Locas

Rating:
Summary: Gritty, Raw Awesome Novel
Review: As a former Southern California high school teacher, I had the opportunity to know many gang girls. I visited their barrios, homes and families. Ms. Murray has truly captured not only the life of these girls but their outlook on life and way of thinking. It is another world

Rating:
Summary: Realistic portrayal of life in a barrio.
Review: Locas is at once a strong voice that shows us what life is all about when you live loca or a life on the take. It is tough, yet energetic enough to keep you interested and it is hard not to hear the clash of culture's undercurrents. Very good book, very lively.

Rating:
Summary: Authentic, and raw, made me feel like I was back in LA.
Review: Locas takes you on a wild ride through the cold heart of Lucia and the confused, yet caring heart of Cecilia. It is one of the best books I have ever read dealing with your environment's effect on you. in any other situations or in any other area of the US you would not be able to feel power and pain along with our heroines. The trip through Echo Park is a long one, and it leaves no stone in anyone's life unturned. Too many lives are interwoven, and too many people know who you are in Echo Park. The small community of Echo Park is made to be the center of the universe for these locas, and the book should be in your mind. The drama of the lives of Lucia and Cecilia are set to make you worry and care about the two girls through their turbulent life in the 'hood. I would recommend this book to anyone, either as a reality check or a way to spend quality time.

Rating:
Summary: Enforce Your Latina Stereotypes Here
Review: ordered this by mistake!

anyone want it? I am not capable of getting interested in gang life...so many other topics.

although it is an integral part of the mexican history...it is not interesting enough for me to read about.

i feel for anyone who is in a gang or who is influenced by gang presence in their neighborhoods.

Rating:
Summary: locas too loco
Review: ordered this by mistake!

anyone want it? I am not capable of getting interested in gang life...so many other topics.

although it is an integral part of the mexican history...it is not interesting enough for me to read about.

i feel for anyone who is in a gang or who is influenced by gang presence in their neighborhoods.

Rating:
Summary: We get it already! Gang life is not glamorous!
Review: This book is nothing new. It's your typical storyline with an obvious problem, a goal, and a very predictable ending. The only difference is that the story is told from the perspective of two girls, which if you're already familiar with southern California gang stories is a complete spin-off from the movie Mi Vida Loca. In fact, if you were to combine the movie Blood In Blood Out with Mi Vida Loca, you would get this book. The good part about Locas was that even though I was one step ahead of the story the entire time, I did keep an interest in it. So by no means is this a slow paced book. Besides the lack of inspiration behind this novel, my only grievance with it is this: the book is narrated in the first person by two girls (Cecilia and Lucia). Since neither of the two really had much of an education, especially Lucia, Murray seems to have purposely squeezed in a few grammar errors to illustrate her lack of education. That's great because the reader can create a better image of who exactly the person is who is telling the story. However, if Lucia is supposed to be poorly educated and Murray wanted to show that in her writing, then she has to be consistent with it. I seriously doubt that a high school drop out from Echo Park is capable of constructing a quote like, "When I'm listening to them jumping sounds I start seeing that same picture again, there's Star Girl on the grass, smiling up at me with the fog in her breath twining up in the night air with mine." Other than that it wasn't too horrible. I'd recomend this book if you have a lot of time to kill. Otherwise just rent Mi Vida Loca and see the same thing.

Rating:
Summary: Enforce Your Latina Stereotypes Here
Review: This novel does not depict the reality of the mean streets. What was Murray thinking when she wrote this in a first person voice? Murray herself states that she had no real experience of the gangster life. She wrote what she imagined was a girl's life as a gangster. How much research did she do before she wrote this novel?! None, if you ask me. Her attempts to present the daily life of someone caught up in this world are cute.