THE BAREFOOT QUEEN

THE BAREFOOT QUEEN by Ildefonso Falcones , Mara Faye Lethem | Kirkus HomeMagazineNewsletterEmail Newsletter Your AccountReviews / AssignmentsAuthor DashboardEditorial DashboardIndie Author DashboardYour Pro Page Pro InboxYour Book ListManage SubscriptionsChange PasswordLog outLog inSearch termSearch scopeAllReviewsInterviewsAuthorsListsPublishersPro ConnectLATEST ISSUE OFKirkus ReviewsFeaturing the best 100 fiction and best 110 children's books of 2014.Book Reviews Just Awarded the KIRKUS STAR CATEGORIESBiography & MemoirBusiness & EconomicsChildren's and TeenCurrent AffairsEntertainment & SportsEssays & AnthologiesFiction & LiteratureFood & CookingGraphic Novels & Comic BooksHealth & MedicineHistoryIndieiPad Book AppsMystery & CrimeNature & TravelPsychologyReligionRomanceScience & TechnologyScience Fiction & FantasySocial SciencesThrillersTrue CrimeBEST BOOKSKirkus Stars & RecommendationsBEST OF 2014FictionNonfictionChildren'sTeenIndieBook AppsFEATURED REVIEWSHot ListsVintage ReviewsBest of 2014FICTIONBy CategoryFull ListFeatured AuthorsCHILDREN'SBy CategoryFull ListFeatured Authors & IllustratorsNONFICTIONBy CategoryFull ListFeatured AuthorsTEENBy CategoryFull ListFeatured AuthorsINDIEBy CategoryFull ListFeatured AuthorsBOOK APPSFull ListBestsellersAuthors Featured Author JEFF VANDERMEER CATEGORIESChildren's Authors & IllustratorsFiction Authors Nonfiction Authors Young Adult Authors Bestselling Author Success StoriesTOP AUTHORSLatest InterviewsBestselling AuthorsKirkus Reviews Cover StoriesAre you an author?Get Your Book ReviewedGet Your Book EditedPromote Your ReviewKirkus TV Coming Soon Andrew Smithauthor of GRASSHOPPER JUNGLEDecember 2, 2014AUTHOR INTERVIEWSShow ScheduleRecent InterviewsBROWSE VIDEOSAllFictionNonfictionLatest InterviewDean Hale and Shannon Haleauthors of THE PRINCESS IN BLACKBlogs Latest From THE BOOK SMUGGLERS CATEGORIESChildren'sMysteries/ThrillersRomanceSci-Fi/FantasyYoung AdultBLOGSSF SignalForever Young AdultThe Book SmugglersSeven Impossible Things Before BreakfastBookshelves of DoomThe Rap SheetBobbi Dumas: Read-A-RomanceATFMBAndrew Liptak Contests The Kirkus Prize Recently Nominated GENERAL INFORMATIONRules & Selection Process2014 Judges2014 Awards CeremonyFAQPress Room2014 WINNERS & FINALISTSFictionNonfictionYoung Readers' Literature2015 NOMINEESFictionNonfictionYoung Readers' LiteratureABOUT THE KIRKUS PRIZEThe Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2014, and October 31, 2015, are automatically nominated for the 2015 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on October 23, 2015, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.Pro Connect This Week's AUTHOR TO WATCH DOUGLAS RICHARDSON
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KIRKUS REVIEW

Another historical epic from best-selling Falcones (The Handof Fatima,?2011,etc.), this one set among Spain’s fiery gypsies.

