Review Of How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents By Julia Alvarez

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents Book Review I did not enjoy How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez. The novel was not easy to understand and it was very hard to follow. The story jumped from past events to the present making it hard to recognize the current situation. The novel consists of many examples supporting my claim. Alvarez writes, “ Lucinda, whose voice is hoarse with disciplining the rowdy crew, hands Yolanda the knife. ‘It’s your cake Yoyo. You decide. The road up through the foothills is just wide enough for two small cars, so at each curve as she has been instructed, Yolanda slows and taps her horn” (12). At the beginning of this quote the family is gathered at the house on the island celebrating Yolanda’s birthday. The author then switches to earlier that day when Yolanda was on her way to the house without any indication of time change. Overall the book was written poorly and it came across as confusing. I would not recommend this book to other people.

Laura, also known as Mami, is the loving mother of Carla, Yolanda, Sandra, and Sofia. She retains the mind of an inventor and a heart of gold. Mami possesses the ability to think quick on her feet and she has a solution for everything. Alvarez writes, “ The mother had devised a color code to save time. With four girls so close in age, she couldn’t indulge identities and hunt down a red cowboy shirt when the third daughter turned tomboy or a Mexican peasant blouse when the oldest discovered her hispanic roots. As women, the four girls criticized their mother’s efficiency” (41). Even though the girls don’t always appreciate their mother’s actions, Mami always wants to succeed in doing the best for her children. Laura does the best she can for her children and cares about them