How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

From School Library Journal YA-- This sensitive story of four sisters who must adjust to life in America after having to flee from the Dominican Republic is told through a series of episodes beginning in adulthood, when their lives have been shaped by U. S. mores, and moving backwards to their wealthy childhood on the island. Adapting to American life is difficult and causes embarrassment when friends meet their parents, anger as they are bullied and called "spics," and identity confusion following summer trips to the family compound in the Dominican Republic. These interconnected vignettes of family life, resilience, and love are skillfully intertwined and offer young adults a perspective on immigration and families as well as a look at America through Hispanic eyes. This unique coming-of-age tale is a feast of stories that will enchant and captivate readers. - Pam Spencer, Thomas Jefferson Sci-Tech, Fairfax County, VA Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Library Journal This rollicking, highly original first novel tells the story (in reverse chronological order) of four sisters and their family, as they become Americanized after fleeing the Dominican Republic in the 1960s. A family of privilege in the police state they leave, the Garcias experience understandable readjustment problems in the United States, particularly old world patriarch Papi. The sisters fare better but grow up conscious, like all immigrants, of living in two worlds. There is no straightforward plot; rather, vignettes (often exquisite short stories in their own right) featuring one or more of the sisters--Carle, Sandi, Yolanda, and Fifi--at various stages of growing up are strung together in a smooth, readable story. Alvarez is a gifted, evocative storyteller of promise. - Ann H. Fisher, Radford P.L., Va. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. “An honest, unflinching narrative that captures the misery, messiness, and marvel of departing from a homeland and making yourself and your family anew . . . Every single character is vibrant, in such a way that all of us longing to belong will find in the novel something that might teach us a bit more about ourselves, and our possibilities. . . . A generation of writers were empowered to pick up their pens after they first picked up this book. . . . [Alvarez] proved that our shared island and the people we come from have rich and nuanced stories that deserve to be told.” ― Elizabeth Acevedo, from the Foreword “Powerful . . . Poignant . . . Beautifully captures the threshold experience of the new immigrant.” — The New York Times Book Review “A clear-eyed look at the insecurity and yearning for a sense of belonging that are a part of the immigrant experience . . . Movingly told.”xa0— The Washington Post Book World “Extraordinary.”xa0— The Bloomsbury Review “Simply wonderful.”xa0— Los Angeles Times “[A] tender, charming book . . . There is a charge to Alvarez’s writing, a poetic intensity, that is truly original.”xa0— The Miami Herald “Axa0joy to read.” — The Cleveland Plain Dealer “The Hispanic Joy Luck Club . . . A luminous poem, rich and dreamy as a slow samba. A+.” — Entertainment Weekly “Delightful.” — Cosmopolitan “Subtle . . . Powerful . . . Reveals the intricacies of family, the impact of culture and place, and the profound power of language.”xa0— The San Diego Tribune “Lovely and intimate.” — The Houston Post “Brilliant . . . A tour de force.” — Commonweal “One of the most delightful novels of the year.” — San Francisco Chronicle “Surprises us with vivid, poetic language.” — The Philadelphia Inquirer “Elegant and earthy . . . A distinctive new voice.” — McCall’s “Heartwarming . . . It is a pleasure to read about these high-spirited Caribbean women.” — San Antonio Express-News “Refreshing . . . A remarkable climb up a family tree.” — Baltimore City Paper “[Alvarez] enchants the reader while spinning her web of wonder.” — Richmond Times-Dispatch “A warm and believable family portrait . . . Often hilarious.” — Arkansas Gazette “Spirited.” — The Nation “Exquisite . . . Alvarez makes magic and art of the human odyssey, finding wonder and faith amid the world’s confusion and ignorance.” — The Virginian-Pilot and Ledger-Star “Delightful, original.” — The Washington Times “A kind of Dominican-American Little Women. ” — The Raleigh News and Observer “An impressive talent . . . A tragicomic voice whose accent is happily her very own.” — Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel “Alvarez writes with compassion, sensitivity and humor.” — Roanoke Times and World-News “Powerfully bittersweet.” — The Arizona Daily Star “Poignant and intimate . . . Alvarez delineates the two cultures with insight, humor and skill.” — Albany Sunday Times Union “Alvarez’s prose is straightforward yet possesses an inner fire touched with poetry and a finely tuned sense of irony and quiet revelation.” — The Memphis Commercial Appeal “An expertly witnessed and daringly constructed novel.” — The Tampa Tribune-Times “Bright, entertaining and full-bodied.” — The Oklahoma City Sunday Oklahoman “The voices that reveal this world are honest, clear, and rich.” — Winston-Salem Journal “Alvarez manages to bring to attention many of the issues—serious and light—that immigrant families face, portraying them with sensitivity and, at times, an enjoyable, mischievous sense.” — Kirkus Reviews “This unique coming-of-age tale is a feast of stories that will enchant and captivate readers.” — School Library Journal --This text refers to the hardcover edition. From Publishers Weekly The chronicle of a family in exile that is forced to find a new identity in a new land, these 15 short tales, grouped into three sections, form a rich, novel-like mosaic. Alvarez, whose first fiction this is, has an ear for the dialogue of non-natives, and the strong flavors of Dominican syntax and cultural values permeate these pages. Many parallels may be drawn between these stories and Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club. Central to both are young, first generation American females in rebellion against their immigrant elders, and in both books the stories pile up with layers of multiple points of view and overlapping experiences, building to a sense of family myths in the making. The four Garcia daughters, whom we meet as adults but then re-encounter as children as the narrative flows backward in time, are accustomed to a prestigious perch in Spanish Caribbean society. But political upheavals force Papi and Mami to seek refuge in a more modest way of life in the Bronx, and their little girls become transplants who thrive and desire a far bigger embrace of this new world than the elder Garcias can contemplate or accept. This is an account of parallel odysseys, as each of the four daughters adapts in her own way, and a large part of Alvarez's Gar cia's accomplishment is the complexity with which these vivid characters are rendered. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From AudioFile Alvarez's poetic prose, with its rich, sensual detail, is brought perfectly to life by five readers. With expressive voices and accents that move adeptly between English and Spanish, they narrate the interwoven stories of four daughters of a wealthy family forced to leave the Dominican Republic and settle in the United States. Adjustment to immigrant life and its long-term consequences is explored with psychological astuteness from the point of view of each sister. Oddly, the narrators' voices are similar, making it difficult to distinguish among them, although this doesn't detract from the pleasures of listening. The rich detail, emotional depth, and fine narration make this a book that invites multiple listenings. E.S. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. Julia Alvarez left the Dominican Republic for the United States in 1960, at the age of ten. She is the author of numerous works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, including the novel In the Time of the Butterflies, which has more than a million copies in print and was selected by the National Endowment for the Arts for its national Big Read program. Alvarez has received the Latina Leader Award in Literature from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute and the Hispanic Heritage Award in Literature; was named Woman of the Year by Latina magazine; and was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Obama. She lives in Vermont. Elizabeth Acevedo (foreword) is the New York Times bestselling author of The Poet X, which won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, as well as With the Fire on High and Clap When You Land. She is a National Poetry Slam champion and holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Maryland. She lives with her partner in Washington, DC. --This text refers to the hardcover edition. Read more