Chicago teenager Violet Paz is interested in hanging out with her friends and following the Cubs. Her father is Cuban, her mother is Polish American, and while Violet can play a mean game of dominoes, her blond hair and green eyes link her visibly to the European American side of the family. When her Miami grandparents arrive for a visit shortly after her 15 ^th birthday, her abuela is brimming with plans for Violet’s quinceañero , a traditional Latin American celebration marking a girl’s coming of age. At first horrified at the thought of wearing a pink dress and tiara, Violet learns more about the meaning behind the celebration. With the help of her friends and family in the months leading up to her party, she constructs an event that reflects her unique identity while honoring the customary ritual. While the quinceañero officially marks Violet’s maturation, her personal growth during her 15 ^th year is highlighted by her emerging interest in her Cuban heritage, a quest challenged by her father’s reluctance to discuss anything to do with his birthplace. As Violet looks for answers, her father’s and grandparents’ vehement opposition to Castro’s Cuba is tempered by her Aunt Luz’s desire to see an end to the Cuban embargo. Ultimately, Violet must develop her own opinions. In a fresh and humorous voice, Violet winds her way through a pivotal adolescent year, full of realistic growth and change, including her rookie season on the school’s speech team and a budding romance. Violet’s vivid and warm family members shine as solid characters in their own right throughout this stand-out debut novel by a first-time author. (Ages 12–15)

For fans of Matt de la Peña and Sandra Cisneros comes a novel about family and identity, where Violet Paz prepares for her quinceañero and learns about her Cuban heritage.

   Violet Paz has just turned fifteen, a pivotal birthday in the eyes of her Cuban grandmother. Fifteen is the age when a girl enters womanhood, traditionally celebrating the occasion with a quinceañero.
   But while Violet is half Cuban, she’s also half Polish, and more importantly, she feels 100% American. Except for her zany family’s passion for playing dominoes, smoking cigars, and dancing to Latin music, Violet knows little about Cuban culture, nada about quinces, and only tidbits about the history of Cuba.
   So when Violet begrudgingly accepts Abuela’s plans for a quinceañero–and as she begins to ask questions about her Cuban roots–cultures and feelings collide. The mere mention of Cuba and Fidel Castro elicits her grandparents’sadness and her father’s anger. Only Violet’s aunt Luz remains open-minded.
   With so many divergent views, it’s not easy to know what to believe. All Violet knows is that she’s got to form her own opinions, even if this jolts her family into unwanted confrontations. After all, a quince girl is supposed to embrace responsibility–and to Violet that includes understanding the Cuban heritage that binds her to a homeland she’s never seen.

“Violet’s hilarious cool first-person narrative veers between farce and tenderness, denial and truth.”—Booklist, Starred Review

"This funny and tender chronicle of Violet's 15th year...[has] heart and humor."-Kirkus Reviews

“Cuba 15 will make readers laugh, whether or not their families are as loco as Violet’s.”—The Horn Book Magazine

"Osa's tale about a warmhearted, fun-loving family, a teenager's typical ambivalence about different cultures, the stress of dealing with high school demands and pressures, a budding romance, and how an imaginative, high-spirited young woman handles some thorny issues and does some growing up in the process, rings true and makes for an entertaining story."-VOYA

"The characters are so charming that while readers are in their company, the experience is interesting and engaging."-SLJ

A Pura Belpré Honor Book

An ALA Notable Book

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults

A Booklist Top Ten Youth First Novels