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READING GROUP GUIDE
1. Did you have a quinceañera, a sweet sixteen, or a
bat mitzvah? What did it mean to you? To your
loved ones?
2. Traditional quinceañeras have deep ties to Catholicism. How is religion treated in this novel? In your
opinion, is it a good thing that traditionally religious celebrations (like the quinceañera) are becoming increasingly secular? Why?
3. Do you believe quinceañeras as a cultural tradition
will continue or be lost over time?
4. Beatriz and her husband, Larry, could be said to
have a “mixed marriage,” since she is Mexican
American and he is Irish American. What do you
see as their common bonds? Their differences?
What roles do culture, race, and class play in their
relationship?
5. As working mothers, Beatriz, Josie Mendoza, and
Lucy Milligan are starkly different. In what ways
do you identify with each of these women?
6. In the beginning of the book, Beatriz has a number of startling “incidents” but is reluctant to talk
about them, even to her best friend, Ana. To what
do you attribute her experiences? Do you believe
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7.
8.
9.
10.
READING GROUP GUIDE
it was her conscience, a dream, or the ghost of her
sister, Perla, that was truly “haunting” her?
In the beginning, Beatriz has a hard time relating
to her niece, and Celeste feels out of place in her
aunt’s world. Besides the sudden newness of their
situation, what else do you think contributed to
their difficulty in connecting?
Beatriz is adamant about taking her niece, Celeste,
in, even as it threatens her marriage. Did Beatriz
put her marriage in too much danger? Does family
come before everything in your life? Why or why
not?
Besides celebrating her fifteenth birthday, what
do you believe was the meaning behind Celeste’s
quinceañera?
Celeste and her cousin Raúl hit if off almost immediately, while her other cousin Seamus is severely
threatened by her appearance. What do you imagine Celeste’s relationship will be like with Seamus and her other cousins in the future? Between
Celeste and Beatriz? Between Celeste and Larry?
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G U Í A PA R A G RU P O S D E L E C T U R A
1. ¿Tuvo usted una quinceañera, una Sweet Sixteen,
o una bat mitzvah? ¿Qué significó a usted? ¿A su
familia?
2. Los quinceañeras tradicionales tienen lazos profundos al catolicismo. ¿Cómo se trata la religión en
esta novela? En su opinión, ¿es una buena cosa que
las celebraciones tradicionalmente religiosas (como
la quinceañera) están llegando a ser cada vez más
seculares? ¿Por qué?
3. ¿Cree usted que quinceañeras como una tradición
cultural continuará o se perderá con el tiempo?
4. Se puede decir que Beatriz y su esposo Larry tienen
un matrimonio mixto debo que ella es Americanamexicana y él es Americano-Irlandés. ¿Cuáles son
sus enlaces comunes? ¿Y sus diferencias? ¿Qué papel
desempeñan la cultura, la raza y el sentimiento de
clases en su relación?
5. Como madres que trabajan fuera de la casa, Beatriz, Josie Mendoza y Lucy Miligan son muy diferentes. ¿Cómo identifica usted con cada una de estas
mujeres?
6. Al principio del libro, Beatriz tiene un número de
incidentes estorninos, pero está maldispuesta de
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7.
8.
9.
10.
G U Í A PA R A G R U P O S D E L E C T U R A
hablar de ellos, ni con su mejor amiga, Ana. ¿A qué
atribuye sus experiencias? ¿Cree usted que era su
conciencia, un sueño o la fantasma de su hermana
Perla quien la estaba persiguiendo?
Al principio del libro Beatriz encuentra dificultad en
relacionar con su sobrina Celeste, y la niña se siente
fuera de su lugar en el mundo de su tía. Además de
lo nuevo de su situación, ¿qué más contribuye a la
dificultad en conectar?
Beatriz está fi rme en tomar a su sobrina Celeste a
su casa, aunque esto amenaza su matrimonio. ¿Cree
usted que Beatriz puso su matrimonio en peligro?
¿Cree usted que la familia debe de venir primero
que todo otro en su vida? ¿Por qué o por qué no?
Además de celebrar su cumpleaños de quince
años, ¿qué mas cree usted fue la significación de la
quinceañera de Celeste?
Celeste y su primo Raul se llevan bien inmediatamente, mientras su otro primo, Seamus, está amenazado con ella. ¿Cómo imagina la relación de
celeste con Seamus y sus otros primos en el futuro?
¿Entre Celeste y Beatriz? ¿Entre Celeste y Larry?
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ABOUT THE AUTH O R
B ELINDA A COSTA has written and published plays,
short stories, and essays. As a journalist, her work has
appeared in the Austin American-Statesman, the Austin
Chronicle, the San Antonio Express-News, the San Antonio Current, AlterNet, Poets & Writers, and on National
Public Radio’s Latino USA—The Radio Journal of News
and Culture.
Belinda received a master’s of fi ne arts in writing from the
University of Texas in 1997.
She lives in Austin, Texas, and is the TV and media columnist for the Austin Chronicle.
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MISSED THE FIRST BOOK IN
B E L I N D A A C O S TA’ S
QUINCEAÑERA CLUB SERIES?
A mother does the best she can to hold her family together
while teaching her daughter what it means to be a strong
and powerful woman in this fi rst installment in the
Quinceañera Club series.
“It takes a lot of hard work and a pile of talent to
write such an engaging, touching book. A wonderful
quinceañera of a novel!”
—International bestselling author Julia Alvarez
“Lively and perceptive . . . Acosta empathically captures the innermost feelings of her characters.”
—Booklist
“Simply put, Belinda Acosta !se aventó! She has gone
all out in giving an emotional, spiritual, and feminine
Latina perspective of how it is and what it is to grow
up in the U.S. Hispanic culture.”
— Examiner.com
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I F YO U E N J OY E D
S IS TE RS, S TR A N G E RS, A N D
S TA R TIN G OVE R,
T H E N YO U ’ R E S U R E TO LOV E T H E S E
E M OTI O N A L FA M I LY D R A M AS AS W E L L —
Now available from Grand Central Publishing
“Lyrical, poignant, and smart, as
compassionate and hopeful as it is
heartbreaking . . . a novel you will never
forget.”
—New York Times bestselling author Jenna Blum
“By turns touching, funny, tragic, and
triumphant, it’s the story of an endearing group of people in search of their
own American dream . . . A delightful
feast for the reader.”
— New York Times bestselling
author Susan Wiggs
A secret journal threatens to destroy
a young woman as she uncovers the
truth about her deceased mother’s
past in this stunning debut novel.
N
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