jsanders05 's review for:

Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez
4.0

What. A. Tear-jerker. Based in 1960’s Dominican Republic under the dictatorship of General Trujillo, the main character has to grow into her preteen years learning to hide from a hostile government and live a secret life walking on eggshells. The writing is a mix of traditional prose and the main character’s diary entries. Very interesting point of view to experience as an outside reader. It makes me wonder how current 12yo children are dealing with life in Ukraine right now.

Solid 4 stars for this heartbreaking story. Very glad I decided to participate in a book group at one of the elementary schools I work for. I don’t think I would have ever found this book on my own.