This was such a cute coming-of-age YA story!!! Castillo “Cas” Torres is a determined high schooler. Her goal is to land an internship with a well known, local party planning franchise. She quickly finds herself stretching the truth to gain more experience and has to learn a few tough lessons along the way.

Here’s what I loved:
- The cast was fantastic. Loved the depiction of various relationships - sisters, father/daughter, young love, true friendships.
- Cuban American representation
- Adorable meet cute
- So many fun Disney references!!!
- Numerous party planning details
- Equal mix of humor and grief

I really like that these high schoolers felt age appropriate, yet also older and mature. A big part of the story focused on Cas and her family struggling to carry on with their lives and embrace joy after the death of her mom. This was so touching and came across as completely realistic, showcasing the various stages of grief. Growing up in south Texas, I’ve been to my fair share of quinceañeras. I loved the thought of challenging this cultural tradition. The narrator of the audiobook was fantastic.

This book was a charming! This book brought so many emotions forward, and I loved every bit of it. It’s fun, heartwarming and realistic and made for a delightful read.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I tried to get into this one multiple times but just couldn't do it. There is A LOT going on in this book and I just felt exhausted reading it, both by all of the different conflicts Cas is dealing with and all of the Disney puns jammed in. (I enjoy Disney but the sheer amount just got in the way of the storytelling for me.) I am disappointed as the premise is something that would appeal to our patrons.
Thanks so much for the ARC!

This book was adorable, but sometimes I wish these kids in YA books would just be kids instead of trying to grow up too fast and be so serious. The themes were so good, and I loved all the Disneyland inclusions. This was just fun.

I wanted to like this book but I could not get into it. It had a cute idea though so it will be someone's good read.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for allowing the chance to read and review.

The Quince Project by Jessica Patra is an emotional, complex and ultimately beautiful coming of age, dealing with the aftermath of tragedy, and a future with hope story. Ms. Patra has down a beautiful job telling this story and creating dynamic characters whom I was cheering for throughout the novel..

Castillo Torres, Student Body Association event chair and expert planner, need help! Cas's mother recently passed away unexpectedly and Cas took it upon herself to help plan her sisters quinceañera. Since her mother's passing, all of Cas’s plans are falling apart at the seems.

A local event planner opens up a new position, however it requires more experience than Cash currently has. CAS ends up taking a job as a party planner for a quinceañera for a Disneyland blogger. Cas is thrilled with the way the plans are coming when she finds out the party is a publicity stunt. She also finds herself attracted to the chambelán.

Is this where things implode for CAS or does she stop planning and start living? Life is not but a fairytale now is it.

In The Quince Project Cuban-American Castillo Torres, a budding event planner, feels like the best way to movie forward after her mother's death is to apply for party planner Mandy Whitmore's "fairy godmother" internship, help her sister Mariposa "Po" get into college and pry her grieving father away from his video games. Needing more experience for her resume, she jumps at the chance to organize Disney YouTuber Paulina Reyes' nontraditional quinceanera. Hanging out with cute lifeguard Javier Bae-Luna, Paulina's childhood friend and chambelan, is a bonus. Unfortunately Cas is caught stretching the truth about her relationship to Mandy Whitmore and her plans go awry. Healing after the death of a loved one, sisterly love and conflict, and thwarted ambitions are explored in a sympathetic way. as Cas strives for her happily-ever-after.

Castillo Torres lost her mother to illness and her family to their ill-advised coping mechanisms. How she avoids dealing with it is by trying to make perfect events for others so that everyone can have the HEA she wishes for her own family. She has everything planned and is ready to execute it even if she has to drag her family after her, but can obsessing too much and focusing all her efforts on achieving a HEA for others be the thing that's keeping her from finding hers?

Castillo is an uptight main character (with very valid reasons for being so) so the story feels anything but relaxing for a big chunk of the book. There are reasons for why she is the way she is and the character growth in the story Parra wrote is fantastic, but the story feels way too stressful for me to enjoy it.

I'm intrigued about the fact that every single YA I've read in the last couple of years is about a teen with severe mental health issues in dire need of a competent adult and professional help. Is this how actual teens are having to live their lives? I'm not sure I enjoy reading these books anymore. As much as I applaud authors for showing that everyone goes through tough times, I read to escape reality and an anxiety-riddled teen full of trauma is not my idea of a good time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the read!

"The Quince Project" is a cutesy YA book with a little of everything. Grief, joy, betrayal, first love, and life lessons fill the pages of Castillo Torres' life.

