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Before We Were Free

3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 · rating details · 2,006 ratings · 398 reviews

Anita de la Torre never questioned her freedom living in the Dominican Republic. But by her 12th birthday in 1960, most of her relatives have emigrated to the United States, her Tío Toni has disappeared without a trace, and the government’s secret police terrorize her remaining family because of their suspected opposition of el Trujillo’s dictatorship.

Using the strength an...more

Paperback, 192 pages

Published April 13th 2004 by Laurel Leaf (first published August 13th 2002)

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May 14, 2013 Katrina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult-literature, fiction

In Julia Alvarez’s first young adult novel, Before we were Free, we meet 12-year-old Anita de la Torre. Like many young children, she is curious and talkative. Having lived a comfortingly protected life thus far, Anita is sweetly innocent and naïve. Her life seems rather normal. She annoys her older sister and has a crush on her new American neighbor Sam. However all of this will change quickly. The story takes place in the Dominican Republic during the months leading up to the assassination of...more In Julia Alvarez’s first young adult novel, Before we were Free, we meet 12-year-old Anita de la Torre. Like many young children, she is curious and talkative. Having lived a comfortingly protected life thus far, Anita is sweetly innocent and naïve. Her life seems rather normal. She annoys her older sister and has a crush on her new American neighbor Sam. However all of this will change quickly. The story takes place in the Dominican Republic during the months leading up to the assassination of the infamous dictator Trujillo. As the events of the story unfold, Anita’s life is forever changed.

Anita comes to realize that “El Jefe” is in fact, not the hero she believed him to be, but a dictator who threatens her family and friends, disappearing and torturing many Dominicans. She is forced to grapple with what is right and wrong, as family members flee the country, while others are forced into hiding. Her life is literally invaded by El Jefe’s Secret Police, the SIM.

Anita’s diary, a place where she once could pour out her heart, becomes a danger. She is forced to erase all she has written so that it will not give anything away if found by the SIM. It is here that we encounter one of the most powerful parts of the novel. As Anita tries to deal with the fact that her world is crumbling around her, she loses her words. She falls into a silence she can’t seem to break. She finds she can’t remember words anymore, she can’t speak. The curious young girl nicknamed cotorrita (literally a chatterbox or parrot) is silenced by what happens around her. When forced into hiding with her mother, Anita goes back to her diary, writing again so that if they don’t survive, their story is left behind. As Anita begins to write again, sharing their story, her voice comes back.

Anita survives, eventually making her way to the United States to join other family members in New York City. The overthrow of the Trujillo regime cost her dearly. She’s no longer the innocent child we met at the beginning of the story, but instead a survivor--an example of how we must fight to find our voices again, how we can persevere to put the pieces of our life back together again.

While Anita’s life is much different than the average child in the United States, students will have no trouble identifying with the engaging character that Alvarez offers us. Her beautiful imagery, literary style, and historical content make it a book well worth reading in our classrooms.

Check out our free Educator’s Guide for the book at http://teachinglatinamericathroughlit...
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Jan 26, 2013 Min J rated it 3 of 5 stars

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Jan 21, 2013 Andy rated it 2 of 5 stars

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Jan 21, 2013 Leslie K rated it 3 of 5 stars

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Jan 21, 2013 Zach P rated it 3 of 5 stars

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Jan 21, 2013 Jihoun I rated it 3 of 5 stars

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Nov 04, 2012 Rosalinda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Main Character/s: Anita, Papi, and Mami
Setting: The Compound in the Dominican Republic (in 1960)
POV: Anita

This story is about a young girl named Anita de la Torre. She lives in the Dominican Republic and up until her twelfth birthday she never questioned her freedom. By her twelfth birthday most of her family has fled to the U.S. and her uncle has disappeared. She is beginning to question her freedom and Trujillo’s dictatorship because of all the suspicious events occurring around her. There ar...more

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Jun 05, 2012 Mitzi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Before We Were Free describes the life of a young girl named Anita. She lives with all her family in the Dominican Republic under the dictatorship of Trujillo, called “el jefe”. Anita has lived all her life thinking that Trujillo is a good person and that her family likes and respects him. But, after she turns twelve she starts to realize many of the things she believed aren’t true. Most of her relatives have moved to the US but not only for a better life, for safety. They have moved to be away...more

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May 28, 2012 A_Cathi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

