Fresh Off the Boat

May 9, 2005
After growing up wealthy in the Philippines, 14-year-old Vicenza (called V) is having a hard time adjusting to a much poorer life in the United States. She has no friends at the private girls' school where she's on academic scholarship, she has to work at a cafeteria her mother runs for Sears employees, and she shops for clothes at the Salvation Army. But in e-mails to her best friend back in the Philippines, V doesn't mention that she gets called "FOB!" (fresh off the boat) while walking through downtown San Francisco, instead creating a fantasy life in which she's popular, rich and in a relationship with her cute crush, Claude Caligari. Beyond V's family, the characters come off as scripted (the popular girls are snooty, and Isobel, a French girl and V's first friend, is fun but rather wacky), and the end wraps a little too neatly. But teens can identify with V's longing for acceptance and de la Cruz's (The Au Pairs
) details about Filipino food and culture, as well as what V's family experiences as immigrants, add flavor and authenticity to the novel. Additionally, readers will be touched by memorable scenes between V and her mother who, V finally realizes, is "having as much, if not more trouble, adjusting to life in America." In the end, the colorful details and the mother-daughter relationship make up for some familiar plotting. Ages 12-up.

April 1, 2005
Gr 7-10 -Vicenza Arambullo, 14, is a recent immigrant to San Francisco. In Manila, her family was wealthy, but now they struggle to make ends meet. On scholarship, the teen attends a private girls' school where she is an outcast. She has a crush on a BMOC at a boys' school, and she's beginning to like a nice guy with whom she feels comfortable. She also has to fend off her parents' efforts to fix her up with a brainy Filipino. As the story progresses, readers will be curious about what will happen to Vicenza as she navigates her way around mean girls and romance. Much of the plot is predictable, but the story shines because of its character development and the depiction of the cultural divide. Vicenza is savvy in many ways, but naive in others. Her friend Isobel, a Parisian student, is her touchstone, and the girls are depicted in counterpoint to one another. This well-written, heartfelt novel is a worthy addition to most YA collections, but especially where there are strong immigrant populations." -Amy Patrick, New York Public Library"

Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2005
"Fresh off the boat" from Manila, Vincenza slowly adjusts to a San Francisco lifestyle, but with strict cultural rules, a small family budget, and few friends her transition is anything but easy. Vincenza's true character is too often buried under a clutter of themes, including culture shock, mother/daughter misunderstandings, and an unrequited crush; however, she's a lively and funny narrator.

(Copyright 2005 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

April 15, 2005
Gr. 9-12. Newly arrived from the Phillippines, 14-year-old Vicenza is a scholarship student at a snooty private girls' school in San Francisco. She dreams of love with Tobey Maguire, not having to shop at thrift stores, and being accepted by the wealthy, popular girls at school. Instead, she and her family work multiple jobs and squeeze every penny to manage private schools for Vicenza and her little sister. A new French girl at school becomes a good friend, and Vicenza copes with her mom's search for a bargain dress for the school dance and attempts to pair her with a nice Filipino boy. Like the popular " The Au Pairs" [BKL Jl 2004], there's a wholesome quality to this despite some rebellious (but not graphically described) behavior. Most immigrant teens will recognize the tensions that arise when young adults try to become assimilated as their parents both support them and cling desperately to traditional culture. The clothing details are delightful fun, as are Vicenza's innovative methods of trying to avoid the label of the title.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)