I made a decision to read this particular book for an independent reading project within my English class. We were provided with a list of authors to select from, and for some time now, I had been intending to read something penned by Alvarez. Additionally, I happened to possess a copy of this book.

Consequently, I took it along on a lengthy road trip and managed to read the entire book while in the car. (Fortunately, I no longer experience carsickness when reading in the car. Heh heh.)

I found this book to be truly beautiful. The writing was amazing, the story was both believable and filled with emotion, and the characters were great. It truly had the power to draw me in and hold my attention throughout. I am extremely glad that I chose this book for my final English project, as I can wholeheartedly be enthusiastic about it. :)

Overall, it was a wonderful reading experience that I will cherish and remember for a long time. I look forward to exploring more of Alvarez's works in the future.

This is a beautifully written book.

However, it belongs to those works of fiction that don't really have a specific central theme.

Readers follow the alternating Garcia girls in a random order during a certain part of their lives.

There is no distinct plot to mention.

The chapters are linked by the fact that one or more Garcia girls are the focus in each of them, but you could read them in any sequence you desired without affecting the reading experience.

The chapters or scenes capture your attention independently and also have a loose connection with the others.

I didn't develop a particular attachment to anyone.

I was interested in what was happening when it was happening, and then the book moved on to something else.

"How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents" is a well-written collection of scattered moments in the lives of girls who grow into women and eventually become the memory of a book you once read.

It offers a unique perspective on the passage of time and the experiences that shape these characters, even though it may lack a traditional linear plot.

Nevertheless, the author's writing style and the vivid描绘 of the Garcia girls' lives make it an engaging read.

Each chapter presents a snapshot of their lives, allowing readers to catch a glimpse of their joys, sorrows, and成长.

Overall, it's a book that may not have a clear overarching narrative but still manages to leave an impression on the reader.

I had a strong desire to pen a truly beautiful review about this remarkable book. However, I am well aware that I am neither a professional writer nor do I possess the gift of expressing myself with great eloquence. Therefore, I will simply lay out the facts that compelled me to rate this book as a five-star read.

As a child, I was alphabetized in both Portuguese and English, which allowed me to deeply relate to the language conflicts that Julia Alvarez so skillfully explores in "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" (HTGGLTA). Although I am an only child, I was fortunate enough to grow up surrounded by a plethora of cousins, a common occurrence in Latin families. This enabled me to see numerous aspects of myself and my relatives in the García sisters, especially Yolanda, whom I firmly believe to be an alter ego of sorts for Julia.

Likewise, I was raised by an army of aunts (tias) and uncles (tios), by my grandmother (avó) and my caregivers (babás), and by a community that wholeheartedly supported my mother and her daughter during a time when being a single mother was not as widely "accepted" as it is today (and yet, is it truly? I sincerely hope so). Truly, I must tell you that this book spoke to me in ways that I had not anticipated, and it also provided me with a fascinating glimpse into the multicultural nature of our people (Latinos), highlighting how much we can share and yet also differ in so many ways. I was completely captivated by the García de La Torre family from the very first chapter, and I am delighted to report that I will most definitely be delving into more of Julia Alvarez's works in the not-too-distant future.

I have a deep affection for the author's "In the Time of the Butterflies".

Consequently, I added several other of her titles to my To Be Read (TBR) list.

This particular book held great promise in its premise.

It began splendidly, with the sisters' rotating voices vividly描绘ing their life in the Dominican Republic (DR) and their subsequent emigration to New York.

However, as the story progressed, it unfortunately frittered away into a rather lackluster and uneventful tale.

The characters, the women in this case, failed to truly engage us, and by the end, we found ourselves not really caring much about them.

Overall, it was a disappointing read, especially considering the high expectations set by the initial setup.

It serves as a reminder that even with a great start, a story needs to maintain its momentum and develop its characters in a more compelling way to keep the readers fully invested.

More Dominican literature has emerged, captivating readers with its vivid描绘. The scenes set in the Dominican Republic (DR) have become so real to me that I can now easily visualize them after living here. It is truly special to learn about a place in so many different ways.

