How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

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Summary: Loved this book- told very cleverly by all characters
Review: Love Julia Alvarez! I first read "In the Time of the Butterflies" (also a fab book) and loved it so much, I went to the library to find everything else Ms. Alzarez has written. I wasn't disappointed. This book shows how the bond between a family cannot be broken. When i say family, I refer to our WHOLE families- not just moms, dads, brothers and sisters, but aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents. I've always longed for and admired the way different cultures embrace the entire family unit and hold it up as important above all other things. This book reminds us of just that. It also helps everyone to understand how difficult it must be to pick up and move, not to just a different location, but to an entirely different culture. Watching the girls struggle to fit in with typical American trends and culture while trying to remain respectful to their parents broke my heart. Seeing the parents wondering if they made the right decision was very realistic; was it right to bring their children to a country full of opportunites just to lose them to it? How can you inculcate the heritage they had with the convienences of this new country? A truly poignant story, with lots of laughs in between as well. Be sure to read the seqeul "Yo!".

Rating:
Summary: motavating
Review: This book is motavating. It gives an insight about the reality immigrant children have to deal with in this country. It's a pretty interesting book. Alvarez sets a different tone for each section in the book and gives every one of the chacrthers a distnict personality that decides their fate in life. So let me tell you guys, get this book and read it. Once you do, there's no stoppin ya!

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing book
Review: I have just finished reading this book and felt compelled to submit a review because it was so disappointing. The ending of the book is so hurried that one feels like an unwanted guest being shown the door. And when the door shuts behind you, all you can say is "IS THAT IT?" The author never really develops the characters and what could have potentially been a wonderful plot is just a series of brief glimpses into the Garcia family at different stages of their lives. Very unstatisfying, particularly given that there are "so many books..so little time." If this is representative of the author's work in general, you can be sure that I will not be reading any of her other novels.

Rating:
Summary: Not your average "memoir"
Review: After meeting Ms. Alvarez at a writer's conference, I was intrigued by her charismatic stories and decided to start by reading "Garcia Girls." I found it to be an extremely well written, poetic novel wrought with poingnant symbolism, especially in the last sections. I found the reverse-chronology to be very creative and effective. The one thing that sometimes confused me and keeps me from giving this five stars is that the chapters seem like related short stories rather than one completely congruous novel. But, it works if you read carefully. I would highly recommend this book for its honest, relatable narrative and poetic quality.

Rating:
Summary: Wistful, charming but a little uneven
Review: Julia Alvarez's "How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents" is a wistful, charming and beautifully written novel of how the Garcia family defected from the Dominican Republic in the 60s to settle in the Land of the Free. Consisting of anecdotes whose central focus rotate among the four Garcia sisters, their story is told backwards. Unfortunately, the use of reverse chronology as a narrative technique produces an oddly unsettling effect, depriving the novel of its natural flow and feel. There are some truly memorable episodes in there which stick in your mind (eg, the adult Yolanda's yearning for the taste of the guava fruit on her return to "the Island", young Carla's encounter with the sex pervert in the car, and Papi's narrow escape from his political enemies, etc) but unexceptional fillers occupy almost as much space. I found the last third of the novel, especially the ending, disappointing. Alvarez was working with excellent material but somehow didn't fully succeed with her characterisation. I never felt I understood or cared for the characters. Her shorthanded treatment of the politics of the times in "the Island" was also an error of judgement. Lacking a profound undertow, the story of the Garcia sisters remained....a story. Alaverez's novel would have been that much stronger had she used a longhanded approach in explaining the political backdrop against which the family lived their lives. All in all, an enjoyable read, but not the best among its genre. I much preferred Christina Garcia's "Dreaming In Cuban".

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Summary: A Book I Can Relate To
Review: I have to say that this book was really something. I couldtotally relate to the Sister's experiences, and she continues thestory you get more attached to the characters. It was a great book!

Rating:
Summary: Misses the Mark
Review: Maybe it's because I'm neither Hispanic nor am I a woman nor am I an immigrant of any kind, but "Garcia Girls" did not speak to me in the way I think the author intended. Alvarez did succeed in helping me to understand the hardships that the Garcia girls went through as they attempted to be accepted by American society and revel in American ways yet at the same time hold on to their Latin American roots (and please their family by doing so). Alvarez does make it clear to the readers that, emotionally, this is not easy task. Although I understand intellectually how difficult it is to find a balance for the Garcia sisters, Alvarez does not make me understand emotionally, which I believe was her intention. If I may take this opportunity to voice one criticism of the book. The device Alvarez employs of holding out a series of anectodes about the Garcias, from the most recent to the oldest is rather confusing. Perhaps it would have been easier for the reader if she would start at the oldest and worked toward the most recent. Take that criticism for what you will as it is more a matter of personal preference than of any "mistake" on the part of Julia Alvarez. Alvarez does provide us with a good overall read.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting but meaningful book
Review: This book was very interesting. There were many parts in this book that proved points. There were also many instances in which people can learn real life incidents and how to act with them. The one part that stuck out to me was when Sofia moved away to Germany, and basically ditched her family. This was wrong and she learned in her later life that it was a mistake and it shouldn't be done again

Rating:
Summary: Had me there for a few chapters
Review: The book started off at an etremely slow pace, and builds up some emotion for the character Yolanda, a depressed young woman who can't find her niche in society,then too often jumps back in forth between the other sisters. We don't learn anything really about the other sisters, and if we do its a paragraph or two.The author can't hit our emotions with the other characters and the ideas seem a bit contrived and unorganized. The last five chapters are a complete bore. I was dissapointed extremely because the book peeked WAY too soon.

Rating:
Summary: This book was interesting and a reality check to males......
Review: I would give this book 4 stars. It was very interesting knowing how women feel when they get treated like nothing. This book specifically showed how men act like when given a chance to show their sensitive side. The women were very strong and didn't let the males mess up their lives. They kept their composure, their individuality and their character, showing us what every women is like. A specific part that stuck out was when Carla was being stalked by a man. The man wanted to use Carla, but Carla knew what she had to do to get out of the situation. She was a very strong person because of how she reacted.