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Schooling Carmen
After being dumped by her long-time boyfriend, Carmen DuPrè decides that she will use her beauty to get whatever she wants, until a medical crisis forces her to choose between her looks and her survival and a handsome stranger sets out to teach a valuable lesson in faith, hope, and love. Original.
- GenresInspirational
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 3, 2014
Carmen DuPre, the main character in 'Schooling Carmen' defines herself almost entirely by how physically attractive she is. She's beautiful and knows that she is, and uses that beauty like a weapon against the entire world. Men who find her attractive she despises, and women who dare acknowledge her attractiveness, she belittles. She is, at the beginning of this book, a truly despicable human being.
She was so despicable that I would have had a hard time reading on had Kathleen Cross not given us something more. The something more is Carmen's persistent grief at the death of her father, her fear that she is about to lose her looks, her pain at not being loved by her mother in the way she needs to be loved, and her regret at the loss of her one true love, Randall and shortly after that, her best friend Yvette. Were it not for those things, which humanize Carmen, she would have been a caricature. But she was not.
Kathleen Cross made me begin to pity Carmen before I was even one-third of the way through the book, even while she did and said the most hateful things, insulted people around her, and thought nothing of dismissing the men who tried to woo her. What Cross did was show us the world through Carmen's eyes, but at the same time showed us how flawed her view was. Somehow, she made us understand that Carmen is at her heart someone who feels truly and deeply alone. And one scene where Carmen realizes that 'alone-ness' darn near broke my heart.
Through personal adversity, Carmen finally has to face who she is, and the untruth she has told herself: that her looks are all she has to offer. Many of the core messages of the book could have come across as corny: 'there is triumph after adversity', 'you had to go through that to get where you are now' 'true friends are those who stick around when you need them, even if you don't want them', and 'you never know what the person next to you is going through'. All of those messages were reinforced in this story, but not in an overly sentimental way, so they were easy to receive.
And Carmen's 'schooling'--the process of her learning these lessons--was delivered by this writer with such color and humor and emotion that I managed to laugh, get teary-eyed and a little pissed-off all in one book. At the end, when Carmen arrived at the place where she was meant to be, I was glad to have taken the journey with her.
She was so despicable that I would have had a hard time reading on had Kathleen Cross not given us something more. The something more is Carmen's persistent grief at the death of her father, her fear that she is about to lose her looks, her pain at not being loved by her mother in the way she needs to be loved, and her regret at the loss of her one true love, Randall and shortly after that, her best friend Yvette. Were it not for those things, which humanize Carmen, she would have been a caricature. But she was not.
Kathleen Cross made me begin to pity Carmen before I was even one-third of the way through the book, even while she did and said the most hateful things, insulted people around her, and thought nothing of dismissing the men who tried to woo her. What Cross did was show us the world through Carmen's eyes, but at the same time showed us how flawed her view was. Somehow, she made us understand that Carmen is at her heart someone who feels truly and deeply alone. And one scene where Carmen realizes that 'alone-ness' darn near broke my heart.
Through personal adversity, Carmen finally has to face who she is, and the untruth she has told herself: that her looks are all she has to offer. Many of the core messages of the book could have come across as corny: 'there is triumph after adversity', 'you had to go through that to get where you are now' 'true friends are those who stick around when you need them, even if you don't want them', and 'you never know what the person next to you is going through'. All of those messages were reinforced in this story, but not in an overly sentimental way, so they were easy to receive.
And Carmen's 'schooling'--the process of her learning these lessons--was delivered by this writer with such color and humor and emotion that I managed to laugh, get teary-eyed and a little pissed-off all in one book. At the end, when Carmen arrived at the place where she was meant to be, I was glad to have taken the journey with her.
January 22, 2014
I loved this book because it was different, Carmen Dupree was one self centered person and I could not stand her at first. Reading and seeing the person she was, made me look at myself, no I was never as extreme as she, but I had some Carmen tendencies. This book is not your typical love story but I do feel like I was reading about real love , the love was so beautiful it made me cry. How can you not love a man when he loves you even when you don't deserve it ? Carmen had that type of love but was too blind and self absorbed to see it , but when she opened her eyes it was there waiting for her I'm just glad I had the opportunity to read it happening .
