The Queen of Water by Laura Resau,Maria Virginia Farinango
An ALA Amelia Bloomer Selection An ALA-YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Book Born in an Andean village in Ecuador, Virginia lives with her large family in a small, earthen-walled dwelling. In her village of indgenas, it is not uncommon to work in the fields all day, even as a child, or to be called a longa tonta--stupid Indian--by members of the ruling class of mestizos, or Spanish descendants. When seven-year-old Virginia is taken from her village to be a servant to a mestizo couple, she has no idea what the future holds. In this poignant novel based on a true story, acclaimed author Laura Resau has collaborated with Mara Virginia Farinango to recount one girl's unforgettable journey to self-discovery. Virginia's story will speak to anyone who has ever struggled to find his or her place in the world. It will make you laugh and cry, and ultimately, it will fill you with hope. Editorial Reviews From Booklist *Starred Review* In a desperately poor Andean village in Ecuador, 7-year-old Virginia is sold off by her ind?gena (Indian) parents as a servant to an academic, mestizo family. In her new home, the wife beats her, the husband gropes her, and she is insulted as a longa tonta (stupid Indian). Still, she teaches herself to read and write and begins to perform science experiments in secret. Then, when she is 12, she finally gets a chance to return to her parents: But does she want to? And do they want her? Virginia does travel back to her ind?gena family, but there is not the expected sweet reunion. Ashamed of her illiterate parents and bitter that they gave her away, Virginia is uncomfortable in the family?s mud-walled shack, where she cannot speak the language and hates the hard work. Could she go back to being enslaved in the mestizo family?s clean ?prison?? Rooted in Farinango?s true story, the honest, first-person, present-tense narrative is occasionally detailed and repetitive, but it dramatizes the classic search for home with rare complexity and no sentimentality or easy resolutions. Virginia?s conflicts with her birth parents and her employers are heartbreaking, even as she finds a way to attend school and shape a more hopeful future. A moving, lyrical novel that will particularly resonate with teens caught between cultures. Grades 8-12. --Hazel Rochman Review Starred Review, Booklist, February 15, 2011: A moving, lyrical novel that will particularly resonate with teens caught between cultures. Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, May 9, 2011: The authors' candid narrative richly depicts Virginia's passage from a childhood filled with demoralization to a young woman who sees her life through new eyes. Starred Review, School Library Journal, June 2011: This is a poignant coming-of-age novel that will expose readers to the exploitation of girls around the world whose families grow up in poverty.Â
Publication Details
Title:
Author(s):
Illustrator:
Binding: Hardcover
Published by: Delacorte Books for Young Readers: , 2011
Edition:
ISBN: 9780385738972 | 0385738978
368 pages.
Book Condition: Good
Ex-library.
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