Customer Reviews

Spanish Holiday: Or, How I Transformed the Worst Vacation Ever into the Best Summer of My Life

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After reading Grecian Holiday and Hard Cash (both by Kate Cann, and only mediocre books), I thought I'd give SPANISH HOLIDAY a try. It was better than I expected, but it's still just a fast paced "beach read."

SPANISH HOLIDAY is about four friends taking a trip through Spain before they head off to college - you have Yaz, the gorgeous best friend; Laura, the main character that's looking for love; Ruth, the lovesick, wishy-washy one; and Tom, Ruth's boyfriend...he's hated by Yaz and Laura. Anyway, Tom's driving, so he gets to decide where to go. Laura and Yaz are less than pleased with this arrangement, but they don't see any way around it. Eventually, the girls get Tom to let them stay in a small Spanish town for a few weeks, where Yaz and Laura both meet (and fall for) Juan, the cute Spanish repairguy. Of course Laura and Yaz are fighting for his attention, and Tom and Ruth think they're ridiculous. But then everything changes...

SPANISH HOLIDAY isn't a great book - in fact, it's painfully predictable. Regardless, it's a cute story that helps to pass the time. It's definately not for anyone under fourteen, and to be completely honest, I thought there was a little too much talk about sex (no, don't worry, there aren't any hot and heavy scenes). Kate Cann seems to be getting better with every release, and I do recommend this for just fun, relaxing reading.

Overall grade - B

Spanish Holiday was a book I picked from the book store due to curiosity. The book reminded me of Havana Nights;Dirty Dancing for some reason, so I had to get it. I started reading the book and was disapointed due to the style in which the book was written. I thought the author was a beginner writer. The book was filled mainly of dialuage, but once I got used to it, I enjoyed the book.

A group of friends arrive in Spain. Tom is an angry person who's quite self stuck on him. Tom and his girlfriend Ruth spend a lot of closeness together, not scared of showing their affection for one another. Yaz and Laura travel without a companion, but are very anxious to get to meet some opposite sex hotties.

The group travels and experiances hotel problems, car black outs and much more. Soon, they are offered to stay and watch over a villa. Tom is pretty angry about this, for he wants to travel more south to see more of the country. Laura pleads him to check out the house. The four drive to the house with Tom cussing because he can't find it. Finally, they find the beautiful house and all pick rooms for the time being.

Laura is the most adventorous and loves exploring. She takes the transportation bus and travels into the city. SHe finds her own job teaching English. Laura seems to be having the most fun here in the house. The four meet a lad named Juan and he takes them out to night clubs and to other places.

Yaz soon falls for Juan and becomes enlightenly obsessed with him. Juan fixes up the pool in the house and Yaz follows him, talks to him, and fluants him with her body.

The two lovebirds; Tom and Ruth soon grow sick of the house and leave to go down south. Now, the two girls Laura and Yaz are left alone in the house to themself.

Juan soon speaks his feelings and tells Laura that he really likes her and not Yaz. What will happen to Yaz now that her heart is broken? How will Laura's relationship process with Juan. What will happen to Tom and Ruth? Will they ever come back? So many questions to be answered, but I musn't spoil this for you.

I enjoyed the book, it definately got better in the middle and it's a sweet Spanish romance that any young reader would swoon over. Just picture what Juan would look like...and drool comes out. I enjoyed this book, so I hope you would too.

A couple years ago, I read "Spanish Holiday" to start my Summer reading and it is truly a really good book to do so. The book starts at the beginning of the summer when a group of friends go to Spain. This book is a really fast read, I remember I read it in less than a day. The book is in a first person narrative of Laura, the main character. You'll find yourself rooting for your Laura and all that Laura finds herself getting into. The ending really satisfying too. There aren't many books that I would reread over again but "Spanish Holiday" is definitely one that I can read over and over. So if you're looking for a good beach read for the upcoming summer season, "Spanish Holiday" should definitely be in your beach bag.

The target audience for this novel is the high-school girl crowd. Laura and friends, one with boyfriend in tow, spend their "gap" year in Spain. There's all kinds of drama, torrid romance, betrayal, etc. It brought me back to my adolescence. Falling in love! Sex on the beach! However, the main male character in the book, Juan, is very unbelievable. He sounds soooooooooo understanding and balanced, and says things like: "but i know you need to think about it. I'll get you another drink". What was he, 50 and a counselor? I never met a Spanish adolescent with such an empathic head on his shoulders, and i've met a few.