The busy tale begins with the arrival in Cadiz of Caridad, anAfrican slave from Cuba liberated but stranded by the shipboard death of hermaster. She’s rescued after weeks of abuse at the hands of various brutal whitemen by Melchor, patriarch of the Vega clan of gypsies. Most of the actioninvolves this odd couple, plus Melchor’s daughter, Ana, and granddaughter,Milagros. They are separated by the mass roundup of gypsies in 1749: Ana, likethousands of others, is jailed and endures years of torment; from prison, shedisowns Milagros for marrying Pedro Garcia, whose family has an ancient bloodfeud with the Vegas. There’s no question about who’s in the right, as Pedroproves to be a rotten husband who, when Milagros’ talents as a dancer andsinger take them to Madrid, starts by cheating on her and ends by pimping herout by force to aristocrats, then branding her a whore. Meanwhile, feistyMelchor and annoyingly passive Caridad have various adventures while the authortreats us to large doses of historical background poorly incorporated into his eventful fiction. The translator can perhaps be blamed for suchanachronistic dialogue as, “No way!” and “Yeah, yeah,” but not for thewhipsawing from one storyline to another that prevents readers from connectingwith any of the characters until far too late. Only Falcones’ vivid portrait ofgypsy culture?a proud, amoral and unabashedly sensual challenge to puritanicalSpanish Catholicism?maintains interest as the plot twists on and on. Thenarrative does eventually arrive at a climactic confrontation and a movingaffirmation of gypsy solidarity and tenacity, but it’s an awfully long slog toget there.

Very?slow to gain momentum, but colorfulbackground and a slam-bang finale almost make up for it.

Pub Date:?Nov. 25th, 2014ISBN:?978-0-8041-3948-9Page count:?640ppPublisher:?CrownReview Posted Online: Oct.?9th,?2014Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct.?15th,?2014



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Pollo Del Mar: Gay Rapper Cazwell Duets With Electro Queen Luciana; Drag Race Favorite Manila Luzon Is Next

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"I feel like I'm having social media overload right now," Cazwell admits.

Whether through interactions with more than 55,000 Facebook fans or nearly 40,000 Twitter followers, the undisputed king of New York's underground gay hip-hop scene is "hustling now even more than before." Playing club gigs and summer LGBT Pride events around the country Thursdays through Sundays, Cazwell spends his weekdays recording new tracks and music videos.

"I feel even more of a need to keep people aware of my presence, videos, what's going on, stay active with my fans online," the star explained during a recent telephone interview. "I'm just trying to stay -- no, I'm not even trying to stay busy, I just am.

"It's good," Cazwell notes. "It's way, way better than being dead."

Cazwell's anything but that! In keeping with his goal of releasing new music every eight weeks for the rest of the year, "Guess What?" -- his collaboration with Luciana, dance music's Queen of Electro -- hit social media June 17. The track's official video, which ends with a random 40-second voiceover from quirky RuPaul's All-Stars Drag Race favorite Tammie Brown, has already racked up an impressive 41,000-plus views.

"It was all kind of lined up in the stars," Cazwell says of working with Luciana, best known for Billboard Dance Chart-topping favorites like "I'm Still Hot" and "We Own the Night." When friends of friends suggested the pairing before a Hawaiian get-away, and still others encouraged it again during the vacation, the rapper took note. When he returned home, the connection was made - and the rest is history.

"She's really positive," Cazwell says of the British sensation. "She's really positive about being positive. She's good energy."

Fans of his most recent work, those who helped push last year's single "Rice & Beans" toward a healthy half-million total YouTube views, for example, might be taken aback by the frenetic pace of "Guess What?" Cazwell acknowledges the song's electro vibe definitely matches Luciana's signature, but it was a cut he couldn't pass up.

"Songs like 'Rice & Beans' and 'Ice Cream Truck' are a little more 'player' tracks and don't sound so dance club or EDM [Electro Dance Music]," says the singer, who loves to put his white boy swagger on display, "But I'm no stranger to house music -- whether it's 'All Over Your Face' or 'Get My Money Back.'"

Indeed, with more than 1.2 million YouTube views, "All Over Your Face" is Cazwell's biggest hit to date. But he's certainly not willing to rest on his laurels. He's already hard at work on his next two videos -- and looking toward his next big release.

"I have a track coming with Manila Luzon which really sounds like an old-school house track," he says. In addition to Luzon, runner-up on Season 3 of RuPaul's Drag Race, the song also features New York drag celebrity Roxy, who experienced '90s house music success as a featured vocalist on hits by The Ride Committee.

"If I stay the same for too long, people are going to get bored with me," Cazwell says of dabbling in so many genres and his massive musical output, "So I've just got to keep it moving!"

Watch the "Guess What?" music video here.

Follow Pollo Del Mar on Twitter: www.twitter.com/TheGlamazonPDM

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