Alysia Vilar is the daughter of a privileged, Washington D.C.-based diplomat family. When she's 13, her mother dies, but not before confessing that her daughter's real father is not the man who raised her.
Her real father, it turns out, is a Cuban translator named Jose Antonio. When Alysia is old enough, she dashes off to Havana to find him. Through a series of misfortunes, including having all her money stolen and her exit visa denied, Alysia has no other choice but to join the "jineteras", the educated and beautiful Cuban women who sell themselves to sex tourists from Europe and North America. Alysia spends a year surrounded by the fascinating culture and music and dance in Havana. She's taken in by the charismatic Camila, a female heart surgeon who shows Alysia how to be a woman and a tutors her in "jineterismo." In the end, the search for her father reveals an unimaginable surprise. | ||
Plot & Themes Tone of book? - upbeat Time/era of story - 2000+ (Present Day) Life of a profession: Internal struggle/realization? Yes Struggle over Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Job/Profession/Status story Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Nationality Main Adversary Identity: - Female Age: - 20's-30's Profession/status: Eccentric/Smart/Dumb: Yes Eccentric: How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 7 () The Americas (not US): Yes The Americas: - The Caribbean Island? Yes Island: - stranded - Caribbean Islands Writing Style Sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - descript of kissing - orgies - actual description of hetero sex - Boob talk! - two guys doing it Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |