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Illegally Blonde
When seventeen-year-old Lucy do Amaral comes home with bleached blonde hair she expects a major lecture and another grounding from her strict Portuguese parents. What she doesn't expect is the shocking news that her family are illegal aliens who’ve just been told they're being deported in less than a week. Lucy's furious at being forced to leave her boyfriend and miss prom to go live in some backwater village in a country she knows nothing about. But as Lucy discovers, intentions and reality are sometimes worlds apart - or an ocean away.
- GenresYoung Adult
216 pages, Paperback
First published March 30, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 17, 2016
I enjoyed reading this YA novel about Lucy and her family who are getting deported from Canada to Portugal due to an immigration issue they didn't take care of years ago when they arrived in Canada when Lucy was still little. All this happens just weeks before Lucy's Prom.
Lucy puts every effort into getting back home to her boyfriend and friends in Canada. She even tries something illegal to make it happen.
I wish this would have also showed a bit more about life in Portugal and the differences between the 2 countries. It moved along at a very nice pace and I was a bit surprised by the ending.
Lucy puts every effort into getting back home to her boyfriend and friends in Canada. She even tries something illegal to make it happen.
I wish this would have also showed a bit more about life in Portugal and the differences between the 2 countries. It moved along at a very nice pace and I was a bit surprised by the ending.
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February 7, 2012Reviewed by Gillian O’Reilly
It’s refreshing to see a Portuguese-Canadian protagonist in YA fiction and Lucy do Amaral is an appealing newcomer. Lucy has been the good daughter to her hardworking parents while they have forged a life in Canada. As the youngest child and a girl, she is not consulted about family matters, she has no expectations of continuing her education after high school and she (mostly) complies with her parents’ 7:00 PM curfew. Her big act of rebellion has been to dye her hair blonde for the upcoming Prom. Her parents, however, scarcely notice her hair — they and her older brother have been devastated by the news that they are being deported. Lucy is similarly devastated — she will miss the Prom and she will likely lose her boyfriend (whose attention has become less enthusiastic recently).
Very shortly, Lucy is living in her parents’ tiny village in Portugal, crowded in with her aunt and uncle’s family and struggling with her rusty Portuguese. Desperate to get home to Canada, she strikes a deal for an illegal passport with the town badboy Tomas, but also finds herself interested in the handsome Cambridge-educated Felipe, who has hired her to work in his English tutoring service and who is also her sullen cousin’s ex boyfriend.
Impatient and self-absorbed, Lucy manages to mess up her new life in Portugal, but her loyalty to her family and her innate values keep her from taking a totally wrong turn. In the process, she discovers a bit more about her roots and a lot about her talents — discoveries that open up new possibilities for her, possibly in Canada, possibly in Portugal.
Author Nelsa Roberto has taken a true story from the news headlines (about Portuguese-Canadians deported when their citizenship was called into question) and skillfully crafted an enjoyable and well-written tale. Lucy do Amaral is a welcome addition to the YA scene.
Canadian Children's Book News (Summer 2010, Vol. 33, No. 3)
It’s refreshing to see a Portuguese-Canadian protagonist in YA fiction and Lucy do Amaral is an appealing newcomer. Lucy has been the good daughter to her hardworking parents while they have forged a life in Canada. As the youngest child and a girl, she is not consulted about family matters, she has no expectations of continuing her education after high school and she (mostly) complies with her parents’ 7:00 PM curfew. Her big act of rebellion has been to dye her hair blonde for the upcoming Prom. Her parents, however, scarcely notice her hair — they and her older brother have been devastated by the news that they are being deported. Lucy is similarly devastated — she will miss the Prom and she will likely lose her boyfriend (whose attention has become less enthusiastic recently).
Very shortly, Lucy is living in her parents’ tiny village in Portugal, crowded in with her aunt and uncle’s family and struggling with her rusty Portuguese. Desperate to get home to Canada, she strikes a deal for an illegal passport with the town badboy Tomas, but also finds herself interested in the handsome Cambridge-educated Felipe, who has hired her to work in his English tutoring service and who is also her sullen cousin’s ex boyfriend.
