Reviews

Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez

megan_elizabeth11's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

way younger of a target audience than i thought but it was good for what it was

book_concierge's review

4.0

This little volume explores how Anita (12 going on womanhood) feels as her family struggles to survive the revolution to overthrow the Trujillo regime in the Dominican Republic. Her view is simplistic and focused on the realities of her familial experience - colored with the emotion of first love and the adoration of a child for her father. I've read Alvarez before, and so far I like this book best.

It's not quite as powerful as "The Diary of Anne Frank," but it's a very good book re the Dominican experience under Trujillo. Recommended for young adults.

timna_wyckoff's review

5.0

Excellent YA book, really believable voice, important and moving story. Will have my 7th grader read it for sure.

ej9's review

emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

lydianomad501's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

0.5

Great translation! Sometimes translations can feel clunky but this was easy to read and lyrical in Spanish. 

lsparrow's review

3.0

It was great to read this on my Dominican vacation. a YA novel about the 60s under the dictator Trujillo.

karinlib's review

4.0

Anita de la Torre lives with her extended family in the Dominican Republic during the increasing cruel Trujillo dictatorship. Most of her family has escaped to the U.S., but she and her immediate family stay to "take care of the store", which Anita finds out means working with the underground resistance.

marlieraines's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

alg4700's review

inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

aliciasirois's review

3.0

I thought there was a huge comparison between this book and The Diary of Anne Frank, though this one would be more interesting and fitting for an older, maybe high school audience. What I liked so much about this book is that a reader who does not have much background information on this time period can still read and understand this book because the reader learns along with the main character.