Monday, September 29, 2008

Delia’s Crossing-V.C. Andrews

Delia’s Crossing
V.C. Andrews
Pocket, Oct 2008, $7.99
ISBN: 1416530843

Delia Yebarra is dreaming in school about yesterday’s quinceanera celebration when her grandmother bursts into the school and takes her home. She informs the teen that her parents died in an auto accident. Delia leaves her Mexican village to live with her wealthy aunt Isabella in Palm Springs, California. Isabelle married an older rich man. The grieving teenager is shocked that her aunt is taking her in because Isabelle turned her back on her family and village years ago.

When she arrives at her aunt’s vast estate, Delia is told she will live in a rundown building and will be a servant until she learns to speak English fluently. Nobody will know they are related, but eventually Delia’s cousins Edward and Sophia learn the truth. Edward welcomes her to the family and tries to protect her. However Isabelle and Sophia try to harm her so Delia flees for home with a Mexican fugitive at her side.

If this tale is any indication, V.C. Andrews’s new series starring Delia will be a big hit. Delia feels like a fish out of water in the states especially since she does not speak English and thereby unwelcome by her aunt who along with Sophia uses her niece for personal reasons; Delia has no idea how to fight back. Even her relationship with Edward is ruined by her aunt’s machinations leaving her isolated as a stranger in a foreign land. This is a great tale of people in crisis learning to cope with the hand fate (and a cruel relative) dealt them.

Harriet Klausner

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