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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Set in the Dominican Republic during the reign of Trujillo chronicles events and peoples I was totally unaware of. As all history, there are some parallels to current times with our recently deposed autocrat, our country being run by the oligarchs, and people not aware of the loss of their democracy.
I read this book with my 10th grade daughter for school. It was pretty complicated for her, but I found it fascinating. It is based on a true story about the 4 Mirabel sisters (the butterflies) from the Dominican Republic during the time of an oppressive dictator in the 1960's. Three of the sisters rebel against the government and one lives to carry on their legend. Julia Alvarez, the author, writes beautifully and does a wonderful job giving the sisters strong imagined personalities.
dark
informative
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
emotional
informative
sad
slow-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
The setting is very interesting, but I really didn’t like what was done with the main sister characters. There were little details I liked, but big plot and characterization decisions felt very off. More than one sister made a major life decision based on having a crush on a boy and they didn’t feel very three-dimensional. It’s like in Little Women, where each sister represents a certain personality facet, but they were only that personality facet. The prose was alright, and it would make a decent beach read.
Very powerful (and tragic!) story and I liked the way each of the sisters had a different voice.
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-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:
Yes
emotional
reflective
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
A wonderful story of inspirational women who defied a corrupt regime. I definitely learned a lot about Dominican history. Loosely based on the lives of the Mirabal sisters. Vivan las mariposas!