Sunday, May 09, 2010

Waking up in the Land of Glitter: a Crafty Chica Novel by Kathy Cano-Murillo

Meet Estrella "Star" Esteban who is spoiled by her family and friends. She is an independent spirit who is used to getting her own way. So after waking up the day after getting drunk, black-out can't remember a thing drunk, to discover that she had spray painted the mural on the wall of her family's restaurant. Her days of getting a free pass are up, as the mural she spray painted with happy faces was created by her best friend, Theo, who she also has a crush on says they are through and her family gives her 6 months to get her life in order she decides buckle down. But Star has always wanted to be an artist and when she orders 350 lbs. of glitter by accident (vs. 3.5 lbs.) through the restaurant, she has to take on her obligations. She decides to be a bronze sponsor of the Craft Olympics and agrees to make hundreds of centerpieces for the tables so that she can promote the restaurant.

She elicits the help of her best friend Ofelia, whose passion is crafting which unfortunately she sucks at. She is being held back by her mother- in-law Nana who thinks that she has no talent. They meet Chloe Chavez who is a television reporter about crafts. Chloe would do anything to get ahead in the business, from stealing her assistant's ideas to having an affair with the producer. She also was named host of the Craft Olympics and felt that joining the group would increase her standings in the crafting community. They have to resolve their issues and work together to get the job done.

We see lots of examples of the up and coming art scene in Central Phoenix and feel like are part of the lives of these 3 women. It was a lot more entertaining than I expected and I wasn't even sure if I would enjoy it at first. But I'm glad that I stayed with it.