I listened to "Before We Were Free" which was read by Julia Alvarez, the author herself. Although I loved her voice which was perfect with accents and Spanish words said as they should be, I kept wanting to go back to read different parts of the story. I had a more difficult time following the story because of characters I think. I did not know much about the Dominican Republic and the dictatorship of it's goverenment during the middle of the 20th century and this was a good way for me to learn...more

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Apr 25, 2012 Affan Mahmood rated it 3 of 5 stars

My review is on the book Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez. It's about a girl from the Dominican Republic who's living under a dictatorship. Her family is secretly working to try and end it, however, the government suspects them and she and her family go into hiding. The plot is basically about the daily life of the main character, Anita. It's unoriginal, dull constantly dragging, and poorly constructed, having big jumps and no explanations for some events. It takes place in a realistic Domin...more

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Apr 25, 2012 Maitlynj rated it 4 of 5 stars

Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez was a fantastic book about the struggles of the life of a girl living in the Dominican Republic. Anita and her family flee to America to gain freedom and independence. Anita can't go to America right away because her family has some things they have to deal with first. Her and her family are the only people still left in the compound that have not moved to America or so she thinks. When she sees the light on in the apartment that is supposed to be empty she w...more

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Feb 12, 2012 Natalie rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of Newbery books and/or Lois Lowry

Shelves: historical-fiction, morals-and-ethics, ya

This book was a solid "blah" for me. It wasn't that it was necessarily bad, it was just boring. Alvarez tried to make this book a heart-racing drama, but it just didn't cut it. Especially since Anita spent most of the book dealing with such average teenage problems, envying her sister, talking about puberty, and obsessing over her various crushes.
High Points.
Whenever there was actually some suspense...not very often. Trujillo's interest in her sister (unlikely, but actually quite grotesquely su...more

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Jan 24, 2012 Celine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: advisory-12-quarter-2, advisory-12th

Before We Were Free
By Julia Alvarez
192 pp USA
Laurel Leaf, $6.99
ISBN: 978-0-440-23784-6

“I want my children to be free, no matter what. Promise me you’ll spread your wings and fly,” her father said to Anita. Unfortunately, flying would mean going against the authorities of the government, authorities who clip wings, in a rough battle.

This book is a triumph for freedom despite great lost. Anita, who lives in the Dominican Republic, struggles with the country’s despair.The dictatorship, the mona...more Before We Were Free
By Julia Alvarez
192 pp USA
Laurel Leaf, $6.99
ISBN: 978-0-440-23784-6

“I want my children to be free, no matter what. Promise me you’ll spread your wings and fly,” her father said to Anita. Unfortunately, flying would mean going against the authorities of the government, authorities who clip wings, in a rough battle.

This book is a triumph for freedom despite great lost. Anita, who lives in the Dominican Republic, struggles with the country’s despair.The dictatorship, the monarchy, have fed on the freedom of its people. People disappear everyday at the magic of the secret police and they are truly enslaved in their hearts. Anita’s family is trying so very hard to change this, in hopes of overthrow their ruler. But what will happen to them? Will they succeed? How much are they willing to sacrifice? Juggling all this political mess, Anita at the same time has to go through her own typical-teenager problems alongside everyone else. She starts to find interest in boys and soon has to cope with her growing mind and body. Can she make it through this jumbled mess and declare herself a free person, live a free life?

This book took me on a sorrowful but victorious journey. It has brought the idea of sacrificing for the sake of a country. Honestly, I would never have been competent of such heroic duties, especially at such a rebellious and obnoxious age. It questioned me the capabilities of the human mind. It has allowed me to access everything from a young girl’s life, carrying burden she shouldn’t have to be worrying about to her close knit family. Julia Alvarez has a wonderful gift of bringing hidden messages and tainted memories to readers through her story and embedded thoughtful statements about our world, our countries, our governments, our environments, and who we are.

