and also helps Vincenza snag the boy she wants. With excellently written characters and sprinkled with emails of her new "glamorous" (fictional) life to her friend back home in Manila, this book will be relatable for any girl who has ever felt out of place.
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