Cas dreams of becoming an event planner and when the internship of her dreams opens up, she will do anything to get it. To boost her application, she signs up to plan a quincenera for a local Disneyland influencer. A few white lies here and there and a lot of drama complicate the planning process. I loved the Cuban culture and the Disneyland references, but it was hard to believe this book was about high school students. Outside of that, Cas’s growth throughout the story was incredible and she really matured throughout the story. I particularly enjoyed the audiobook, where Stacy Gonzalez’s narration really helped me get into Cas’s mind.
Thank you to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the alc and Wednesday Books for the gifted copy.

Jessica Parra has done it again with The Quince Project! This book is a warm hug wrapped in glitter and cha-cha heels. It's heartfelt, funny, and I enjoyed learning about different traditions. From the first chapter, I was hooked by the sharp, witty voice and the rich, colorful world she brings to life. I need to read more books by this author.

Disney lovers will enjoy the rollercoaster ride of emotions and mentions of the Happiest Place on Earth!

Providing a review in exchange for NetGalley ARC.

As a half Puerto Rican girl, I have always wanted a quince (which for those of you who don't know, is a big celebration for Hispanic/Latina women who turn 15, similar to a sweet 16 here in America). I never got a quince, nor a sweet 16 lol but I didn't really need them. I have been to the quince of one of my friends who was a full blooded Mexican girl. It was so much fun, I'll always remember it.

Cas was also an amazing character. I could relate to her at times especially with the Disney references. I love Disney. This story had it all. A compelling story about the experiences us Hispanic/Latinx people may face while also having an enjoyable romance story woven in.

A cute romance story about a peppy hardworking girl who gets her happy ending.


Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the gifted copy!

Unfortunately this book was just not for me. Didn’t connect with the characters and really sad I couldn’t get into reading this

I liked this book! It had a cute romance and a good sibling relationship. But amongst the cute moments, the hijinks of maintaining a lie, and the Disney references, it also has heavier themes. This novel explores grief and the different ways that people react to it, such as becoming a control freak, pretending everything is fine, withdrawing into yourself, or finding comfort in the things that remind you of the one you lost. While some aspects of this book were a bit silly, like the sister wearing lipstick colors based on her mood, I enjoyed this book and I'm excited to see what Jessica Parra has coming up next!

The Quince Project was more than just a cute YA romcom. While it did have an adorable romance I couldn’t get enough of, we also have deeper topics.
There was grief, sisterhood and the importance of culture.

I really enjoyed this novel overall. I came in with high expectations as I usually do when it comes to a Latinx book. I don’t try to but I have noticed that I tend to do that.
The characters were fun, the sisters were fun to follow. They were so different and I really liked that. It can be difficult with YA books because some characters can come off too immature for me but this MC was the perfect amount 😅
I love when our MC knows when they’re wrong, I just wanna slow clap 👏🏻

I think this was a good read and I recommend it if you enjoy YA. I’m looking forward to reading more by this author.

It was a warm hearted romance: love, drama, and even teary eyed moments.
I recommend it to those who love reading about Disney, parties, young love and working though complex emotions.

The Quince Project by Jessica Parra is a delightful YA story that provides readers with a heartfelt look at themes of family, coping with grief, and self discovery. It's full of culturally rich elements and humor.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

This was such a fun and cute read! I loved all the references to the Hispanic culture and could relate to many of them! The whole idea of a quinceañera planner really intrigued me and I found myself remembering my sisters’ quinceañera and all the planning that went into it! This is a quick fun read if you like wedding planning and friends to lovers/forced proximity.

As much as I wanted to like this book, I just couldn’t connect with the writing. I’m a huge fan of YA novels but this felt very immature and it was so hard for me to connect with the characters.

We loved discussing this book over on the blog Rich in Color. Here are some of my thoughts:

The Disney aspect was really fun for me. That’s super cool that you got to visit Disney while reading. Most of my elementary school years were spent in Orange County, so it’s a place of nostalgia for me. The last time I went to Disney was quite a while ago so the Star Wars references were actually sort of unexpected. I appreciated them though since I am also a Star Wars fan. I enjoy seeing characters or folks in real life being inspired by the things they love. It made me want to go for a visit.

