LatinaLista — Damas, Dramas and Ana Ruiz by Belinda Acosta tells the story of Ana Ruiz, an educated woman and mother of two children who discovered that her husband cheated on her and asked him to leave the house. Her daughter, Carmen, blames her mother for the breakup, and Ana believes that a Quinceañera ball will repair her relationship with her daughter.
While Ana agonizes over each detail of the Quinceañera, she struggles to keep the truth from her daughter about her father’s treacherous behavior. Amid getting ready for the ball, her life as a working mother and educated woman, Ana wrestles with her doubts and desires, and all the comments from family and friends who tell her to take back her husband.
A predicament too many Latinas find themselves in makes this read an interesting perspective of the mother-daughter relationship when faced with a family-changing situation.
Luckily, readers have Ana Ruiz as their guide and mentor as she leads the way in upholding viable cultural traditions and shattering ones that were myths.
Jo Ann Hernández is assistant Bookshelf editor and author of the award-winning “White Bread Competition” and “The Throwaway Piece,” as well as, creator and publisher of BronzeWord Latino Authors web site.