The pages of "Chucha" where she closes down the house and says goodbye are heart-wrenchingly painful. This unique story is told in reverse chronological order, delving deep into the exploration of memories and experiences. It follows four girls and their parents as they leave the DR for the United States.

Through the author's skillful writing, we are able to witness the complex emotions and the profound impact of this transition. The story not only highlights the challenges they face but also the beauty and strength that lies within their Dominican heritage.

The novel presents itself as a compilation of short stories. It doesn't follow a single, all-encompassing narrative line. Instead, it offers separate episodes from the lives of a particular family. The fact that not everything is disclosed makes the reader yearn for more. For instance, I was left with a strong curiosity to learn more about certain characters, such as the mom and the dad.

The episodes are narrated through the perspective of one of the four girls, or through the eyes of the mother, or in one instance, through the viewpoint of an old female servant who has been with the family for a long time. The timeline progresses in reverse. It starts from Yolanda's life as an adult in the United States. The story about the bad boyfriend from college was especially impactful for me because many intelligent girls are vulnerable to emotional abuse when they are not yet mature enough to recognize it. Then it moves back to the girls' childhood in the Dominican Republic, where they were part of a privileged family.

At some point during the girls' childhood, the family has to relocate to the USA due to political persecution. Adapting to the new environment is a difficult process. Naturally, the younger members adapt more quickly, but then they have to confront the prejudices of their own parents who haven't fully integrated into American culture. Additionally, all visits back home to the island are filled with the feeling of not truly belonging to either of the two worlds.

Some readers have complained that they can't distinguish the voices of the girls from one another. However, I didn't consider this to be a problem. I believe that they tend to be more similar only as the story delves deeper into their childhood, but overall, they are quite distinct. Also, to my slight disappointment, since I wanted to know more about numerous characters, I realized that the novel is not so much about character development (although everyone is very well-drawn), but rather about the flow and the seep, like a river slowly flowing back to its roots.

What I liked about Julia Alvarez's How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents:

The writing is truly remarkable. Alvarez is a highly capable writer who exudes confidence and familiarity in her work. I really enjoyed how easy it was to read The Garcia Girls. She crafted the story in such a way that it became a fast-paced and engaging read.

The immigrant experience is another aspect that I found appealing. I have always been a fan of books that can accurately and honestly portray the immigrant experience in America. Alvarez did an excellent job of this with the Garcia de la Torre family.

However, there were also some things that I didn't like about the book. For me, it was incredibly boring. I felt like I couldn't fully engage with the story or the characters. This was quite surprising as I usually can relate to at least one character in fictionalized immigrant experiences. But in this case, everything felt so hollow. I understood the words on the page, but I didn't feel any emotional connection to them.

Perhaps the order in which the story was told had something to do with it. How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents was told in reverse, starting in 1982 and ending in 1956. It was divided into three parts. Maybe I couldn't gain any attachments to the lives of the Garcia de la Torre family because I wasn't growing with them in the natural order. I'm not entirely sure.

I also found the characters a bit annoying and clawing. Yolanda, in particular, came across as overly whiny.

Overall, Alvarez's How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents was for my book club and I really wanted to like it. Maybe I'm missing the point of the narrative, but I just couldn't seem to care about any of the characters or the story.

Li started reading a book that had 80 pages. At first, he was quite interested and eager to find out what would happen in the story. However, as he progressed through the pages, he began to feel a bit bored. The plot seemed to be dragging on, and he couldn't quite get into it.

He tried to push himself to continue reading, thinking that maybe it would get better. But after a while, his attention started to wander. He found himself looking at the clock, wondering how much longer he had to endure this.

Eventually, Li reached a point where he just couldn't take it anymore. He closed the book and decided to give up. He felt a sense of relief, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Maybe this wasn't the right book for him at the moment, and he would look for something else to read instead.

Basic Plot: The stories are centered around the lives of the Garcia sisters.

This series of short vignettes offers a unique perspective as it begins in the "present" and then retraces the steps back to the girls' childhood. It delves deep into the realm of culture and examines its significance to individuals as they mature and assimilate into the culture they embrace, often different from the one they were born into.