I really appreciated Cas's sister Po's reworking of sayings. One that on the surface looks negative is, “If it’s broke, don’t fix it.” Sometimes we are so caught up in fixing that we don’t see the opportunities of other things around us.

I enjoyed that the main focus wasn’t on if the main characters were going to get together. He is an open book for her and I loved that for them. Their story is sweet. His openness was definitely a contrast to her secret keeping so the tension was more a matter of worrying about when everything would all fall to pieces and whether or not they had built something strong enough to withstand the impact.

This story really delves into grief. Having grief within both families was something that helped Javi and Cas bond, but it also showed that families and individuals most certainly have different ways of coping with or living with grief. Both families had times when they didn’t talk about the loved one. Javi and his mom would just veg with dramas or telenovelas which is one of my preferred methods, but they also had times when they would talk. Cas’s dad was doing the avoidance 24/7 and Cas was too in her own way.

This book is very Latina-esque, and i really liked that. It focused a lot on the family keeping their Cuban traditions.
It also focuses on grief and learning healthy ways to deal with grief.
In general, I feel like there was an emphasis on keeping family traditions alive and how life isn't about the destination but the journey.
I also really liked the Disney vibes.
I wasn't a fan of the characters all that much.
I liked how the FMC was able to find herself and allowed herself to grieve in a healthy way. However, she was a little annoying at times.
I don't like 3rd act breakups/miscommunication.
Just tell the truth from the start, lol.
If you're looking for a YA book to help deal with grief or that has a Latina vibe, this is for you!

This was a really cute story! I enjoyed it and the love story was super cute. I would read more from this author.

The romance and family dynamics in The Quince Project were the standouts for me. I struggled with the premise that Castillo was planning parties at such an extreme and didn't love the miscommunication aspect, but I still enjoyed this.

Ohh boy. The writing and plot was a big miss. I wanted so much to like this but couldn't. A very disappointing ya.

I’m loving this coming-of-age book about a girl who’s determined to give everyone else a happily ever after all while avoiding her own grief of losing her mother. Witnessing the family process through their grief was sometimes troubling. Still, it was a heartwarming journey

Thank you @randomhouse and @Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Cas is a planner. As a serial planner myself I can relate! When she takes a job planning a party for a blogger she is thrown into chaos when she comes to realize it is a publicity stunt. However, as upset as she is she soon learns that nothing in life follows a script!

This book had one of the cutest covers I’ve seen in a long time. But man, it was definitely more sad than I expected it to be. Please read the content warnings before you’re expecting a super cute, fluffy book like I was.

Ok so the characters were some of the best. I loved Castillo because she reminded me so much of me. I too have a problem with thinking that if I can control things, then I can keep other bad things from happening. (I am also a huge planner because of this lol) I also related to the fact that they were all Disnerds. I WISH I lived that close to one of the parks. My husband would be sick of me lol Anyways, did I agree with everything she did? No. But I did understand it. She was grieving and thought the only way was through. She felt like she had no one. And I completely understood that. But I was grateful that Parra showed that they weren’t just super forgiving to her. They made her work for it and I thought that was so real.

The person that she was helping tho? I did NOT like her. I felt so bad because Castillo was doing all of this to help her but I knew when things came out she was going to say something like, “you used me” when in actuality she used her too. She just told her upfront. (Now the lying was another story. I can’t help you there girly pop lmao) And I didn’t like that that was her friend. Why? Because we love a platonic boy/girl friendship. But I didn’t like it because it was too easy for him to drop her because she hurt his bestie. And like, is this going to happen every time?

This brings me to the romance. There is a REAL meet cute. I’m talking wasting stuff on the other and everything. So again, I was upset that he was like, “gotta go check on my friend” and then needed time from her. I get it but like dang, I’m upset too? I’m using my teen brain here lol but I’d be mad at him too lol This is probably why I haven’t written anything lmao BUT again, I liked that he made her work for it and didn’t just forgive her right away because she deserved that time to sweat it out.

I thought it was going to be a fun Disney romp about quinces with a fluffy romance because of its pink cover, but nope. It’s a emotional book about a girl navigating grief and finding support and love along the way. And I couldn’t be more happy to have read this!