A USA Today review looks at  best-selling author Julia Alvarez’s Once Upon a Quinceañera, a book which examines Latinas growing up in the U.S. today.  Alvarez uses the traditional Quinceañera-- a celebration that marks a girl’s passage into womanhood on her 15th birthday-- as the focal point with which to address a multitude of issues facing young Latinas.

The Dominican-born Alvarez centers her book around the story of Monica Ramos, a teen from Queens, New York. While Ramos’ Quinceañera is more modest than many of the all-out extravaganzas explored in the book (which occasionally take their cue from MTV’s over-the-top "Sweet 16"), it is unique in the way it blends tradition with a decidedly American Disney theme.

Slate.com’s review of the book points out the darker realities that many young Latinas face, even suggesting that Quinces may actually give  a young girl premature "permission" to become sexually active. The article states that:

"According to the National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy, Latinas have the highest teen birthrate of all major U.S. racial/ethnic groups: 51 percent of Latina teens get pregnant at least once before the age of 20, nearly twice the national average.

Alvarez interviews one hairdresser who notes that of seven girls he styled for their quinces, four invited him, within the year, to a baby shower."

Nonetheless, Alvarez herself remains hopeful that the Quince celebration is more than just a party, but instead a positive guiding influence for young women coming of age.