This fluffy novel is perfect when you're semi-comatose and can't handle heavy writing but still want to have a book to move your eyes through.

It has a Spanish lexicon on the back. The spelling of Spanish words was quite good. No mistakes! My only objection is that in Spain you don't go into a café and ask for a capuccino. That's Italy. Other than that, no complaints for geographical or social veracity. My main objection remains Juan's maturity.

Spanish Holiday, I have to say, is an excellent book! I bought it in the bookstore and as I was waiting for my mom I sat down and read two chapters. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop! We went on vacation, and I finished it in about 2 days. At the moment I'm reading Grecian Holiday, which is very good and I recommend also!

I read Spanish Holiday. The book was about three girls that went on a trip. Ruth is one of the girls, and she took her boyfriend Tom with her. Yaz and Laura didn't like him. The four people travel and travel till Laura meets a couple, and they ask Laura and Yaz to stay at there home and watch over their house. They all go there. Yaz and Laura loves it. Tom, Ruth's boyfriend didn't like it there so, they left. Yaz and Laura meet this guy named Juan and they both like him. You will have to read to find out who Juan likes!

I liked this book a lot. Some of my favorite parts were toward the end. I also liked it when they all moved into the house. The part I didn't like was when Tom was always yelling at Laura and Yaz.

I would recommend this book to girls. This book is a mixture of things like romance, drama and excitement.

This book should not be read if you're under 14!This is an excellent book.You follow Laura as she trys to turn her dream vacation turn awry back to a dream.It starts out in a horrible touristy area with her , her friends Yaz(the flirt who always gets her man) , and Ruth (who's boyfriend Tom weaseled his way onto the trip , and Ruth agrees with whatever he says no matter what it is).Because he has the car Tom always gets the deciding vote on what to do.The trip was supposed to be them going through the non-touristy areas of Europe.Yaz and Laura are trying to get Tom and Ruth to go somewhere they want to go.Yaz just isn't having a good time and Laura wants to see the REAL Spain.They get an offer to stay free in a great house in a wonderful small spanish town for the summer(kind of house-sit).They meet a cute spanish boy who Laura is sure likes Yaz.Then , Ruth and Tom leave to go work at a resort and things get crazier , and crazier.Secret crushes , true colors , and misjudgements of charactors are revealed in a heart stopping , romantic twist of events!This book is a great pick-me-up when you're feeling down!

Laura Harvey and two of her friends, Yaz and Ruth, plan on spending part of their Gap year travelling to Spain. But then Ruth's boyfriend comes along, and the trip starts going downhill. All he wants to do is stop at junky, touristy, restaurants where "the prices are in English," and cheap, dirty motels so he can "spend some time" with Ruth. And since he's driving, he gets the casting vote. But then a Bella, who Laura and Yaz meet in a hotel restaurant, offer to let them stay in their villa to take care of it while they go to the States. They take them up on it, and their trip changes for the better, especially when they meet Juan, the caretaker's son. He's a total dish, and Yaz and Laura both fall for him. But will Juan pick one of them? And if he does, will it change the girls' friendship? This book is flat, but funny, and you can easily finish it in one sitting. I was expecting more zing from the cover, but I've read worse.

I started to read the book, after I had found it and was ecstatic to find out that it was written by the same author that wrote Grecian Holiday. But the beggining was really slow and it didn't get good until about the middle of the book.

I read Kate Cann's "Grecian Holiday" last summer, and really wasn't too impressed. I picked this book up out of curiosity, and was happy to find out that Cann's style has picked up a few notches, and she knows how to keep a reader hooked very well. "Spanish Holiday" was a quick read, but still very good, although the ending is a bit abrupt and definitely a cliffhanger. All around though, the book has defined characters who the audience can really feel for, and wonderful settings that envelope the reader and keep him/her hooked throughout the entire read. Hopefully Cann comes out with another book in the series, and let's hope she can find Laura another beautiful country to visit! Pick up this book for a few lazy lounging days, and enjoy the magnificent Spanish culture!