CASI SE MUERE (ALMOST DEAD) BOOK SUMMARY (IN ENGLISH)
Casi se muere is an novel by Lisa Ray Turner and Blaine Ray, written in Spanish. It is the sequel
to Blaine Ray's novel "Poor Ana". The story depicts Ana's homestay in Chile and her
experiences in her Chilean school. This book was written for beginning language learners, and
has a small vocabulary. It was intended to be used with the TPR Storytelling method of language
teaching. It has been translated into French and many other languages.
Characters







Ana Silva: She attends West Torrance High School in Hermosa Beach, California, but
then she sends a petition to New York trying to get the opportunity to go to Chile. She is
accepted and then goes. Ana's favorite class is Spanish because she likes to learn new
words and she likes her teacher.
Pepe Ayala: Boy from Chile that speaks some English. Friends with Ana.
Teresa: Her friend in Chile. Also is her host sister.
Alice (Alicia): Her real name is Alice but everybody calls her Alicia because that is her
name in Spanish class. Ana writes her letters about her every day experiences.
Jaime Campo: He is the bully that lives in Chile.
Senora Hawkins: Ana's Spanish teacher in California. She is Ana's favorite teacher. She
is the one who tells Ana about this opportunity.
Ana's parents: They are both nice and they both work at Mercy Hospital.
Plot

Chapter 1: Ana is 16 years old, she has blue eyes and brown hair. She goes to West
Torrance High school. Ana lives in Hermosa Beach, California with her younger brother
Don, younger sister Patty, mom who is a secretary at Mercy Hospital and dad, who is a
doctor at the hospital. Ana's Spanish teacher tells her about an opportunity to travel to
Chile. She will travel for three months.

Chapter 2: Chapter 2 describes Chile. The national dance is the Cueca. Independence day
is September 18, where Chile won its independence from Spain. The national food is the
empanada. The capital of Chile is Santiago. The climate of Chile is similar to that of
California, but it is summer in Chile when it is winter in California and vice-versa. It
rains a lot in both places. It has the Andes and the Atacama Desert.

Chapter 3: Ana's "exchange parents" are Victoria and Pedro. They have two daughters:
Elena and Teresa. Teresa becomes friends with Ana. In chapter 3, they all go to Hotel
Alcazar to visit Teresa's cousins, Enrique and Monica. In this chapter, Ana starts writing
letters to her friend Alicia that describe each day's events.
CASI SE MUERE (ALMOST DEAD) BOOK SUMMARY (IN ENGLISH)

Chapter 4: In Chapter 4, a student named Pepe Ayala is choking on a piece of meat. Pepe
is new to the school and has no friends. Ana saves him, but the piece of meat goes flying
and hits Jaime Campo, a bully. He gets mad and threatens them. Pepe thanks Ana. She
writes a letter to Alicia and says that she thinks about Pepe a lot but she does not know
why.

Chapter 5: In Chapter 5, Pepe and Ana talk. They talk about the differences between
Chile and California, as well as many other things. At the end of the chapter, Ana writes
another letter to Alicia.

Chapter 6: Ana does not talk to Pepe for two weeks as they do not see each other. The
18th of September (Chile's Independence) comes around and there are a lot of parties.
There is a party at Jaime Campo's house, Pedro Gomez's house, and Monica Krause's
house. Teresa and Ana decide not to go to these; they decide to go to a party at the school
instead.

Chapter 7: In Chapter 7, the girls prepare for the party, while Teresa's dad questions what
they are doing. They tell him about the party and he makes Teresa's little sister, Elena, go
with them. They see Pepe there and Ana and Pepe dance and have a great time until
Jaime Campo goes there, as no one went to his party, which disappoints them, but after a
while Ana feels bad for him, because he has no friends and he is a meanie.

Chapter 8: In chapter 8, Ana sees that there is something wrong with Jaime. He is alone,
of course, but his face is purple. She alerts Pepe and Pepe performs the Heimlich
Maneuver on Jaime, and saves Jaime. Jaime apologizes to Pepe, and then the next day
Ana goes back to California. Many of her classmates are present and say farewell to her.
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/casi-se-muere#ixzz1dFBYqVZ4