Party Girl

Pay with

About Party Girl

Product Description Pocho handed her a gun and for the first time in days, Kata felt calm. She hadn't known what to do, how to be, without Ana. An endless loop of memories spun around her brain--dancing wild at the go-go contest...running through the night-black streets...booming gunfire and screaming tires...the weight of her friend's lifeless body...Ana's blood, cold and tacky on her skin. But this gun put Kata in control. Someone would pay for Ana's death. Someone would pay. Filled with atmosphere and action, this novel offers readers a window into the world of a gang member who knows she needs to get even, prays she won't get killed, but doesn't dare hope to ever get out.   From School Library Journal Grade 7 Up-Kata and Ana have been inseparable since fourth grade. Kata helped Ana learn English when her family came to L.A. from Mexico, then Ana helped Kata keep up with her schoolwork whenever she had to take care of her mother. The girls, now 14, dreamed together, danced together, and joined a gang together. They are together the night Ana, who confides to Kata that she is pregnant, is shot and killed by a member of a rival gang. Kata narrates the progression of her grief: her anger, desire for revenge, and her guilt over luring Ana into "the life." Kata relates the events that eventually give her the courage to rise above her difficult circumstances and strive for a positive future. Ewing writes convincingly of Kata's gritty life in the barrio with her alcoholic mother, her desperately hopeless homeys, and the release and joy she finds in dancing competitions. Kata is one tough cookie. She needs that toughness to survive. But she finds in herself the additional capacity to care for others, whether it's her dissipated mother, the gang member who tries to hide the pain of his mother's desertion, or the boy who seemed to have won Ana's love. In just over 100 pages, Ewing makes readers care for Kata and wish her well. Miriam Lang Budin, Mt. Kisco Public Library, NY Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review "After reading the first two pages, you'll want to finish the book in one sitting." -- Teen People "Expertly describes the culture of Hispanic gangs...an excellent book." -- Chicago Tribune "A gripping look at a fascinating, often ruthless, urban world." -- Kirkus Reviews From the Paperback edition. From the Inside Flap handed her a gun and for the first time in days, Kata felt calm. She hadn't known what to do, how to be, without Ana. An endless loop of memories spun around her brain--dancing wild at the go-go contest...running through the night-black streets...booming gunfire and screaming tires...the weight of her friend's lifeless body...Ana's blood, cold and tacky on her skin. But this gun put Kata in control. Someone would pay for Ana's death. Someone would pay. Filled with atmosphere and action, this novel offers readers a window into the world of a gang member who knows she needs to get even, prays she won't get killed, but doesn't dare hope to ever get out. About the Author Lynne Ewing writes extensively for magazines, television, and film. Her first book for young adults, Drive-By, was an American Library Association Quick Pick and a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age. Ms. Ewing spent several years working for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services as a bilingual employee before turning to writing as a full-time career. She lives in Los Angeles, California. From the Paperback edition. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Wind littered the cemetery with eucalyptus leaves and broken branches. I waited away from the others in the old section, lost in a field of granite headstones and marble angels. My homies stood, uninvited, at Ana's open grave. The security guard with the yellow beard had asked them to leave. When they wouldn't he asked Ana's mother if she wanted him to call the sheriff. She didn't want the sheriff at