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| TITLE: When Cocoy Became Kikay AUTHOR: C.P. Santi GENRE: Young Adult PUB DATE: April 2015 |
Cocoy’s not-so-secret dream is to one day become a gun-toting, ass-kicking secret agent. But she has another dream—and this time, even her best friends don’t have a clue—she dreams of being with someone.
Problem is, she finds out that Jaime Arguelles, a.k.a. the guy she’d been secretly crushing on for years, likes girls who—well—like pink. To Cocoy’s logical mind, there’s only one solution: it’s time to go girly.
After all, how hard can it be?
As the daughter of Colonel Miguel Suarez, Maria Francisca 'Cocoy' Suarez was raised to think like a soldier. But when she loses her heart to fellow army brat Jaime, she decides to act on it, putting into use all the strategies and tactics she's learned over the years.
When she discovers that Jaime likes girly girls, she decides to employ camouflage (i.e., undergo a superficial makeover). Aided by her Aunt Lucy, and her best friends Paolo, Dags, and Joel, Cocoy sets on a pink-tinged journey of self-discovery and love.
But how far is she willing to change herself for someone?
Problem is, she finds out that Jaime Arguelles, a.k.a. the guy she’d been secretly crushing on for years, likes girls who—well—like pink. To Cocoy’s logical mind, there’s only one solution: it’s time to go girly.
After all, how hard can it be?
As the daughter of Colonel Miguel Suarez, Maria Francisca 'Cocoy' Suarez was raised to think like a soldier. But when she loses her heart to fellow army brat Jaime, she decides to act on it, putting into use all the strategies and tactics she's learned over the years.
When she discovers that Jaime likes girly girls, she decides to employ camouflage (i.e., undergo a superficial makeover). Aided by her Aunt Lucy, and her best friends Paolo, Dags, and Joel, Cocoy sets on a pink-tinged journey of self-discovery and love.
But how far is she willing to change herself for someone?
- Source: C.P. Santi
Rating:
If you are YA fantasy-hungry reader like me, there comes a time when you’re reading one book after the other that the stories seem to blend together and you get to the point where you don’t remember which lore belongs to which, and where this or that character belonged to what book. Nothing like a short and quick, cutie read to break away from dark fantasy books I’ve been simultaneously reading to get a fresh perspective on the next books I’ll be reading. So, thank you, When Cocoy Became Kikay. This book was roughly around 45-minutes to an hour of reading time. Perfect for a no stress read while waiting in line or so.
To be totally honest, I was a little misled with the title of the book. When I received an offer to review WCBK, I thought it was about a gay guy finally going to out himself. Turns out it was about a military brat getting in touch with her feminine side.
For a novella, this about covers every aspect you’d want to look forward to while taking part in Cocoy’s story. You see her life as a non-girly with all boys best friends, then her transformation, and of course the time she has an epiphany. Timeline was a little strained, although understandable since it’s only a few pages long.
While I can’t help notice a few things I felt missing: What happened to Cocoy’s mother? I was also hoping for a grieving stage over the death of Cocoy’s father, the jump to going ‘kikay’ felt a little abrupt after the incident. It doesn’t bother how the story progressed. It feels like that small voice inside your head that you’ll eventually listen to only when extremely vital. (A little weird? Sorry.)
With all the mushy, first crush; first kiss drama, I kind of felt I was not the proper audience for it. Yes, I am well aware that I am a YA reading adult, but most of those I read are kids taking on adult roles and responsibilities (hello, saving the world scenarios?) that WCBK is not about. The coming of age and self-discovery just kind of made me feel old. While I can’t deny I went through such a stage, it feels like a long time ago. (Curse you, age!)
Cute, simple and fun, When Cocoy Became Kikay is definitely a book tweens will enjoy.
To be totally honest, I was a little misled with the title of the book. When I received an offer to review WCBK, I thought it was about a gay guy finally going to out himself. Turns out it was about a military brat getting in touch with her feminine side.
For a novella, this about covers every aspect you’d want to look forward to while taking part in Cocoy’s story. You see her life as a non-girly with all boys best friends, then her transformation, and of course the time she has an epiphany. Timeline was a little strained, although understandable since it’s only a few pages long.
While I can’t help notice a few things I felt missing: What happened to Cocoy’s mother? I was also hoping for a grieving stage over the death of Cocoy’s father, the jump to going ‘kikay’ felt a little abrupt after the incident. It doesn’t bother how the story progressed. It feels like that small voice inside your head that you’ll eventually listen to only when extremely vital. (A little weird? Sorry.)
With all the mushy, first crush; first kiss drama, I kind of felt I was not the proper audience for it. Yes, I am well aware that I am a YA reading adult, but most of those I read are kids taking on adult roles and responsibilities (hello, saving the world scenarios?) that WCBK is not about. The coming of age and self-discovery just kind of made me feel old. While I can’t deny I went through such a stage, it feels like a long time ago. (Curse you, age!)
Cute, simple and fun, When Cocoy Became Kikay is definitely a book tweens will enjoy.
*Thank you, C.P. Santi for the invitation to read and review When Cocoy Became Kikay.
