Velasquez, Gloria L. Teen angel.(Roosevelt High). Arte Publico Press Arte Público Press, in Houston, Texas, is the largest US publisher of contemporary and recovered literature by US Hispanic authors. It publishes approximately 30 titles per year. Arte Público Press was founded in 1979 by its current director, Nicolás Kanellos, Ph.D. Dr. , Univ of Houston. 153p. c2003. 1-55885-391-X. $9.95. J The author's Roosevelt High series (Juanita Fights the School Board, Tommy Stands Alone, etc.) turns to the issue of unwanted teenage pregnancy teenage pregnancy Adolescent pregnancy, teen pregnancy Social medicine Pregnancy by a ♀, age 13 to 19; TP is usually understood to occur in a ♀ who has not completed her core education–secondary school, has few or no marketable skills, is and explores how a 15-year-old Latina, her family, and her friends cope with it. Like other books in this series, the plot is topically driven, with realistic but simplified characters who speak, as does the narrator NARRATOR. A pleader who draws narrs serviens narrator, a sergeant at law. Fleta, 1. 2, c. 37. Obsolete. , colloquially col·lo·qui·al adj. 1. Characteristic of or appropriate to the spoken language or to writing that seeks the effect of speech; informal. 2. Relating to conversation; conversational. . Although the story doesn't rely on reader familiarity with others in the series for the most part, Martinez, a counselor whose miscarriage and resulting depression parallel teenaged Celia's discovery of her pregnancy and the attendant crises that raises, has an already established but unexplained relationship with not only Celia and her family but with all her friends as well. While Celia's problems, and how they affect others in her life, are clearly presented, the approach here is uncomplicated and linear: girl is used by young man, girl keeps her pregnancy a secret, girl is shunned by father when secret is discovered, girl is restored to family through the intercession intercession, n a prayer in which a request is made on behalf of another person. of an understanding counselor who also gets girl into an idealized i·de·al·ize v. i·de·al·ized, i·de·al·iz·ing, i·de·al·iz·es v.tr. 1. To regard as ideal. 2. To make or envision as ideal. v.intr. 1. program for pregnant high school students. High school students themselves will not find Celia's story very engaging, although their younger sisters could. On the other hand. Martinez's story needs a mature audience to appreciate her psychological misery and the effect of the miscarriage on her marital relationship. Perhaps the best audience for this book would be adults learning to read English who have advanced beyond basic literacy but who need a simple storyline to follow through a text and concerns that invite discussion. Francisca Goldsmith, Teen Svcs., Berkeley P.L., Berkeley, CA J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers. |
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