Title: Valentina Goldman's Immaculate Confusion by Marisol Murano

Title: Valentina Goldman's Immaculate Confusion
Author: Marisol Murano
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Hipso Media
Publish Date: September 1, 2012
Source: I received a copy from the publisher; however, this did not affect my review.

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You're a fiction fan.
• You like clever writing.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Since her arrival in the United States from Venezuela, Valentina Goldman isn’t exactly living the American Dream. She’s living the American Nightmare. Her late husband, Max, has left her a young widow, a step-daughter whom Valentina didn’t want, and a bi-polar ex-wife. And oh, having given up her dream job in New York, Valentina is also unemployed in Arizona. Part "Bridget Jones Diary," part "Modern Family," "Valentina Goldman’s Immaculate Confusion" is the story of a woman trying to get a handle on her whacky life in America. In breathless, blog-like snippets, Valentina compares her own story with that of her eccentric sister, Azucena, who has bizarre troubles of her own down in the tropics. "Valentina Goldman’s Immaculate Confusion" is a funny and moving story about what happens when a passionate South American woman moves to the USA and, like so many of us, ends up with a life she never imagined."

My Two Cents:

Sometimes you come across a book that makes you say, hey, I really wish that I could write like this. Murano gives Valentina, the main character in this book a great voice. It really feels like Valentina is a person that you might really come across in real life. Better yet, she feels like a person that you would want to meet and get to know in real life!

The entire book is based on Valentina, a Venezuelan immigrant, telling her American step-daughter, Emily about her life and the series of events, some stranger than others. The writing style and the short little chapter kept me engaged the whole time. I really wanted to see how Valentina ended up with this life and these children that she never really expected. The tone is very conversational, which also made me really like Valentina even more.

The book's story is not told sequentially, which makes it really hard to follow at some points. It took a bit of re-reading for me to figure out where I was in the story. I wished that the story had been a little more chronological. That being said, since I was enjoying the story that much, I didn't mind the flipping back and forth but wanted to mention it for anyone that does take issue with that sort of thing.

There is also a sort of cliffhanger at the end of the book, which makes me wonder: will there be a sequel? It also left me wondering what happened.

I had never heard of Murano before I got the opportunity to read this book. Now I really want to go back and read her other books because I loved the writing in this book so much!