Before We Were Free

Author: Julia Alvarez (2018)

Before We Were Free is a story about a young girl named Anita. Anita lives in a time period of political unrest in the Dominican Republic. Her family members, father and uncle, plot an assassination of the dictator. The story starts off with Anita being eleven years old, and follows her life as her family goes to America, or disappears. The story follows her life after the dictator is killed, while she goes into hiding from a more real and powerful new dictator. Anita has to go into hiding for several months, and then to a new country. She and her mother have to adapt to new surroundings, while grieving the loss of their family.

I would highly recommend this book if the class is studying this era and different cultures. This book is similar to Anne Frank's diary in the way it was written because it was written in a very similar way. This book is a wonderful read, and will have many points to talk about as a class. I would love to read this book as a class in a higher elementary school level.

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