I would recommend this book to anyone because it is very touching and meaningful to read. It is actually not as political as it may sound and is not boring at all.
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Dec 01, 2011 Anjaliparmar rated it 3 of 5 stars

This award-winning novel “Before we were Free” by the author Julia Alvarez comes down to a story of a twelve-year old named Anita de la Torre living in the Dominican Republic in 1960. A place with tall palm trees and beautiful sights with tropical warm water. It’s where you’d want to experience paradise.
But in this dramatic novel, Anita and her family are disrupted by the departure of the cousins moving to America. Along with the mysterious disappearance of the handsome young uncle, and Papa g...more

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May 15, 2011 Nicolewinter2011 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: coming-of-age, audio-cassette, historical-fiction, latino-a

Pubblisher: Dell Laurel-Leaf
Year: 2002
Interest Level: Grades 8-12
Reading Level: Grades 7-9

Julia Alvarez is the author of this text. She left the Domincan Republic as a child, but writes this story from the perspective of a girl who did not leave before the horrific events took place in the Domincan Republic in the early 1960's. The protagonist of the story begins as a pre-teen and her coming of age story is woven through this text, as her world sped up the loss of her innocence. There are moment...more

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Mar 06, 2011 Esther rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: latino-literature

Published in 2004 by Laurel Leaf
Interest Level: 7th-9th Grade

This novel is about a family that is in the Dominican Republic during a political revolution between the 1930s and 1960s. The protagonist, Anita, and her family are liberal, educated, upper class citizens in the Dominican Republic. Under the dictatorship of Trujillo, her parents are part of a resistance group that plans a coup and eventually must escape the Dominican Republic, although not all her family members are able to leave. Thi...more

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Feb 28, 2010 Tanya rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was very different from the other jistorical fiction book I've read. In some ways the author brought things into her book no other ever dared to do. I enjoyed the book because it's beginnning didn't agonize much, in fact it didn't have a lot of background info because in her view, nothing was wrong. The book went like this throughout the book which is why in a way more emotion was brought out because others would have been able to act. Where as she couldn't, she wasn't told anything an...more

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Dec 05, 2009 Callie Burnside added it Recommends it for: People who are interested in history.

Recommended to Callie by: Mrs. Brother's English class bookshelf.

Shelves: fiction-and-nonfiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 29, 2013 Tiffany Yoon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Tiffany Yoon
Ms. Effinger
BWWF book review
1/28/2013
Book Review on the novel, Before We Were Free
The novel, Before We Were Free, written by Julia Alvarez, was about a girl named Anita living during the time of the butterflies. The butterflies were the three Mirabal sisters, fighting for the freedom of the Dominican Republic. The book is presented through the view of Anita, her perspective and hardships of the crisis. Anita matures throughout the novel as she sees and experiences violence and deaths...more

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Jan 24, 2012 Raquel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, january

Excellent YA novel. Treatment of this subject by a child narrator actually makes it even more immediate and frightening, because the 12-year-old protagonist, Anita, was often confused and scared due to not knowing exactly what was going on. When she finally did learn more about what was happening in her country and to her family, it felt even more emotional and painful. She hadn't realized that dictator Trujillo was reviled by many people, including her parents, until the events in the book bega...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Sean Kim rated it 2 of 5 stars

Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez is a historical fiction novel in the perspective of 12 year old Anita de la Torre who lives in the Dominican Republic ruled by Rafael Trujillo. This book is about Anita's life living in the perilous Dominican Republic as she matures and grows. Anita faces lots of internal and external conflicts such as losing her family and her friends for their own safety from Trujillo.
This book did stand out and catch my attention, but the historical aspect made the book mo...more

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Jul 25, 2012 T.L. Barrett rated it 4 of 5 stars

Julia Alvarez recreates the trauma and worry of living in a brutal dictatorship in the Dominican Republic during 1960. The main character's family is a dynamic group of believable characters that are faced with the dangers of trying to thrive in an awful enviornment without the benefit of the rule of law that we enjoy in America. Told from a twelve year old girl's point of view, we see the confusion and the injustice in it's rawest from, for we see its impact at its worse: the loss of innocence,...more

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Nov 28, 2011 Alexia Bullard rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was such a wonderful little book.

Writing from the perspective of the main character, a twelve-year-old girl, really helped me to become attached to the characters and to better understand the fear, frustration, and confusion that she was feeling. She has to deal with both the mind-blowing, heart-wrenching events that are shattering her world and her emerging adolescence and puberty.

