Selena: Como La Flor

Although it's an unauthorized biography, "Selena: Como La Flor" remains the definitive book about the life and death of Selena. Patoski does a good job of explaining the history and development of Tejano, or Tex-Mex, music prior to Selena y los Dinos' arrival on the scene. Patoski also covers in detail, much of what the 1997 film bio skipped over: primarily the decade between Selena's beginnings as a regional performer, and her signing with EMI Latin/Capitol Records. Patoski also covers the rather strange goings-on during the final months of Selena's life: her relationship to her fan club president and murderer Yolanda Salvidar; her possible infatuation with a doctor in Mexico; and the possibility that Selena may have been ready to ditch her singing career to persue her interest in selling fashion.Of course, Selena's murder and Yolanda's trial are also dealt with in the book, but it was the events immediately preceeding her death that intrigued me the most. It's clear from "Como la Flor" that, unlike the movie, everything wasn't coming up roses for Selena near the end of her life. Although Patoski gives a balanced portrayal of Selena's father, Abraham Quintanilla Jr., it's pretty clear that Mr. Quintanilla figuratively sacrificed his daughter to fuel his own stiffled musical ambitions. As other reviewers have already mentioned, Mr. Patowski has done an excellent job of researching the slain singer's life. There are comments from many past associates of Selena in the book, and raises interesting questions of what directions Ms. Quintanilla's life may have taken if she hadn't died. If your only source of information about Selena is the Jennifer Lopez film, you owe it to yourself to read "Como la Flor," because this book is far more interesting. (In case you're wondering, I think JLo doesn't hold a candle to Selena in terms of singing!)

I first became a fan of Selena's when she was killed. I was, at that time, 15 years old. I have been extremely interested in anything I could find about her since then. I got Dreaming Of You for Christmas that year and constantly listened to it. She just totally changed my life. Ever since then i'd done everything I could to find out as much as I could about her, and after a while I thought I knew pretty much everything there was to know about her. She lived a life I only could have dreamt about. But when I bought this book and read it, I realized I knew practically nothing about her. It really touched me how down-to-earth she really was. She never let fame get to her head like a lot of celebrities do. For that I honor her. She was a real inspiration to other latinas out there. Viviras Selena! We always have and always will love you.

This book was a shocking wake up call for me. I love Selena with everything that is real and unreal. Joe Nick Patoski is a pure genious! It documented how shocking and sad the death of Selena Quintanilla Perez was. I miss her terribly and if i could, i would read this book over and over again. This is truly a keepsake and all selena fans will cherish it.

I was sceptical about buying this book at first, considering that isn't an official biography. But, I must say I WASN'T dissapointed. It was wonderful. It was well written, well organized, and gave Selena the credit as a singer and human being that she deserveed. My only vice about it is that is makes her father seem like a controlling freak, when the only thing he was ever guilty of is loving his daughter. Other than that, this book is most definitely worth the money. If you love Selena, you'll love this Book! :)

This is the best Selena biography I've read. It gives all the information about Selena and it's also good for people who don't know much about Tejano as the author deals with the background of Tejano music at the beginning. It's a great book to find out more about Selena's up-bringing and personal life. Overall, wonderfully written!