How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (Alvarez)

Book Reviews
Poignant.... Powerful.... Beautifully capture[s] the threshold experience of the new immigrant, where the past is not yet a memory.
New York Times Book Review


A clear-eyed look at the insecurity and yearning for a sense of belonging that are a part of the immigrant experience.... Movingly told.
Washington Post Book World


Subtle.... Powerful... Reveals the intricacies of family, the impact of culture and place, and the profound power of language.
San Diego Tribune


The chronicle of a family in exile that is forced to find a new identity in a new land, these 15 short tales, grouped into three sections, form a rich, novel-like mosaic.... [F]irst generation American females in rebellion against their immigrant elders, and...the stories pile up with layers of multiple points of view and overlapping experiences, building to a sense of family myths in the making....  This is an account of parallel odysseys, as each of the four daughters adapts in her own way, and a large part of Alvarez's Garcia's accomplishment is the complexity with which these vivid characters are rendered.
Publishers Weekly


This rollicking, highly original first novel tells the story (in reverse chronological order) of four sisters and their family, as they become Americanized after fleeing the Dominican Republic in the 1960s.... There is no straightforward plot; rather, vignettes (often exquisite short stories in their own right) featuring one or more of the sisters...strung together in a smooth, readable story. Alvarez is a gifted, evocative storyteller of promise. —Ann H. Fisher, Radford P.L., VA
Library Journal


(Young adult.) This sensitive story of four sisters who must adjust to life in America after having to flee from the Dominican Republic is told through a series of episodes beginning in adulthood, when their lives have been shaped by U. S. mores, and moving backwards to their wealthy childhood on the island.... This unique coming-of-age tale is a feast of stories that will enchant and captivate readers. —Pam Spencer, Thomas Jefferson Sci-Tech, Fairfax County, VA
School Library Journal