May 22, 2019
Carmen DuPré has been getting by on her looks practically since birth. She is drop-dead gorgeous and knows it. But as a member of a family successful in business and marriage, Carmen always comes up short - especially in the eyes of her mother.
Working as a counselor at a high school known as 'never-never land' in a mostly Hispanic area, Carmen feels she's not where she truly belongs. In her eyes she should have a prestigious position in a wealthy school. The men who fawn over her, bringing expensive gifts and taking her on extravagant dates - that she can handle. Yet there's a dark lining to Carmen's life. Besides never measuring up to her mother's impossible standards, Carmen has just received word from her doctor about problems with her most recent exam. Is Carmen willing to sacrifice the only thing that has never failed - her looks? Does she really know who her true friends are?
This appears on the surface to be a typical chick lit book. Carmen is self-centered, shallow, and strings two love-sick men along. Her beauty is absolutely everything to her. The health problem she experiences turns her life in a completely unexpected direction. Carmen has to mature and decide if she's going to live life at face value or see what she's made of inside. In the process, she learns about real friendship and the true meaning of family.
Schooling Carmen moves at a steady pace, and although Carmen infuriated me at first, it didn't last too long. Her transformation as a character is realistic and believable. The unexpected support Carmen receives brought me to tears. The overall message is endearing and will not fail to touch readers' hearts. Carmen's schooling in the realities of life is highly recommended.
Working as a counselor at a high school known as 'never-never land' in a mostly Hispanic area, Carmen feels she's not where she truly belongs. In her eyes she should have a prestigious position in a wealthy school. The men who fawn over her, bringing expensive gifts and taking her on extravagant dates - that she can handle. Yet there's a dark lining to Carmen's life. Besides never measuring up to her mother's impossible standards, Carmen has just received word from her doctor about problems with her most recent exam. Is Carmen willing to sacrifice the only thing that has never failed - her looks? Does she really know who her true friends are?
This appears on the surface to be a typical chick lit book. Carmen is self-centered, shallow, and strings two love-sick men along. Her beauty is absolutely everything to her. The health problem she experiences turns her life in a completely unexpected direction. Carmen has to mature and decide if she's going to live life at face value or see what she's made of inside. In the process, she learns about real friendship and the true meaning of family.
Schooling Carmen moves at a steady pace, and although Carmen infuriated me at first, it didn't last too long. Her transformation as a character is realistic and believable. The unexpected support Carmen receives brought me to tears. The overall message is endearing and will not fail to touch readers' hearts. Carmen's schooling in the realities of life is highly recommended.
July 11, 2012
I remember being really interested in reading this book when it first came out years ago, but I was just too cheap to buy it. It has been on my wish list ever since then. Thus, I was near ecstatic when it was offered for free on the Amazon Kindle bookstore recently. It was well worth the wait, as I really enjoyed the book.
Carmen Duprè, is a self absorbed and selfish woman, with some bigoted and seemingly heartless tendencies. It is easy to hate her from the start of the book. However, when Carmen is forced to face what, in her eyes, may be a possibly grim reality, she finds that there are more important things in life than looks. The book follows Carmen’s transformation.
The author, Kathleen Cross, touches on many topics and addresses most of them fairly well in this intelligently written book. There are themes of race/ethnicity, family, appearances, bigotry, friendship, breast cancer, love, rape, and more.
The only issue that I had with this book is that I was never convinced by the romance angle of it. It never felt natural or fully developed. The two characters involved never really meshed.
Nevertheless, this is still a great read. I highly recommend it, even if you pay full price. I may go back and read Skin Deep now because of this book.
Carmen Duprè, is a self absorbed and selfish woman, with some bigoted and seemingly heartless tendencies. It is easy to hate her from the start of the book. However, when Carmen is forced to face what, in her eyes, may be a possibly grim reality, she finds that there are more important things in life than looks. The book follows Carmen’s transformation.