Impatient and self-absorbed, Lucy manages to mess up her new life in Portugal, but her loyalty to her family and her innate values keep her from taking a totally wrong turn. In the process, she discovers a bit more about her roots and a lot about her talents — discoveries that open up new possibilities for her, possibly in Canada, possibly in Portugal.
Author Nelsa Roberto has taken a true story from the news headlines (about Portuguese-Canadians deported when their citizenship was called into question) and skillfully crafted an enjoyable and well-written tale. Lucy do Amaral is a welcome addition to the YA scene.
Canadian Children's Book News (Summer 2010, Vol. 33, No. 3)
January 17, 2011
Lucy’s parents drop a bombshell on her during her senior year, right before prom and graduation: due to an immigration issue they didn’t take care of long ago, they’re all being deported to Portugal, her parents’ home country. Lucy wants to stay in Canada, but that’s impossible.
In Portugal, Lucy has to worry about boyfriend and best friend issues, getting online whenever she can to find out what’s going on back in Canada. The cousin she rooms with is a mean girl and people can’t help but notice that her Portuguese is rusty. A boy catches her attention, but she has to think of her Canadian boyfriend, while another boy tries to sell her freedom so she can get out of the village and back to regular life. There’s a lot of local intrigue that can create major problems for her, but Lucy might be able to fight it since she grows in the way she deals with love, friendship, and family.
Lucy is self-absorbed in the beginning and changes so much due to the events that affect her and how she reacts to them. The storyline is interesting and one that I haven’t encountered before in YA books. In the beginning of the novel, Lucy bleaches her hair blonde, and this plays nicely into the story as her roots grow out, both on her hair and in her life.
In Portugal, Lucy has to worry about boyfriend and best friend issues, getting online whenever she can to find out what’s going on back in Canada. The cousin she rooms with is a mean girl and people can’t help but notice that her Portuguese is rusty. A boy catches her attention, but she has to think of her Canadian boyfriend, while another boy tries to sell her freedom so she can get out of the village and back to regular life. There’s a lot of local intrigue that can create major problems for her, but Lucy might be able to fight it since she grows in the way she deals with love, friendship, and family.
Lucy is self-absorbed in the beginning and changes so much due to the events that affect her and how she reacts to them. The storyline is interesting and one that I haven’t encountered before in YA books. In the beginning of the novel, Lucy bleaches her hair blonde, and this plays nicely into the story as her roots grow out, both on her hair and in her life.
October 15, 2011
This book made me miss Portugal so much, although I don't share the same story with Lucy in getting deported I felt I could connect with her in the fact that everything around her felt like it was falling apart, she was missing what she thought was so important in life ( prom, graduation, her boyfriend)which at our age for most girls is. There were times were I felt she was unrealistic going as far in some situations as she did, but I really connected with her in other aspects when her kindness came through her character.All in all the book was a good read a little realistic at times but it kept me interested and content.
September 16, 2010
I found ILLEGALLY BLONDE an engrossing and satisfying read. Told with wry wit yet with compassion, the story follows Portugese-Canadian 17-year-old Lucy do Amaral, who discovers that her immigrant parents are illegal workers on the verge of being deported back to Portugal.
I especially enjoyed watching Lucy's character develop through the story, from a miserable and self-absorbed teen to a young adult whose relationships with friends and family evolve along with her own life perspective.
And now I -so- want to go to Portugal someday.
I especially enjoyed watching Lucy's character develop through the story, from a miserable and self-absorbed teen to a young adult whose relationships with friends and family evolve along with her own life perspective.
And now I -so- want to go to Portugal someday.
June 11, 2016
Read this book in three settings over a 24 hour period. Was very engrossed in the story line, particularly in the last 1/3 of the book. Excellent build up the finish. The ending to me was a surprise but still very satisfying.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 23, 2010
Absolutely GREAT book!
May 9, 2010
A YA book with a good premise - Lucy's family is deported back to Portugal on the eve of her gr. 12 prom and graduation and Lucy's determined not to take this event lying down. She'll get back to Joel, the boyfriend of her dreams, no matter what it takes, even if it includes a little crime. However, the execution of her plans is just too much. Here's a book with too, too much plot, and some pretty flakey characterization. Lucy, despite her constant protests otherwise, is just too self-involved to be totally appealing and the final arc of the story is simply over the top.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews