Garcia, Cristina. Dreams
of Significant Girls.
Simon &
Schuster/Little Brown 2011 256p 16.99 978-1-4169-79203
college E-BN
The story of three girl’s journey into womanhood. They met one
summer at boarding school
where they share a room together. Their dislike for each
other would make their
stay very difficult but their destinies were interlaced. Three girls so
different from each other, met for the first time at the
boarding school in
Switzerland. Each one had their own reason for being in
the school. Vivien,
Shirin and Ingrid would soon discover that destiny had
thrown them together to
create a bond that would help each of them survive their
entry into womanhood.
Vivian came from a
Jewish father and a Cuban mother. They left Cuba looking for
a better home but life was hard for a traveling salesman.
Vivian loved to cook
and had hope of becoming a Chef one day. Her mother was
having a hard time with
a husband absent all the time and she needed to time to
rethink her life.
Shirin was from Tehran. A girl used to servants and
riches now finds herself
having to everything but her reason for being at the
school had something to do
with socialization. Shirin was very antisocial and her
parents were hoping that
this time away might bring out the butterfly in her.
Ingrid was probably the
strangest. A tall German girl used to doing whatever she
liked. She was sent to
the boarding school probably to give her parents a rest
from her antics, which
were many and sometimes they were destructive and
dangerous.
Together, these
three girls must find their way into womanhood. Reluctantly at
first and later recognizing that because they are so
different, they can accept
each other with all their faults. A surprising story of
coming of age for girls.
There are sexual
situations and foul language. Recommended for college or
public library. Diaz,
Magna
