Like many before me, I found that continual Spanish references to be likened to watching a movie that throws in foreign dialect with subtitles. It threw off the pace of reading as I would need to back up on the sentence to see if I could make sense of the phrase, thus distracting from the story itself. And while I was beginning to get a feel for the characters, I wasn't really very interested in joining the quest for Tia Regina's missing brother. ( )

Thinking that I'd already done this but was reminded by Abby that I hadn't I'm now adding my thoughts for a 2007 Early Reviewers book in late 2009. While I remember next to nothing about the story I do remember I DNFd this book reading 73 of the 211 pages. Most likely my thoughts will match those of others who give this between 1/2 to 2 stars. This isn't a book review and I realize that so please don't flag for abuse. I honestly can't remember much but needed to complete for the Early Reviewers program. I do remember thinking that the book blurb was very misleading once I started this book. ( )

The premise of this book promised to be something that was right up my alley. And it would have been had I like any of the characters.

The style was trying to be reminiscent of Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, what with each character getting to speak in their own voice. However, it seemed to me that none of the characters were ever fleshed out enough to carry this style.

I went into the book knowing that the author was going to use some Spanish terms throughout. However, I found the liberal use of Spanish phrases to hinder my understanding of what was going on at times. I should not have to interrupt my reading to go to Babel Fish and translate sections, just to comprehend what is happening. Using this motif leaves a large segment of the population out of the loop. While it may be intentional on Castillo's part, seeing as how her experience in America is vastly different from my own, I still feel that by leaving so many out of the loop will continue to shrink her readership. I will definitely think twice about picking up another book of hers, not just due to the language barrier but also to the overall flat characterizations, fuzzy plotlines, and general sloppiness of writing presented here. ( )

I wanted to like the book, but found the liberal usage of Spanish was enough to prevent me from really being able to get into the story. And it would have been forgivable if the author had restricted herself to using Spanish only in the cases of untranslatable words (as a Hemingway would do), but instead it was like reading something written by a smurf, with random interjections of foreign words. It also didn't help that the story was a bit tedious and improbable.

I am not sure why I could not get into this book. It was not the subject matter, the realistic mix of spanish and english (context was enough to figure out 99% of the unfamiliar words), nor was it the writing. I can only conclude the problem was with me. I read about 25 pages, put it aside and never picked it up again.