-
Before We Were Free
- Narrated by: Julia Alvarez
- Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $18.13
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
Anita de la Torre never questioned her freedom living in the Dominican Republic. But by her 12th birthday in 1960, most of her relatives have emigrated to the United States, her Tío Toni has disappeared without a trace, and the government’s secret police terrorize her remaining family because of their suspected opposition of el Trujillo’s dictatorship.
Using the strength and courage of her family, Anita must overcome her fears and fly to freedom, leaving all that she once knew behind.
From renowned author Julia Alvarez comes an unforgettable story about adolescence, perseverance, and one girl’s struggle to be free.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
In the Time of the Butterflies
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Noemi de la Puente, Alma Cuervo, Bianca Carnacho, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is November 25, 1960, and the bodies of three beautiful, convent-educated sisters have been found near their wrecked Jeep at the bottom of a 150-foot cliff on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. El Caribe, the official newspaper, reports their deaths as an accident. It does not mention that a fourth sister lives. Nor does it explain that the sisters were among the leading opponents of General Raphael Leonidas Trujillo's dictatorship.
-
-
Maybe it's just me but...
- By Sarah PK on 03-05-16
By: Julia Alvarez
-
Afterlife
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo
- Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Antonia Vega, the immigrant writer at the center of Afterlife, has had the rug pulled out from under her. She has just retired from the college where she taught English when her beloved husband, Sam, suddenly dies. And then more jolts: her bighearted but unstable sister disappears, and Antonia returns home one evening to find a pregnant, undocumented teenager on her doorstep.
-
-
Highly recommended
- By Louise on 04-29-20
By: Julia Alvarez
-
Return to Sender
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Ozzie Rodriguez, Olivia Preciado
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After Tyler's father is injured in a tractor accident, his family hires migrant Mexican workers to help save their Vermont farm from foreclosure. Tyler isn’ t sure what to make of these workers. Are they undocumented? And what about the three daughters, particularly Mari, the oldest, who is proud of her Mexican heritage but also increasingly connected her American life. Her family lives in constant fear of being discovered by the authorities and sent back to the poverty they left behind in Mexico. Can Tyler and Mari find a way to be friends despite their differences?
-
-
Great Book for preteens
- By Anonymous User on 02-10-18
By: Julia Alvarez
-
Dominicana
- By: Angie Cruz
- Narrated by: Coral Peña
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fifteen-year-old Ana Cancion never dreamed of moving to America, the way the girls she grew up with in the Dominican countryside did. But when Juan Ruiz proposes and promises to take her to New York City, she has to say yes. It doesn’t matter that he is twice her age, that there is no love between them. Their marriage is an opportunity for her entire close-knit family to eventually immigrate. So on New Year’s Day, 1965, Ana leaves behind everything she knows and becomes Ana Ruiz, a wife confined to a cold six-floor walk-up in Washington Heights.
-
-
Dominicans in literature
- By MARLENNE on 09-19-19
By: Angie Cruz
-
Code Talker
- A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two
- By: Joseph Bruchac
- Narrated by: Derrick Henry
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Although the mission school bans all that is Navajo, Ned secretly clings to his native language and culture. Proudly joining the U.S. Marines in 1943, he becomes a top-secret Navajo Code Talker. During bloody battles for Japanese islands, Ned and his brave band of code-talking brothers save thousands of lives using Navajo encryption the enemy never cracks.
-
-
Terrible audio
- By Amazon Customer on 02-13-18
By: Joseph Bruchac
-
Pet
- By: Akwaeke Emezi
- Narrated by: Christopher Myers
- Length: 5 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There are no monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. Jam and her best friend, Redemption, have grown up with this lesson all their life. But when Jam meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colors and claws, who emerges from one of her mother's paintings and a drop of Jam's blood, she must reconsider what she's been told. Pet has come to hunt a monster, and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption's house. Jam must fight not only to protect her best friend, but also to uncover the truth.
-
-
BLACKITY BLACK ASS BRILLIANCE
- By Jameelah Jones on 11-09-19
By: Akwaeke Emezi
-
In the Time of the Butterflies
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Noemi de la Puente, Alma Cuervo, Bianca Carnacho, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is November 25, 1960, and the bodies of three beautiful, convent-educated sisters have been found near their wrecked Jeep at the bottom of a 150-foot cliff on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. El Caribe, the official newspaper, reports their deaths as an accident. It does not mention that a fourth sister lives. Nor does it explain that the sisters were among the leading opponents of General Raphael Leonidas Trujillo's dictatorship.
-
-
Maybe it's just me but...
- By Sarah PK on 03-05-16
By: Julia Alvarez
-
Afterlife
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo
- Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Antonia Vega, the immigrant writer at the center of Afterlife, has had the rug pulled out from under her. She has just retired from the college where she taught English when her beloved husband, Sam, suddenly dies. And then more jolts: her bighearted but unstable sister disappears, and Antonia returns home one evening to find a pregnant, undocumented teenager on her doorstep.
-
-
Highly recommended
- By Louise on 04-29-20
By: Julia Alvarez
-
Return to Sender
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Ozzie Rodriguez, Olivia Preciado
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After Tyler's father is injured in a tractor accident, his family hires migrant Mexican workers to help save their Vermont farm from foreclosure. Tyler isn’ t sure what to make of these workers. Are they undocumented? And what about the three daughters, particularly Mari, the oldest, who is proud of her Mexican heritage but also increasingly connected her American life. Her family lives in constant fear of being discovered by the authorities and sent back to the poverty they left behind in Mexico. Can Tyler and Mari find a way to be friends despite their differences?