When I finished reading, I had to sit there for a few moments and really absorb everything. The fact that th...more

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Apr 07, 2011 Amy Taylor rated it 5 of 5 stars

Before We Were Free - Julia Alvarez - (2002)
Life in the 1960s in the Domican Republic was terribly difficult. After years of being ruled by an oppressive, dictator many people were anxious for liberty. This story is told from the perspective of 12 year old Anita, whose family is among the anxious. While her grandparents and cousins flee to the United States, Anita, her parents, and her siblings stay behind. This is a terrific novel that introduces children to another culture and political struct...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Julia M rated it 3 of 5 stars

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Oct 02, 2012 Rita rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, memoir, rated-five-stars, favorite

I only started reading this book because of an English assignment in which we had to read an award-winning book. I didn't think it would be too interesting; good enough that I wouldn't be bored, but not an amazing book. I was mistaken.
This story takes place from the year 1960 to 1961 in the Dominican Republic, which was at that time under the dictatorship of General Trujillo, or El Jefe. It is narrated from the perspective of the protagonist, a twelve year-old girl named Anita. Her family is inv...more

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Apr 12, 2013 RLL595AG_Alma Martinez rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mc-literature

When I began this book I was not very knowledgeable about the historical time period in which it is set and needed to do a quick Google search to get some background information to orient me before I could proceed. Background information aside, the beginning was suspenseful and that interested me in doing the research.

This book is set during what turns out to be the end days of Rafael Trujillo's, referred to as El Jefe (the boss), dictatorship of the Dominican Republic. The story is narrated by...more

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Jan 26, 2013 Karen Song rated it 4 of 5 stars

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Apr 16, 2011 Rll520a_gaylehassan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mc-literature, historical-fiction, young-adult

Because I have read "In the Time of the Butterflies" and part of "How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez, this book felt very familiar. Like "Day of Tears" by Julius Lester, this book deals with man's inhumanity to man. In this case, it is an oppressive dictatorial regime taking away even the most basic human rights of the people of the Dominican Republic. This story is also a coming of age story in which the main character, Anita, becomes a young woman and as part of that ma...more

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Sep 26, 2009 Sara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Summary and Analysis:

Before We Were Free is a historical fiction novel that would be appropriate for students in middle school or high school. Before We Were Free is set in the Dominican Republic- under the rule of a dictator and spans the years before, during, and after a revolution. The novel's protagonist is a twelve year old girl named Anita whose family is among the group of people who seek to bring freedom to the country. Although Anita suffers much hardship and loss in the years before f...more

Summary and Analysis:

Before We Were Free is a historical fiction novel that would be appropriate for students in middle school or high school. Before We Were Free is set in the Dominican Republic- under the rule of a dictator and spans the years before, during, and after a revolution. The novel's protagonist is a twelve year old girl named Anita whose family is among the group of people who seek to bring freedom to the country. Although Anita suffers much hardship and loss in the years before freedom, the book ends with a message of hope.

I listened to the audio recording of this book. Julia Alvarez, the author, is the narrator of this particular recording. To be honest, Before We Were Free is the first novel that I ever listened to on CD and I am glad I did. I couldn't help but admire the way the author read her book exactly the way she must have heard the words in her head as she was writing them.

Additionally, the quality of the author's voice enriched the story for me. The author speaks with a slight accent, which brought authenticity to the words, as the book was written in first person point of view. This also made the Spanish language within the book seem natural. The author's voice also has a youthful quality- which made me believe the first person point of view narration was really coming from a twelve year old girl.

Further, the author's choice to use first person point of view in Before We Were Free brought much to the story, regardless of whether you read the book or listened to the book. I found myself really identifying with Anita throughout the whole course of the novel. I found the whole confusion and danger of a revolution to be more realistic as it was described through the relatively innocent eyes of a young girl. In fact, the gradual loss of Anita's innocence was all the more shocking because of the way this story was told.

On a side note, I happened to be listening to the audio recording of Esperanza Rising at the same time and I was startled at the contrast between the two books. These two novels have a great deal in common, their progtagonists are both girls of about the same age, the protagonists' families are both relatively wealthy landowners, both have to flee their countries, both lose family members, etc. However, I found myself liking Before We Were Free much more due to the fact that it was written in first person point of view and read by the author on the audio version. Esperanza Rising is written in third person limited point of view and the audio recording that I listened to is not read by the author. In my opinion, that particular reader is not particularly good because she lacks the passion that Julia Alvarez had. (less)

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About Julia Alvarez

Julia Alvarez was born in New York City. Her parents moved back to the Dominican Republic when Alvarez was 3 months old and she was raised there until she was 10, when the family moved back to NYC.

She is currently writer-in-residence at Middlebury College and the owner of a coffee farm named Alta Gracia, near Jarabacoa in the mountains of the Dominican Republic. The farm hosts a school to teach l...more

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