The author, Kathleen Cross, touches on many topics and addresses most of them fairly well in this intelligently written book. There are themes of race/ethnicity, family, appearances, bigotry, friendship, breast cancer, love, rape, and more.
The only issue that I had with this book is that I was never convinced by the romance angle of it. It never felt natural or fully developed. The two characters involved never really meshed.
Nevertheless, this is still a great read. I highly recommend it, even if you pay full price. I may go back and read Skin Deep now because of this book.
September 11, 2007
A Lesson Worth Learning
Carmen is a guidance counselor on the rough side of town at Overland High School and she will do anything to get promoted to Beverly Hills' Talented and Gifted Academy. Carmen uses her good looks to get what she wants, and when she is nearly raped by the school superintendent, she seeks legal action. Meanwhile, Carmen is devastated by receiving news that she has breast cancer, that requires aggressive treatment, which will destroy her perfect figure and good looks. Instead of arranging for surgery, Carmen delays the inevitable until, a twists of fate and magical coincidences occur that change Carmen and the world as Carmen sees it for the benefit of everyone.~~~~~~~I enjoyed this book! Many times I not only LOL, but had a good cry because "Schooling Carmen" is entertaining and full of emotion. I think every woman can find some aspect(s) of Carmen's character within themselves. I love the way the author unravels this story into a moral life lesson that applies to anyone trying to find themselves, love, faith, humility or friendship.~~~~~~~Kudos to Kathleen Cross for sharing a fictional story that depicts women of color with more depth and understanding than what exists on the market today in books and media. Schooling Carmen is a MUST read, and the perfect share-with-your-girlfriends book.
Carmen is a guidance counselor on the rough side of town at Overland High School and she will do anything to get promoted to Beverly Hills' Talented and Gifted Academy. Carmen uses her good looks to get what she wants, and when she is nearly raped by the school superintendent, she seeks legal action. Meanwhile, Carmen is devastated by receiving news that she has breast cancer, that requires aggressive treatment, which will destroy her perfect figure and good looks. Instead of arranging for surgery, Carmen delays the inevitable until, a twists of fate and magical coincidences occur that change Carmen and the world as Carmen sees it for the benefit of everyone.~~~~~~~I enjoyed this book! Many times I not only LOL, but had a good cry because "Schooling Carmen" is entertaining and full of emotion. I think every woman can find some aspect(s) of Carmen's character within themselves. I love the way the author unravels this story into a moral life lesson that applies to anyone trying to find themselves, love, faith, humility or friendship.~~~~~~~Kudos to Kathleen Cross for sharing a fictional story that depicts women of color with more depth and understanding than what exists on the market today in books and media. Schooling Carmen is a MUST read, and the perfect share-with-your-girlfriends book.
January 10, 2010
People can be stubborn and set in their ways until life happens to them. This young woman graduated from a prestigious college and expected to have the life that came with it. However, the School Of Life taught her a different way to look at her life as well as those around her. A good read.
January 7, 2009
Awww!!!! I loved dis book its one of my new faas... it was so sweet and cute.
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March 4, 2012I snagged this book for free through my Kindle App. It was a quick easy read
March 18, 2013
First part of the book I didn't like Carmen but by the she had learned
September 17, 2012
Great book - loved the very subtle change in attitude of the main character; made this seem very realistic. The family dynamics added an interesting touch, as well.
October 2, 2014
i fell inlove with this book, inspiring!
September 4, 2023
Got this book at the thrift store and had it on my shelf for awhile. Decided to finally read it and really enjoyed it. It’s not always blood that makes family but the people who you love and trust.
January 17, 2012
This was overall a good book, although it started off better than it ended. This story is about a young woman of color (spanish) that was infatuated with her own looks to the point she pushed everyone away that cared for her. She had to learn the hard way to love herself in an appropriate and healthy manner in order to truly appreciate and love others.
November 9, 2012
When I started this book, I didn't know if I would actually finish it. Carmen, the main character was not at all likable. I'm glad I kept going. Turned out to be a good read and was inspiring.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews