High School Flashback Tour: Christina Gonzalez

What do five YA writers do when they get together? Well, for one thing, we dish...about what we were like in high school. And we’ve decided to share!

So, this time it’s not just me having a flashback, it’s an entire group of Tenners (me, Kay Cassidy, Christy Raedeke, Jen Nadol, and Christina Gonzalez) all teaming up for a glimpse back at what we were like as teens!

We’re doing daily interviews (complete with uber-embarrassing pics)...and believe me, I saved the best ones for these ladies! And at the end of the week, someone will win a prize pack just for commenting on the interviews!

So, today give it up for Christina Gonzalez, author of The Red Umbrella, a book set in 1961, two years after the Communist revolution, Lucía Álvarez still leads a carefree life, dreaming of parties and her first crush. But when the soldiers come to her sleepy Cuban town, everything begins to change. Freedoms are stripped away. Neighbors disappear. Her friends feel like strangers. And her family is being watched.

As the revolution's impact becomes more oppressive, Lucía's parents make the heart-wrenching decision to send her and her little brother to the United States —on their own.

Suddenly plunked down in Nebraska with well-meaning strangers, Lucía struggles to adapt to a new country, a new language, a new way of life. But what of her old life? Will she ever see her home or her parents again? And if she does, will she still be the same girl?

Christina Diaz Gonzalez was born in a small Southern town, but moved to the big city of Miami when she was in high school. In high school she was a Majorette and had the silly nickname of Moose (the football coach gave it to her because she was small and the exact opposite of what people thought someone named Moose should look like).

Okay, Christina, it’s your turn to share:

1) Did you (or any of your friends) actually marry your highschool sweetheart?

None of my BFFs married their highschool sweethearts.

2) What would your teenage self have thought of today’s technology? And what piece of technology would have been your favorite (email/cell phones/texting/digital cameras/MySpace/Twitter/Facebook…)?

My teenage self would have been fascinated with all the tech stuff. I think digital cameras would have been my favorite because I loved taking pictures, but hated having to wait to develop them.

3) What’s one thing you would have done differently (like a do-over)?

If I had a do-over I think I would have taken more pictures (or at least put them in an album somewhere). I'm bummed that I can't find that shoebox with my old pictures.

(Thankfully, she still had this one!)

You can see all of my FLASHBACK INTERVIEWS (complete with pics!) this week at:

Kay Cassidy’s blog - Monday (5/17)
Jen Nadol's blog - Tuesday (5/18)
Christy Raedeke's blog - Wednesday (5/19)
Christina Gonzalez's blog - Thursday (5/20)

(And today over on Kay’s blog I talk about my over-the-top obsession with Madonna. Again!)

On Friday, I’ll choose one random winner from all of the comments I receive on the interviews this week to win this AWESOME prize pack:

(And there are five prize packs in all to win, so check out ALL the blogs for extra chances!)