Denise AliceaCritiques

NYC teenager Mira and her dad loved to watch old movies together, and shared an enthusiasm for James Dean in particular. Her father died a year ago, though, and Mira is burying herself in school projects, old movies, and James Dean materials rather than deal with her grief. Then one afternoon, she falls asleep on top of her books and magazines, and wakes up in a room that's familiar but changed...

It's 1952, and she's wearing a dress. Her best friend shows up and is eager to go out on their planned exciting afternoon of window shopping and maybe sneaking into a bar. Is it time travel? Is it a dream? We don't have to decide. For Mira, it seems very real, confusingly real, both alarming and exciting--even before she meets a figure from her dream.

It's a light, engaging short story, perfect for whiling away half an hour.

This is very sweet! Not only does it play off of history well, it doesn't exactly change it, either. Mira is a sweetheart with big dreams of some day becoming a famous writer. She's kind of a nerd and not at all interested in the boys her best friend keeps trying to set her up with.
Because of her father, Mira feels a sense of attachment to one James Dean, the extraordinary actor her pappy always wished he could be like.
So imagine her surprise when she not only wakes up to find herself in the 1950's, but has a run in with young James Dean, as well!
It's just what she needs after the loss of her strong, loving father.
This is a very cute (historical fiction) short story with a little dash of spirituality to get this story to come full circle!
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This is a sugar sweet story for the feel-good love sap. It's about time travel, falling in love, and both fearing/mourning the loss of someone you love.
Understanding Fireworks is a short story, I found it was too fast for me. I felt like it was over before I got a chance to connect with the characters.
Sarah was the only one I felt any real sense of connection with, and that was mostly because she lost her grandad. I wish there had been more here so that I could better relate to the characters. Vivid flashbacks and more suspense, I feel, would greatly benefit the impact this story has on it's readers. Please note that this is merely my opinion as a reader/reviewer.
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This is a very sweet, but very short, read. The theme here is time travel. Despite it's shortness, I didn't feel the actual character introductions, themselves, were rushed. You have time to get an appreciation for the main character and learn a thing or two about her grandfather and the man she inevitably falls for, as well. I wish in the actual meeting there would have been a bit more suspense/less acceptance when it came to the time travel theory, but this is a short story so I understand the speed is going to be different than that of a full length novel. All in all this is very cute!
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The story of soldier James and Sarah is a sweet, but short one. It starts off at a steady pace, then picks up when- WOAH- a guy from the 1940's suddenly pops up in Sarah's apartment! And not just any guy... A well mannered soldier/Sarah's grandather's best friend from war. It's implied her grandfather, who has recently passed, is the cause of this mysterious happening, but who can be sure. If it was, her grandfather is one hell of a matchmaker. I would have preferred a little more hesitation and doubt on Sarah's part, but I know this is a romantic chick-lit, so I suppose I have to give it a pass for that. If you like romantic short stories, you'll probably like Fireworks by: Denise Alicea.

It's sweet, it's short, it's romantic- it's my kind of story.
After losing her grandfather, Sarah fears she's also lost the only man she'll ever love. Her luck with men is far from the best, but old gramps isn't going to leave his baby girl all alone. No, he's sending her a hunky, well mannered soldier from his time in the war. That's right. James, the soldier. The romantic plot here is fast paced, but this is fiction. I mean, when's the last time your grandfather sent you a WW2 vet with perfect hair and biceps? Exactly, it's fiction.
This short story is wonderful, as are are all of the characters. James is Mr. Perfect, Jill is that best friend everyone wants to have, and Sarah is the most endearing damsel you could ask for.