Reviews

Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez

outoftheblue14's review against another edition

4.0

In 1960, Anita de la Torres is a twelve-year-old girl from a well-off family living in the Dominican Republic. She attends the American school and has never questioned her freedom to live in her country. Now, however, her school is closing for lack of pupils; most of her relatives have emigrated to the United States; her Tio Toni has disappeared; and the rest of her family live in fear because they're suspected of opposing El Trujillo's dictatorial regime.

Anita overhears her father and his friends speaking in code, and how they are threatened by a man identified as "Mr Smith". When attempts to overthrow the dictator fail and hundreds of people are imprisoned and tortured in retaliation, Anita and her mother are forced into hiding themselves, before they can fly away and be free.

According to the author, Anita was named in honour of Anna Frank. Like her namesake, she hides into someone else's house in her case, in a wardrobe closet) and keeps a diary. Her emotions and feeling of growing up are mixed with the difficulties of understand political differences and what it means to live in a family targeted for political dissent.

I like how the characters and stories seem to connect this novel with other books by the same authors. Anita's cousins, who feel to the US at the beginning of this book, are the main characters in How The Garcia Girls Lost their Accents. Anita's father tell her the story of the Mariposas, the Butterflies, who are at the centre of Alvarez's In The Time of the Butterflies.

What I didn't really like in this book: Chucha (the maid/wise woman) having prophetical dreams. Maybe they should have been less clear to interpret. She has a very telling vision about halfway in the book that practically tells you how the novel is going to end. I read criticism for Anita's obsessing with her crushes, being jealous of her sister, being focused on puberty issues. I think htese traits are necessary in this kind of book; they make the narration realistic. Every girl who is about to turn into a teenager would write in her diary about crushes, growing up, and so on. Why wouldn't Anita?

I would definitely recommend this. And I want to read all of Julia Alvarez's books now! After finishing Before We Were Free, I went to the bookshop and bought In TheTime of the Butterflies. Unfortunately, it seems that How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents has not been published in Italian yet.

Cover attraction: I like that it is a black-and-white drawing. Very fitting.

xohhhh's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

bonnieleposa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

bibliobrandie's review against another edition

4.0

I loved revisiting this book (which also references other favorite Alvarez characters) and used it for a booktalk for Hispanic Heritage Month. Set in the 1960s during the Trujillo dictatorship, 12 year old Anita and her family feel trapped and have to do everything they can to survive. Themes of home, family, and immigration. There is some violence and death. Read first in July 2013.

crousecm's review against another edition

4.0

This little book packed a big punch. 

mykai33's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

3.25

A quick historical fiction, though I prefer Alvarez’s ‘In the Time of the Butterflies’ - this book has the same anxiety inducing questions of what’s going to happen to the characters next during Trujillo’s dictatorship in the DR. I appreciate the tie into her other stories and how they’re all connected 

ellieg2604's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-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

3.75

This book was pretty good. I found it a little hard to follow, but I really enjoyed it. It was quite an interesting perspective. 

moose_reads_books's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

emmagru's review against another edition

challenging reflective fast-paced

2.0

aggielexi's review against another edition

This is probably a good middle school book, after reading In The Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, this one doesn't pack the same punch. This is probably what should be read first then In The Time of Butterflies.