Waking Up in the Land of Glitter

When I received Waking Up In The Land of Glitter by Kathy Cano-Murillo, I loved the cover and I started to read it right away. Meet Estrella "Star" Esteban who is spoiled by her family and friends. She gets into trouble when she spray paints a mural on the wall of her family's restaurant. When her father finds out that it was her, he asks her to leave home but gives her one more chance to make it up to him. 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 bestfriend Ofelia, whose passion is crafting. 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. Do they do it? MY Thoughts- Throughout the story, other characters are intertwined in the plot and they play a large part in the outcome of the story. The three women form a strong bond and friendship that helps them through many predicaments and emotions. The author develops the characters fully and while reading the book, I was able to feel all the emotions that the characters were feeling. There were many Spanglish terms used throughout the book and she even supplied a glossary if I needed it.This was a great novel and I wonder if there is a sequel in the future. Disclaimer: I received a free copy from the HachetteBook Group for my honest review and I was not compensated for the review.

I have been a fan of Kathy's for years after finding her website a long time ago. She is talented in so many areas. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. The characters were so real to me and I hated for the story to end. I hope Kathy follows this novel with stories about Ofie, Chloe and Star's parents, Al and Dori. Oh and Nana Chata too. Read this book You will have fun.

As a fan of Kathy's other, non-fiction works, I pounced on this the minute it was available. Kathy has so much creativity in so many arenas, I figured I couldn't go wrong with her fiction, too. I was not wrong. "Waking Up in the Land of Glitter" is a great book of unexpected friendship, written by someone who obviously *gets* what it is she's talking about. Reading it, I kept feeling like I KNOW these women...and in some cases, I AM these women (we will not talk about the number of times I've put off a bill for buying that perfect skein of yarn... *ahem*...). I ended up not wanting the book to be over, and I'm hoping that there will be sequels so we can see Star, Ofie, Chloe, and even Nana Chata again. If you're into making things with your hands, or you just want a good read, this is a great book.

Kathy has done it again, I have all her crafting books and knew she was very talented but she has really outdone herself this time. It was so fun to read it was hard to put it down. The characters were great, the only thing that would make it better would be a sequel so we can continue to follow the lives of these ladies. It is so much more than crafts it is hits home about relationships and what it takes to make them work. Keep up the GREAT work Kathy, we are all behind you. :o)

Female friendships are born from diversity and survive by tenacity. The relationships that make it are road tested over the years but each person in the friendship knows that while bumps in the road come and knock you off the cart they do not stop you from getting back in and finishing the ride. Ofie, Star and Chloe are three sides to a triangle that are different from one another but there is a superglue that has them sticking it out regardless of the cost. While Ofie and Star are old friends with years of memories it is the new addition of Chloe that breaths life into their circle and a little bit of anguish as everything starts to change. Ofie is a wife, mother and crafting addict gone wrong; Star is an out of control woman who refuses to be a responsible adult and her crazy antics have cost her the love of her love and the tolerance of her parents; Crafty Chloe is a TV personality that while appearing put together and acting all about it on the air is an insecure mess after the camera shuts down and the truth of her crafting inefficiencies comes out. With the CraftOlympics coming to Phoenix these three unlikely people are drawn together to create some of the most beautiful artwork ever seen and push each other toward greatness when hidden talents start bubbling to the surface. Each of these women has been forced to face the reality of sick or swim for this event and when they come together to create they make one another more independent and create such magic tears are shed even some family drama can't slow the crafting process. But all good relationships get tested and the real push for any true friendship is when you get to the top of the mountain and your fears of failure come out and you know your worth of self is built around the complexities of your friends and they share their strength with you not keep it for themselves. This book covers so many areas but has the basis built in friendship and moves the story out from there. Friends are the wonder in your life as well as create some of the difficulties but building on these difficulties we realize all is not glitter and gold in our lives and you can't always put memories in a scrapbook but you can pull together something beautiful and touching with the right word or having a sincere friend stand beside you when you need it the most. Life is not about crafts that have gone wrong or pictures hanging on the wall crocked, it is about what we show with a simple act of kindness which after all is a grand deed. However, everything seriously does look great with glitter on top and you cannot put too much on anything. Mary Gramlich - The Reading Reviewer - [...]