After the death of her mother, Castillo Torres becomes obsessed with the art of party planning. Her life lost her "happy ever after" with the loss of her mother, so she becomes determined to provide joy and happiness to those around her. When disaster arises and her tangled webs of lies unravels, Castillo must face some hard truths about her grieving process. I think her method of diving headfirst into planning was both a detriment and helpful to her and that action will resonate with many readers.

Thank you NetGalley, Jessica Parra, and Wednesday Books for selecting me for the ARC.

Who needs a Fairy Godmother when they’ve got Castillo with her day planner and a pencil? I’m a sucker for a coming-of-age story so I was so excited to read this book!
I thought that The Quince Project was a great mix of heavier subjects and lighthearted moments. There were some really sweet and tender scenes, and others that made me LOL.
Come for the sweet YA romance and stay for the quinceañeras, Disneyland, dance lessons, ice statues, and a really lovely story arc with her family.

Well this book was a blast and a half. Fun, witty, great characters. Highly recommend. It was both light hearted and yet still dealt with some great topics.

This book was a bit out of my comfort zone and that is totally my fault for thinking I would enjoy it. I do tend to enjoy YA contemporaries about Latinx main characters so it does hurt that I was disappointed. This book did a thing I really hate in contemporaries and relied heavily on the use of Disney knowledge/love (which if I had just read the description, I would've known). It just really lowers my enjoyment of a novel when the main character bases their entire life and decisions around Disney stuff. I also HATED the miscommunication throughout the story. Things could've been solved in the first 100 pages if the main character was just honest with the people in her life, but you know... dRaMa. Overall though, I did like the romance. And while it wasn't having me giggling and kicking my feet, I was still rooting for the main character and her sister in their respective romances. I do think this author has a lot of potential and I am super interested in her previous book (I'm a sucker for Chef romances). The writing was super easy to get into and other than my issues with the plot; I had a good time.

This was a group discussion book for the Rich in Color team. You can find our discussion at the link below.

This YA contemporary is equal parts funny, inspiring and moving and written with so much heart — I absolutely adored it!

I couldn’t help but relate to Cas’s way of clinging to Happily Ever Afters and her wish to plan every minute of her life when she feels like her life is spinning out of control. THE QUINCE PROJECT is an entertaining and heartfelt story of chasing dreams, first love and sisterly bonds but also deeply moved me with the way it discussed grief. Cas’s character development paired with lots of Disney references made the story truly feel magical.

I read this with my 9th grade students in mind. I do think many of the girls will connect with this story and enjoy the romance.

The Quince Project by Jessica Parra is a delightful and touching novel that puts a YA spin on The Wedding Planner with a Star Wars-themed quinceañera. The story follows a Cuban American, Disney-loving, aspiring party planner who bends the truth to land a job planning a quinceañera, hoping it will secure her a prestigious internship.

Parra's writing expertly balances whimsy and authenticity, capturing the essence of quinceañera traditions. While the novel reads as YA, it also addresses heavy topics like loss and grief, demonstrating how to celebrate life even after experiencing loss.

The Quince Project is both a love letter to Latinx culture and a reminder that the best parties often happen when you let loose and let life unfold. Stacy Gonzalez's narration in the audiobook adds further depth and authenticity to the experience.

Overall, it is another win for me from Jessica Parra!

This was such a cute romance book. I really enjoyed it and read it in one sitting. I would definitely recommend this book to all my family and friends.

All the feels in the best way possible. Really enjoyed this even though the grief throughout could have taken away from it.

This one had a lot of humor and charm, even if the teenagers sometimes acted too old for their age and other times too young. The Disneyland vibes are strong, and so are the references to Disney, which adds to the whimsical elements of the book. Cas, trying to break into the party-planning world, misrepresents herself to a popular vlogger who then hires her to plan her quinceañera. My favorite characters were actually Cas's sister, Po, and the vlogger, Paulina, who have such a cute relationship. This was a cute, quick read that I think would be enjoyed by anyone looking for a charming escape.

I recently finished The Quince Project (pronounced kin-se). If you're looking for a book with humor and heart this will definitely do! Thanks for my digital copy wednesdaybooks .

Castillo Torres is trying to land her dream internship as a party planner. When she has the opportunity to land her biggest event yet, Cas does whatever she can to make sure she lands the job. How else is she going to be able to give everyone their happily ever after?

This book is sweet, sad, smart, hopeful and full of fun star wars and Disney references. Perfect for a summer day eating ice cream by the pool.