“It is the responsibility of those who survive the struggle for freedom to give testimony. To tell the story in order to keep alive the memory of the dead.”

Before We Were Free is an award winning YA or middle grade historical fiction set in the Dominican Republic in 1960 and 1961. I read this book as part of my read around the world challenge. As such, I like to find out a little about each country. The Dominican Republic forms the eastern part of the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean, with Haiti forming the western part. It was the first place Columbus landed and hence became a Spanish colony for centuries until independence. There has been extensive conflict with Haiti over the years with thousands of lives lost. The original inhabitants of the Dominican Republic were the Taino people. Currently 70% of the population is of mixed race with 58% being of Indigenous American and European ancestry (mestizo) and 12% being African and European mix. The story focuses on the period of Rafael Trujillo’s dictatorship which began in 1930 and lasted until his 1961 assassination (which the locals refer to as “ajusticiamiento," a Spanish word that implies justice being done). The author herself was born in the USA and returned with her parents when she was three months old, to the Dominican Republic where they were born. They were forced to flee the country in 1960, when she was ten years of age, due to her father’s involvement in plans to overthrow the Trujillo regime. Hence the story is in part inspired by personal and family experience.

The main character and narrator is 12 year old Anita de la Torre who begins the story unaware of the political turmoil around her and its meaning. As the book evolves and family members flee to America, she and her family are left behind and Anita gradually comes to understand the danger and secrets surrounding her. The SIM or secret police become a terrifying presence and the threat of permanent disappearance is very real. It was sad to note evidence of distress in each child; with her sister coming out in rashes, her brother perpetually biting his nails and Anita lapsing into a wordless silence. She writes a diary each day only to erase it at the end of each day out of fear of endangering her family. Anita oscillates between a terrifying life of political intrigue and the life and thoughts of a normal teenager with crushes and worries about her appearance. I thought this was an informative and impacting book and I am impressed that some authors are writing middle grade novels like this rather than underestimating their intelligence and peddling endless fluff. ( )

Beautifully written book about a young girl living in the Dominican Republic during 1960. We get to follow her as she witnesses her family be part of a rebellion against a brutal dictator. This book is definitely best for middle school and may require some explanation or background in order to be understood. Has great use of figurative language, themes, and symbolism. ( )

4 1/2 rating.
I love history of all kinds in novels, fiction or non. I’ve not heard of Rafael Trujillo until this book and looked on Google about him and his son. I thought it was very disturbing with what they did to their country, and everyone should educate themselves about it.

As for the book, my only tiny complaint was the beginning was a little slow. Other than that, it gets interesting to me about the 40 page mark. Then things start picking up pretty fast.

I know some people say that the main character had too mature of a voice, but you have to think about what she was going through. She pretty much was forced to grow up so you’re going to be more mature, especially since she was learning the more descriptive details of what was going on and realizing what sort of danger her and her family was in.

Sad, historic, and learning about different ways of life and time periods make me recommend this.

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Book Club Anita de la Torre nunca cuestionó su libertad viviendo en la República Dominicana. Pero al cumplir doce años de edad en 1960, la mayoría de sus familiares han emigrado a Estados Unidos, su tío Toni ha desaparecido sin dejar rastro y la policía secreta del gobierno aterroriza a su familia restante dada su presunta oposición a la dictadura de Trujillo.

Utilizando la fuerza y el valor de su familia, Anita debe vencer sus miedos y volar hacia la libertad, dejando atrás todo lo que alguna vez había conocido.

De la renombrada autora Julia Alvarez llega una historia inolvidable sobre la adolescencia, la perseverancia y la lucha de una niña por su libertad.

Eleven-year-old Anita de la Torre lives in a compound in the Dominican Republic with her entire extended family. She goes to the American school where a lot of ambassadors' children also go. She is surprised one day when her cousin Carla gets called out of class and is sad to learn that Carla and her parents and siblings are getting on a plane to America the next day. Her family feels like its falling apart especially becase her Tio Toni is missing. When the SIM invade the compound on a raid to search for Carla's family, they had already left, but Anita's mother decides it is best that Anita and her siblings stay in the compound from then on. So they go to school at home. The American ambassador and him family move into a vacant house in the compound to help. They host a quincinera for Anita's older sister, Lucinda, but things turn dark when the dictator, El Jefe, shows up. Later he begins sending Lucinda flowers and her parents are horrified so they send Lucinda to Washington. Tio Toni comes out of hiding and he and Anita's father make plans to kill El Jefe. One day after the American school has closed, her house floods with resistance members who had assassinated El Jefe. However, Pupo never announces the assassination, so the revolution fails. Trujillo's son takes over, and he is determined to seek revenge. He takes Anita's father and uncle prisoner; meanwhile, Anita and her mother flee to the home of the Italian Amassador, where they live in a walk-in closet for two months. Anita's brother manages to escape the country disguised as a woman. A few days later, Anita and her mother are unexpectedly rescued by paratroopers and taken to New York City. Anita tries to hold onto hope that her father will escape too, but one day she comes home to the news that her father and uncle were both killed. Refusing to let their memory die, Anita makes a silent promise to her father that she will relish ever moment of her life spent in freedom.

I am a forever fan of Julia Alveraz. This book did not disappoint. It is the coming of age story, of Anita, a 12-year-old girl living in the Dominican Republic in 1960. It deals with political and social oppression during adolescent years. As Alverez so poignantly writes, everyone has the right to be free.