Blog #5

I have mixed feelings about "Caramelo". Honestly, I was really enjoying it when I started reading, but then my interest dwindled after we started reading "In the Time of Butterflies" in class, which I enjoyed much more. One thing I did really like was the short chapters since I personally just dislike long chapters, and short chapters make me feel like I've accomplished something. On the other hand, I agree that this book was disjointed. I feel like the three parts didn't go together very well, which was a major issue for me. The first part flowed into the second pretty well since both were romantic stories and this also flowed into the third part pretty well. After the third part switched to Lala's story it seemed to be set in a different world. I understand that it may have been the author's intention to show the different generations, but there didn't seem to be a strong enough link in theme to connect the different parts. Also, I very much disliked how Lala found out her grandmother's story from a hallucination of the grandmother's ghost. The whole story was very realistic from marital to money problems, and then a ghost pops up. Overall, the ending left me dissatisfied. I might recommend this book to someone taking Spanish, since I liked recognizing different Spanish words, but otherwise I wouldn't recommend it. Also, I wouldn't recommend "Caramelo" to a boy. Although some boys may enjoy it, "Caramelo" is the coming of age story of a girl, which would be hard to relate to for a boy.

Post 5: Overall reaction

Caramelo was an enjoyable book to read. It was difficult to get into at first, having to adjust to the writing style and getting over the “choppiness” as Karen mentioned. But after getting further into the book, I became more interested in its plot. I decided that I liked having most of the book written from Lala’s point of view. It allowed the reader to have a new outlook on situations and to experience some interesting “scene setting”. I loved going through the occasional in-depth description of setting – even though these could be pages long, I actually liked them. They made the book and the world inside of it so much more alive. The writing style and point of view were probably the most unique parts of the book, second, of course, to the Spanish culture it was infused with. It’s not the greatest book that I have ever read, but it was a good one. Lighter reading, but still intriguing… I would definitely recommend Caramelo!

Overall Reaction Blog 5

Overall, I enjoyed Caramelo. I liked having the perspectives of both Lala and her grandma. It helped to develop the characters and explain why they didn't get along so well. I also liked how descriptive the book was and how original the descriptions were. However, I didn't really like how the beginning of the book was so choppy. It was so many short stories combined, and sometimes the little stories seemed to have no point. And sometimes it was hard to understand exactly what was going on, because the book was throught the viewpoint of a child, and a child doesn't always understand. So that sometimes made it frusterating. But all in all, I enjoyed the book, and I would recommend it.

Week Five

Welcome to Week Five, and our last week week of blogging. This week's post should be on your overall thoughts about the book. It must be a ten sentence reflection. You do not need to comment on anyone else's blog, but your post should be up here by Sunday, March 29 You should have made up any missing work by then as well.

Question Blog 4

My question regards Father and the Awful Grandmother. Why does the Awful Grandmother call Father mijo, and not her other sons? Also, why does Father do everything the Awful Grandmother tells him to do?

Blog #4

My question concerns all parts of the book. It deals with the great grandmother and grandfather, the mother and father, and the children. How are the different generations of Reyeses similar or different(in their romantic relationships, attitudes, etc.)?

Week Four

Welcome to Week Four!

For this week's blog you will post a thought-provoking question that does not have only one answer. Remember that you must make 10 comments this week, not 5. Please do not leave this until the last minute, you have the whole week to get it done.