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Summary: Thoroughly enjoyed this story
Review: The story was excellent. It begins in the present and works itself backwards. With every chapter you finish you learn more about how the characters lives were shaped. A must read!
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Summary: EXCELLENT AS SHORT STORIES, DISJOINTED AS A NOVEL.
Review: Had this on my list for several years but was disappointed. If each story is taken as just that, a short story, Julia Alvarez has done a wonderful job. But as a whole the sisters personalities blurred together, their immigration experiences and how they handled them did not differ much from one sister to the other. I still recommend the book, just wish I had approached it differently. Watch for these stories to appear in multicultural anthologies for young adults.
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Summary: Insider's view of a writer's struggle to become.
Review: Garcia Girls was my first introduction to Julia Alvarez, and I have become an avid fan ever since. Garcia Girls offers the reader an insider's view of a writer's journey to find her voice. I connected with this novel in a way that is personal and life changing. I was able to identify with Yo's need to express herself and be heard. I found myself examining similiar needs within my own life. I would consider this a must read for anyone trying to understand not only the creative process but also how life experience shapes a writer.
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Summary: A LATINA WRITER WINS ONCE AGAIN!
Review: I heard much about this novel and finally settled down to see what all the reviews were about. I really enjoyed this book and was amazed, which I shouldn't have been, about the island similarities to Puerto Rico. I believe every 1st and 2nd generations from countries, their parents homeland, can easily identify with Alvarez.Latino or not. I immediately read YO! the contined story of the Garcia Girls with the main focus on Yolanda. She did an excellent job in flashbacks and working her knowledge of the Domican regime with the Domican Republic realities. The runner up would be the world through the YOUNG Garcia girls and how they learned what it was to be Domican and American. I would definately recommend this book to those who can appreciate the sacredness of our cultural knowledge. --Sandra Concepcion, Age 20
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Summary: This book was the best book I've ever read, I love it!!
Review: The way that Julia Alvarez established such a bond between the reader and the story is a style of writing that I am not familliar with. When reading this book you feel as though you have been a close friend or relative of the Garcia family. I will never forget this book and the story of how the Garcia girls grew up in a foregin land.
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Summary: charming and original
Review: I read this in a book group, and was suprises at how many people found it "too light". I found her prose beautiful, the kind of writing that seems simple but is so hard to do well. The shifting points of view in what is really a collection of short stories, the movement of the characters backward in time as the book progresses are both used to good advantage to give the reader a picture of both Dominican society and our own. Don't miss this one!
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Summary: Beautiful tapestry
Review: I read this book as part of an assignment and fell in love with it. Anyone who opens its pages is welcomed into take a glance at the lives and worlds of the Garcia sisters. Alvarez does a wonderful job of weaving the stories together in a massive tapestry that spans twenty/thirty years. She has a wonderful knack of capturing the heart and soul of her characters at every stage of life, from childhood through adulthood. After reading this book one can not help but feel that she/he has been intimated with the Garcia girls in a way they will never forget.
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Summary: Not on par with Amy Tan
Review: How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents is an intriguing exploration of cultural and generational conflicts. I read it because I loved "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan. That novel made me feel intrigued by the notion of cultural clashes, and how children and parents deal with such conflicts. Alvarez was able to create well-rounded characters who were interesting to me as a reader. I was really engrossed in the girl's journey to adjust to the culture shock of living in America. Some of the imagery in the novel was captivating. Alvarez really pulled me in; I could totally picture some of the events in the novel taking place. I also liked the device of starting in the present and working backwards to the girls' childhood. Each of the characters had a unique voice; they were all distinct and true to life. I do wish that the book were a novel rather than a collection of short stories. I think that some of the characters deserved more "airtime". The book seemed more like a string of vignettes than a real story. As well rounded as the characters were, there were some, such as the mother, that I would like to have known more about. Even the girls could have been developed more. Some of the chapters/stories were a little boring, too. Overall, if you are interested in how people adapt to new cultures, and the notion of intergenerational conflict, there will likely be something in this novel you will enjoy. It is well written and worth the time it will take to read it, even though it is slow in parts.
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Summary: Beautiful book that transcends differences between people
Review: I first read one of the short stories in this book, "Daughter of Invention," in an anthology called GROWING UP LATINO. I found the short story so humorous, touching and sensitive I wanted to read the book that it originally came from. What I admire about Julia Alvarez is her subtlety as a writer. I found myself chuckling to myself throughout the book, as well as learning more about her experience as a Dominicana told through the eyes of the four fictionalized daughters and the parents who raised them in a time of great political unrest. This was during the time of Trujillo, when their father got in trouble politically for attempting to overthrow his dictatorship. Hence, the reason for their exile to the Bronx, and the circular visits taken by the daughters returning from their schools in the U.S. back to the Dominican Republic. What I admire about this story (or series of short stories) that discuss and illustrate the challenge of assimilation, racism and identity, is that Julia Alvarez's characters are identifiable with anyone who had has to immigrate and assimilate to a new set of social expectations and assume a bicultural/biracial identity. I think specifically of all the different Latinos from all corners who immigrated here, fleeing social and political unrest, and other groups of people of color who came to this country seeking a better life for themselves and their families. I am also a great fan of Sandra Cisneros, the lively and biting Chicana writer based in Texas. I have to say that to compare Alvarez's work to Cisneros is impossible because the styles are so different. But, in all honesty, I found Alvarez less hard-edged and more accessible. I highly reccomend this novel as an introduction to a wonderful, vibrant and insightful Latina writer. I want to thank Julia Alvarez for sharing the experience of assimilation and adversity with us, her humble readers.
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Summary: A great book!!
Review: For my "Advanced World Studies" class I chose to read the book "How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alverez. I found this book to be very interesting and there were specific instances where it related to my life as a teenager. This book was based on the adjusting of the 4 Garcia sisters and their parents to the new customs of American culture after moving from the Dominican Republic ( occupied by secret police). This book was different than anything else I have read before, because I took me through the different adventures of immigrants adapting to American ways rather than my usual trials and tribulations of an American citizen. I feel that this book was quite easy to read and anyone from ages 8 and up are capable of comprehending its material... definitely a page turner.
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