It's Not About the Accent

When Caroline Darcy heads off to college, the theater major from small-town Ohio dyes her hair from “blah, beige blonde” hair to “Havana Brown” and pretends she is half-Cuban—never mind that her Cuban connection comes entirely via her late great-grandmother, the dashing Nana Ellie. Caro sprinkles Spanish into her speech, wears tighter clothes and enjoys the attention she gets from being “exotic,” even starting a relationship with“smooth” fraternity boy Erik. The plot takes a jarring turn when one of Erik's friends rapes Caro in her dorm room, despite the efforts of her Cuban friend from across the hall, Peter, to save her. Retuning to school in the fall, Caro stops pretending to be Carolina, but decides to research Nana Ellie's family, which alters the direction of the story. Readers may grow frustrated wondering where Ferrer (Adiós to My Old Life ) is going next, besides building to the inevitable romance between Caro and Peter. But the book achieves a real richness: Caro not only learns unexpected secrets about Nana Ellie, but hears many revealing life stories. The elderly Cuban women who talk about their journeys prove especially moving. In the end, this twisting book amply rewards readers. Ages 12-up. (Aug.)