Culture in America is indeed a complex and delicate matter. Many of us incorporate various elements of our diverse backgrounds. However, a significant number of people are even unaware of their own roots. We continuously lose and rediscover aspects of our cultural identities. Some individuals tenaciously hold onto their language and customs, while others are eager to fully Americanize. This book provides an interesting means to explore these concepts with students, allowing them to gain a deeper understanding of the rich tapestry of cultures that exist within the American society.

Liked it a lot...wanted to love it.

The organization of the story was truly intriguing. It offered a fascinating look back from the adult 'Garcia Girls,' delving through their teen years, and then further back to their childhood in NYC. Finally, it took us to their early years as pampered princesses in the Dominican Republic, and also revealed the terrors that compelled the family to abandon their home.

Maybe it was because I chose to read with my ears, and thus never 'heard' a distinct difference in the sisters' voices. As a result, I never really connected with them, despite the obvious efforts of Alvarez to give each sister her own unique voice.

I think this might be one of those books that I would have truly enjoyed if I had read it with my eyes, being able to flip back and forth, tabbing the stories to better get in touch with each girl.

This book shows great promise for a young author who had a story to tell, a story that no one else could have told. It has the potential to be a truly engaging and memorable read with a different reading approach.

It was an entertaining and highly amusing read. The story centered around a family of six who fled the Dominican Republic to start a new life in the United States, specifically in New York. The family consisted of four girls, along with their mother and father. Their departure was not by choice. Instead, it was because the dictator Trujillo was spying on them and attempting to catch Carlos, the father who was a doctor, in a compromising act against the government in order to jail him. In the Dominican Republic, they were considered wealthy, but upon arriving in the US, Carlos faced difficulties in finding employment initially.

All the individual stories within the narrative were good, yet they lacked cohesion. Each story seemed to be a new memory for one of the girls, sometimes told in the present tense and then suddenly switching to the past tense. At times, the author also transitioned from speaking in the third person to the first person. In my opinion, it would have been much better if this had been presented as a collection of short stories, each told from the perspective of one of the girls, detailing their lives in the Dominican Republic and their experiences after moving to the US.

I am not particularly familiar with the life or the people of the Dominican Republic, but from what I gathered, it appears to have a similar feel to that of any other Latin community, with their superstitions and their endearing, albeit sometimes silly, family life.

I had high expectations for this book. The concept of a moving-backward chronology was quite appealing, and it was the title that truly got me excited. I was eager to read about the journey of how the Garcia girls lost their accent.

Some of the chapters are written in the first person, while others are in the third. They focus on different characters, with some interesting anecdotes and others that are not so engaging. I particularly liked the last chapter, "The Rudy Elmenhurst Story," and there was another one whose title I unfortunately can't recall.

The Garcia girls come from a wealthy and well-connected family in the Dominican Republic. They witness both political and personal upheavals. However, there isn't as much about Americanization as I had hoped. I've read numerous reviews that praise the book for its insights and "good writing," but I didn't quite see it that way. Maybe it's because, as an Anglo, I'm not sensitive enough to some of the subtleties. Or perhaps it's the class warrior in me.

But there are also instances of casual bigotry in the book. There's a preference for light skin and blue eyes, and there are derogatory references like "the fag at the corner" and the servant "Chino" with his slightly slanted eyes. There are also two Haitian characters who are judged based on their dark skin and presumed connections to voodoo. The cruelty to a cat also left a bad taste in my mouth. I was tempted to give it just one star, but I'm not sure if that would have been entirely fair.

I was hoping for some indication that the characters in the novel showed wisdom, growth in compassion, or self-awareness. If this is indeed a disguised memoir, as some claim, I would have liked to see more self-awareness on the part of the author. There is some sympathy, humor, and sentiment, but there doesn't seem to be an awareness of privilege.

The elements for a great book are present, but I can't help but feel that this isn't the best it could have been. Maybe the author would have been better off telling the story in chronological order, with the occasional flashback. The story could have benefited from having a single main character, a consistent point of view, and a more conclusive ending, perhaps with a confrontation between the DR girls and the American women they become.

Many people love this novel, and I really wish I could be one of them.