Julia Alvarez

Forced to flee their native Caribbean island after an attempted coup, the Garcias--Carlos, Laura, and their four daughters--must learn a new way of life in the Bronx, while trying to cling to the old ways that they loved.

How the García Girls Lost Their Accents

Alexandra Sklar

Re-read, had not read since high school. Enjoyable and thoughtful, it has stood up to time.

Abby Frey

1.5 *read for school*
The amount of times I felt uncomfortable when a man came into a scene- I won’t make you guess it was ever single time

alma

i think that this book wouldve been better off from one perspective— some people can find different voices for different characters, she cannot. they all sounded the same. this book had a lot of potential, i think, there were some parts that were really good, but it just felt unfinished to me. also, the way she writes about mental hospitals feels cheap. not really sure how to describe it but it feels wrong.


lauren carla

jiaqi kang

four sisters and NONE of them are even a little bit gay? but one dates a first cousin? 🤔🤔🤔🤔

it was interesting to structure this novel in reverse chronological order; the later years seem to be alvarez' favorite section, though i found the middle chapters most vivid and interesting, and found the childhood ones quite uncompelling, especially in the lack of differentiation between the girls' voices - as well as, of course, a couple instances of quite shocking anti-Black and colorist descriptions of servants that were wholly unnecessary. It was cool to read this because I suddenly remembered that I'd read "in the time of the butterflies" back in middle school and now, perhaps 10 years later, have found my way back to this author. Ultimately, i think this book should have been much longer. I would have been interested for a deeper and more nuanced exploration of the sisters' relationships; a much more thorough investigation of class, especially how the mother dealt with the dramatic change in their circumstances when emigrating; and for a book that centers on family, connection, identity, and heritage, i felt it odd that the girls basically don't interact with any other non-white people outside of their own family throughout their whole time in america. it would have been interesting to contrast their own very specific classed experience, for instance, with another perspective, perhaps that of someone who was never taught to 'lose their accent'. anyway, overall, i appreciate having had the opportunity to read this.

thank you laura for the rec!

Alejandra

I tried a lot with this book, since it came for free with my computer and it seemed exactly like the sort of thing I would enjoy, but I left it after story three. It felt boring, for lack of a better word, and it seemed to be missing something that would make it interesting for me. I'll truly try to get back to it at some point.

Isabella Agostino

Emily Burns

Martha F.

nona

Haylee Saddler

Yolanda Garcia is taking a trip to the Dominican Republic to revisit the country where she was born, and which her family was forced to flee for New York when she was a child. As they try to immerse themselves in the American way of life, Yolande and her three sisters will always see things through Dominican eyes.

How the García Girls Lost Their Accents

Reviews