Luna's California Poppies

by Alma Luz Villanueva

Book Overview

In LUNA'S CALIFORNIA POPPIES a young girl tries to come to terms with an unstable family situation and a harsh environment. Taking the form of a diary, the novel is exceptional in the way it so... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0927534983
• ISBN13: 9780927534987
• Release Date: November 2002
• Publisher: Bilingual Review Press (AZ)
• Length: 270 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.8" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

'Poppies' tells girl's story of survival

This is an excerpt of a review by Rigoberto Gonzalez which appeared in the El Paso Times, January 19, 2003..."Written in diary form and framed by the voices of Luna Luz Villalobos as a child and as an adult, Alma Luz Villanueva's "LUNA'S CALIFORNIA POPPIES" spans a period of nearly two decades to tell the compelling story of a woman seeking safety and strength through the power of her own writing... The recent death of her grandmother compels Luna to find consolation in a diary through which she talks to la Virgen de Guadalupe. La Virgen becomes Luna's new confidant, thus the entries convey a private conversation between school friends at a sleepover and not necessarily prayer as Luna confides: 'And don't forget every thing I say here is true so I'm hiding this and don't forget- DON'T TELL GOD ANY THING!!!'... With "LUNA'S CALIFORNIA POPPIES," Villanueva continues her exploration of women surviving the tense-filled nexus where race, class and gender connect. The book is in excellent company beside her award-winning novels "THE ULTRAVIOLET SKY" and "NAKED LADIES." For its epistolary form and bravery of subject matter, this novel invokes Alice Walker's "THE COLOR PURPLE." But "LUNA'S CALIFORNIA POPPIES" earns its own place as a testament to the healing and spiritual powers of nature, friendship and language.

Cleverly crafted, reader engaging

The first half of Luna's California Poppies by Alma Luz Villanueva is the story of twelve-year old Luna, a girl who is deserted by her mother and taken into the home of a kind stranger who provides her with food, shelter, and security -- and who also encourages her to read, write, and study. The second half of this outstanding novel (which is written in the form of a diary), showcase's Luna's move to the country with her family. Now being a mother herself, Luna muses on her past as she and her own children find themselves confronted with bigotry. Luna's California Poppies is a cleverly crafted, reader engaging, and highly recommended novel from beginning to end.