![]() ![]() However, the inclusion of untranslated Spanish terms is frustrating and the relative ease of the dissipation of Rina's anger is implausible given its intensity. She writes convincingly of the teen's initial reluctance to reveal herself to members of a support group. Velasquez touches on many social issues including teenage drinking, sex, and alcoholism. The loyalty of friends and her counselor prevail, however, and she and Sandra are able to convince Rina's mother to take her children to a women's shelter where she is able to gain confidence and envision a future for herself. Rina's anger escalates to the extent that it spills over into all aspects of her life. The story is told from two perspectives: Rina's as well as that of Sandra Martinez, a counselor who has experienced similar problems with an alcoholic father. Rina experiences the mixed emotions of anger and confusion she is concerned for her mother and younger siblings and she cannot comprehend why her mother will not seek the appropriate restraining orders. Drunk, however, he engages in acts of increasing violence toward Rina's mother and then toward her. When sober, Jose Morales is a loving and involved father figure. Gr 7-10-The oldest of three children, Rina Morales lives with her mother and stepfather. Although this is the fourth book in the Roosevelt High School series, it is both strong and complete enough to stand on its own. The Spanish phrases scattered throughout the story, which is told in the alternating voices of Rina and Sandra, are easily understood in context and lend further verisimilitude. Despite a tidy ending and occasional dialogue that seems purposefully designed to communicate statistics on spousal abuse, Velasquez offers a believable portrait of a multiethnic high-school community and realistically captures the emotions and actions (from drunken beach parties to tender moments between caring friends) of the teenagers who are part of it. With the support of good friends and Sandra Martinez, an understanding counselor whose life has many parallels to Rina's, the Puerto Rican high-school junior begins to confront her feelings. After he repeatedly stabs his wife with a kitchen knife, Rina decides she can no longer stand her mother's passivity and moves in with her grandmother. All in all, a wonderful film which shows that there is no such thing as a perfect family, that nothing is what it seems and that life doesn't end when you die.Rina's alcoholic stepfather, who frequently and viciously beats her mother, is beginning to turn his abusive attentions toward Rina and her younger brother and sister. The main critiques that I would have so far would be that it was sometimes difficult to keep track of the female characters (as there were a fair few of them and they used completely different actors for the flashback sequences) and that a few of the scenes were almost painfully absurd. The story starts out almost comedic, almost light-hearted, all things considered, but does not stay that way. The characters were believable, and easy to identify with, which I think always makes for a good movie. Now, not to say that my life is *exactly* like this movie (that would be a bit to scary), but there are many elements that I think most of us can relate to, and that is what makes this movie so intriguing and thought-provoking. While watching this movie, I can't tell you how many times I thought to myself 'This character completely reminds me of so-and-so' or, 'Wow, something almost exactly like that has happened to someone I know'. In the course of the day, through the recollections of some and others, Jeanne is going to learn surprising secrets regarding the past of her parents. In spite of the sadness of the event, a festive climate settles down slowly among the people gathered around Jeanne, the girl of the deceased, and Blanche, his wife from whom he was separated for twenty years. Au fil de la journée, à travers les réminiscences des uns et des autres, Jeanne va apprendre d'étonnants secrets sur le passé de ses parents.- On a New Year's Day, while a storm blows on Montreal, numerous relatives and friends are gathered in a funeral home on the occasion of the burial of the septuagenarian Jos. Malgré la tristesse de l'événement, un climat de fête s'installe lentement parmi les gens réunis autour de Jeanne, la fille du défunt, et Blanche, son épouse dont il était séparé depuis vingt ans. ![]() Un premier de l'an, alors qu'une tempête souffle sur Montréal, de nombreux parents et amis sont réunis dans un salon funéraire à l'occasion des funérailles du septuagénaire Jos. ![]()
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