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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
“Things had gotten so bad, even people like me who didn’t want anything to do with politics were thinking about it all the time.” While the choice to read this book in April of 2025 was made last August, I can’t think of a better parallel to what is happening in the United States now, in the sense that people who have previously never paid attention to politics find themselves having to not only pay attention, but to actively respond.
Everything begins as Dedé tells her story to a curiosity-seeker, but the first memory she thinks of is the one in which she suspects she will be the only one left to tell her family’s story. So much of the first part is establishing the personalities of the sisters and how they each came to embrace political activism. As Dedé finds her way, the reader sees how her interest was first piqued: “She began to read the paper with pointed interest… She evaluated and reflected over what she read. How could she have missed so much before? she asked herself. But then a harder question followed. What was she going to do about it now that she did know?” (75) It is a slow buildup from the girls at school to the point when they all have husbands and families. It takes time to build their backstory and illustrate how they all end up in a position to fight against the regime. My favorite part is how important storytelling becomes. During the resistance narrative is vital to be an informed citizen; afterward the stories are a way to both memorialize the slaughtered sisters and remind other survivors how authoritarian regimes always end. Dedé is both a teller of the story, and a receiver of all the people who witnessed any part of the sisters’ final moments.
All four sisters, each with a distinct narrative voice, support each other as they come to resist the Trujillo regime. In some ways this reminded me of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale, in which two sisters in very different circumstances have different journeys toward resisting Nazis. Authoritarianism, regardless of the details or location, bears an undeniable stamp of cruelty, and books that tell of how people have fought those kinds of regimes in the past are forever needed.
The audiobook offered me the pronunciations I needed, but I also ended up missing some bits that stood out more in print. So I’m glad I read this in both formats.
Everything begins as Dedé tells her story to a curiosity-seeker, but the first memory she thinks of is the one in which she suspects she will be the only one left to tell her family’s story. So much of the first part is establishing the personalities of the sisters and how they each came to embrace political activism. As Dedé finds her way, the reader sees how her interest was first piqued: “She began to read the paper with pointed interest… She evaluated and reflected over what she read. How could she have missed so much before? she asked herself. But then a harder question followed. What was she going to do about it now that she did know?” (75) It is a slow buildup from the girls at school to the point when they all have husbands and families. It takes time to build their backstory and illustrate how they all end up in a position to fight against the regime. My favorite part is how important storytelling becomes. During the resistance narrative is vital to be an informed citizen; afterward the stories are a way to both memorialize the slaughtered sisters and remind other survivors how authoritarian regimes always end. Dedé is both a teller of the story, and a receiver of all the people who witnessed any part of the sisters’ final moments.
All four sisters, each with a distinct narrative voice, support each other as they come to resist the Trujillo regime. In some ways this reminded me of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale, in which two sisters in very different circumstances have different journeys toward resisting Nazis. Authoritarianism, regardless of the details or location, bears an undeniable stamp of cruelty, and books that tell of how people have fought those kinds of regimes in the past are forever needed.
The audiobook offered me the pronunciations I needed, but I also ended up missing some bits that stood out more in print. So I’m glad I read this in both formats.
challenging
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
“Things had gotten so bad, even people like me who didn’t want anything to do with politics were thinking about it all the time.” While the choice to read this book in April of 2025 was made last August, I can’t think of a better parallel to what is happening in the United States now, in the sense that people who have previously never paid attention to politics find themselves having to not only pay attention, but to actively respond.
Everything begins as Dedé tells her story to a curiosity-seeker, but the first memory she thinks of is the one in which she suspects she will be the only one left to tell her family’s story. So much of the first part is establishing the personalities of the sisters and how they each came to embrace political activism. As Dedé finds her way, the reader sees how her interest was first piqued: “She began to read the paper with pointed interest… She evaluated and reflected over what she read. How could she have missed so much before? she asked herself. But then a harder question followed. What was she going to do about it now that she did know?” (75) It is a slow buildup from the girls at school to the point when they all have husbands and families. It takes time to build their backstory and illustrate how they all end up in a position to fight against the regime. My favorite part is how important storytelling becomes. During the resistance narrative is vital to be an informed citizen; afterward the stories are a way to both memorialize the slaughtered sisters and remind other survivors how authoritarian regimes always end. Dedé is both a teller of the story, and a receiver of all the people who witnessed any part of the sisters’ final moments.
All four sisters, each with a distinct narrative voice, support each other as they come to resist the Trujillo regime. In some ways this reminded me of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale, in which two sisters in very different circumstances have different journeys toward resisting Nazis. Authoritarianism, regardless of the details or location, bears an undeniable stamp of cruelty, and books that tell of how people have fought those kinds of regimes in the past are forever needed.
The audiobook offered me the pronunciations I needed, but I also ended up missing some bits that stood out more in print. So I’m glad I read this in both formats.
Everything begins as Dedé tells her story to a curiosity-seeker, but the first memory she thinks of is the one in which she suspects she will be the only one left to tell her family’s story. So much of the first part is establishing the personalities of the sisters and how they each came to embrace political activism. As Dedé finds her way, the reader sees how her interest was first piqued: “She began to read the paper with pointed interest… She evaluated and reflected over what she read. How could she have missed so much before? she asked herself. But then a harder question followed. What was she going to do about it now that she did know?” (75) It is a slow buildup from the girls at school to the point when they all have husbands and families. It takes time to build their backstory and illustrate how they all end up in a position to fight against the regime. My favorite part is how important storytelling becomes. During the resistance narrative is vital to be an informed citizen; afterward the stories are a way to both memorialize the slaughtered sisters and remind other survivors how authoritarian regimes always end. Dedé is both a teller of the story, and a receiver of all the people who witnessed any part of the sisters’ final moments.
All four sisters, each with a distinct narrative voice, support each other as they come to resist the Trujillo regime. In some ways this reminded me of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale, in which two sisters in very different circumstances have different journeys toward resisting Nazis. Authoritarianism, regardless of the details or location, bears an undeniable stamp of cruelty, and books that tell of how people have fought those kinds of regimes in the past are forever needed.
The audiobook offered me the pronunciations I needed, but I also ended up missing some bits that stood out more in print. So I’m glad I read this in both formats.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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:
Complicated
Re-read since this was my favorite book in high school but hadn’t read since then. It will stick with me again, I think.
dark
sad
medium-paced
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I understand this is a fiction, but it was beautifully written and shed light on a subject that doesn’t seem to be well known. Viva La Mariposa!!
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
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:
Complicated