294 reviews for:

Before We Were Free

Julia Alvarez

3.82 AVERAGE

emmathebumm's review against another edition

4.5

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

chyina's review against another edition

5.0

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What does freedom mean? Is it relative?

Anita had always thought she was free until she learned that she was not. She was a citizen in a country ran by a dictatorship and change was coming, change that her own father and uncle were a large part of. In Alvarez's novel we see Anita come to terms with danger and fear caused by the secret police. As everyone in her extended family soon begins to move away, she is left with only herself and the premonitions of their maid Chucha.

From living in a closet, to running away, the author gives a beautifully narrated and provocative story about what freedom truly means and the courage required to pursue it.

coraline_lm's review against another edition

4.0

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4.5

cat_cactus's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

kalena_reads's review against another edition

3.0

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We started reading this book for read aloud, but then stopped reading it. From what I can tell about this book though, it is a very nice book that has some good plot twists. The characters are charming and the setting is nicely mapped out.

henduoshu's review against another edition

2.0

hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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An insult, frankly, to the intelligence of kids. Metaphors hammered in over and over again. Very little imagery, which makes sense since the POV is Anita’s and she’s 12, but she often seems younger than that just because of how childish the writing seems. 

booksbythemoon's review against another edition

4.5

emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

hazydazywaffles's review against another edition

3.25

emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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I can see why people like it, but it just wasn't my kinda book. It was heartbreaking and i liked how good the writing was. It just wasnt really for me.

lwhite52's review against another edition

2.5

emotional slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

yazalh's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced