RINA'S FAMILY SECRET

by Gloria "Vel‡squez ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 30, 1998

In this entry in the Roosevelt High School series, Rina Morales lives with her younger sister and brother, her mother, and her stepfather, JosÆ’, who is slowly destroying the family with his verbal and physical abuse of his wife. After one particularly ugly incident that leaves her mother hospitalized with stab wounds, Rina goes to stay with her grandmother. Her school friends know that Rina has a problem, but only one of them knows how to help her: Tommy, who was able to come to terms with his homosexuality, convinces Rina to talk to a professional counselor, Ms. Mart'nez. Rina realizes that her mother needs to break the pattern of domestic violence, and that help is available at a local women's shelter. Rina and Ms. Martinez share narrative duties, and when the older woman takes over, the book is plunged into soggy bibliotherapy. Rina's chapters, however, are informative and believable enough to aid readers in similar situations, and well-written enough to entertain and enlist the compassion of those who aren't.

Pub Date: Aug. 30, 1998

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 153

Publisher: Pi„ata/Arte Pœblico

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1998

Categories: CHILDREN'S