Pobre Ana

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Pobre Ana is a book written in the Spanish language. It is written not for entertainment, but for practice and learning of Spanish as a second language. It was written by Blaine Ray in 1999. In 2000, a French edition was published as Pouvre Anne. Both editions were released solely as paperback, as they were only 39 pages long. The German version is called Arme Anne. The vocabulary of this simple book is 300 words. In 2001, the Spanish edition received a sequel: Patricia va a California, which takes place one year after Pobre Ana. Both stories have been said to be dry and boring. The average American vote of Spanish 1 pupils votes on this book as the worst book they have ever read in their entire life. This short story may be used in Spanish 1 classrooms, so it is written using simple words and phrases.

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Ana thinks that her life is miserable. She has problems with her family in California, and is jealous of her rich friends, Sara and Elsa. She thinks that her luck may change when one day she gets the opportunity to visit Mexico for three months. After explaining that the opportunity is free to her financially challenged father, she is allowed to go. At first, Mexico scares her. Later, she realizes that she is actually quite lucky, not poor. She learns to be grateful for what she has and is happy. The last sentence in the novel is (translated as) "Ana smiles because life is perfect."

"This book is an amazing three stars." ~The New York Times