I thought this was a great book that would appeal to children from all different backgrounds since they could sympathize with Naomi and Owen. It was such an emotional book that revealed all the changes a young girl can go through as she grows up. It was a great way to show how Naomi could learn about her family and herself during such hard times. It was also a story of hope about how life is what you make it. I also thought this theme was portrayed through Naomi’s soap carvings and Santiago’s explanation that you have the let the soap be what it will is held on the inside as well as using your imagination. He also taught her that nothing is lost you just have to make it something else instead, like when she cut the leg off the dog she was carving and thought she had messed it up. I also thought another great example of this was on page 186 when Naomi and the whole group were walking home from Los Posados and she envisioned the people who cared about her as her family even when she wasn’t actually related to most of them. It was also really refreshing to see how these children knew so little about their Mexican heritage but were able to learn from their neighbors and from their family vacation. I also thought the relationship between Owen and Naomi was a great one because she loved him no matter what. They were so supportive of each other and didn’t fight like most brothers and sisters. But I think they got along so well because they clung to each other, and Gram, so tightly because they felt like they had already lost so much in their lives and did not want to drive anyone else away.
I think this was a great multicultural book because there were so many examples of the meshing of Mexican and American culture within the book. This could be seen in the way that Fabiolo and Bernardo lived their lives. They still had a strong connection to their Mexican roots while living in America and conforming to the way of life in California. You were also able to understand the different examples of culture from the way that it was explained to Naomi and then we got to experience the events with her and hear about how they made her feel when she was learning about her father’s culture. I also thought the book had great accurate examples and it was great to see Spanish words incorporated in the book. The examples of the celebrations and Mexican holidays were also great details included in this book. Ryan wove them into the story through the experiences of Naomi instead of forcing their explanations. I did not think that this book was stereotypical because it portrayed people in a variety of different ways. It didn’t seem that all of those of Mexican descent were portrayed in a certain way because they all had their own ideas, values and lifestyle. It was also a good example of a multicultural book because Ryan used authentic language and examples of Spanish so that a young reader could learn more about the language.