-
-
Great Book for preteens
- By Anonymous User on 02-10-18
By: Julia Alvarez
-
Dominicana
- By: Angie Cruz
- Narrated by: Coral Peña
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fifteen-year-old Ana Cancion never dreamed of moving to America, the way the girls she grew up with in the Dominican countryside did. But when Juan Ruiz proposes and promises to take her to New York City, she has to say yes. It doesn’t matter that he is twice her age, that there is no love between them. Their marriage is an opportunity for her entire close-knit family to eventually immigrate. So on New Year’s Day, 1965, Ana leaves behind everything she knows and becomes Ana Ruiz, a wife confined to a cold six-floor walk-up in Washington Heights.
-
-
Dominicans in literature
- By MARLENNE on 09-19-19
By: Angie Cruz
-
Code Talker
- A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two
- By: Joseph Bruchac
- Narrated by: Derrick Henry
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Although the mission school bans all that is Navajo, Ned secretly clings to his native language and culture. Proudly joining the U.S. Marines in 1943, he becomes a top-secret Navajo Code Talker. During bloody battles for Japanese islands, Ned and his brave band of code-talking brothers save thousands of lives using Navajo encryption the enemy never cracks.
-
-
Terrible audio
- By Amazon Customer on 02-13-18
By: Joseph Bruchac
-
Pet
- By: Akwaeke Emezi
- Narrated by: Christopher Myers
- Length: 5 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There are no monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. Jam and her best friend, Redemption, have grown up with this lesson all their life. But when Jam meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colors and claws, who emerges from one of her mother's paintings and a drop of Jam's blood, she must reconsider what she's been told. Pet has come to hunt a monster, and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption's house. Jam must fight not only to protect her best friend, but also to uncover the truth.
-
-
BLACKITY BLACK ASS BRILLIANCE
- By Jameelah Jones on 11-09-19
By: Akwaeke Emezi
-
Clap When You Land
- By: Elizabeth Acevedo
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Acevedo, Melania-Luisa Marte
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times best-selling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.
-
-
Narration
- By VB on 06-05-20
-
The House on Mango Street
- By: Sandra Cisneros
- Narrated by: Sandra Cisneros
- Length: 2 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous, The House on Mango Street tells the story of Esperanza Cordero, whose neighborhood is one of harsh realities and harsh beauty. Esperanza doesn't want to belong, not to her rundown neighborhood, and not to the low expectations the world has for her. Esperanza's story is that of a young girl coming into her power, and inventing for herself what she will become.
-
-
Spare yourself
- By Fred on 04-08-10
By: Sandra Cisneros
-
The Giver
- By: Lois Lowry
- Narrated by: Ron Rifkin
- Length: 4 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
December is the time of the annual Ceremony at which each twelve-year-old receives a life assignment determined by the Elders. Jonas watches his friend Fiona named Caretaker of the Old and his cheerful pal Asher labeled the Assistant Director of Recreation. But Jonas has been chosen for something special. When his selection leads him to an unnamed man, the man called only the Giver, he begins to sense the dark secrets that underlie the fragile perfection of his world.
-
-
This guy's mouth makes some serious noises...
- By Nikki Cole on 07-09-12
By: Lois Lowry
-
The Outsiders
- By: S. E. Hinton
- Narrated by: Jim Fyfe
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ponyboy can count on his brothers. And on his friends. But not on much else besides trouble with the Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids whose idea of a good time is beating up "greasers" like Ponyboy. At least he knows what to expect, until the night someone takes things too far.
-
-
The Outsiders
- By Carol on 01-25-06
By: S. E. Hinton
-
The Poet X
- By: Elizabeth Acevedo
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Acevedo
- Length: 3 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers - especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, whom her family can never know about.
-
-
Better
- By KSS on 01-09-19
-
The 57 Bus
- A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives
- By: Dashka Slater
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If it weren't for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middle-class foothills and attended a small private school. Richard, a black teen, lived in the crime-plagued flatlands and attended a large public one. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes. But, one afternoon, on the bus ride home from school, a single reckless act left Sasha severely burned.
-
-
An Unusual True-Crime Event...Beautifully Written.
- By Mary Burnight on 02-21-18
By: Dashka Slater
-
Look Both Ways
- By: Jason Reynolds
- Narrated by: Heather Alicia Simms, Chris Chalk, Bahni Turpin, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From National Book Award finalist and New York Times best-selling author Jason Reynolds comes a genre-defying new novel that serves as an homage to sharing the stories we all hold within ourselves.
-
-
We all have a point of view.
- By Schuhmacher22 on 02-12-20
By: Jason Reynolds
-
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
- By: Erika L. Sánchez
- Narrated by: Kyla Garcia
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents' house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family. But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga's role. Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed.
-
-
FOR LATINAS WHO ARE OFTEN TOLD THEY "SOUND WHITE"
- By Alex on 12-14-18
By: Erika L. Sánchez
-
The Night Diary
- By: Veera Hiranandani
- Narrated by: Priya Ayyar
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 1947, and India, newly independent of British rule, has been separated into two countries: Pakistan and India. The divide has created much tension between Hindus and Muslims, and hundreds of thousands are killed crossing borders. Half-Muslim, half-Hindu twelve-year-old Nisha doesn't know where she belongs or what her country is anymore. When Papa decides it's too dangerous to stay in what is now Pakistan, Nisha and her family become refugees and embark first by train but later on foot to reach her new home.
-
-
Captivating
- By Christy on 01-29-19
-
Shadowshaper (The Shadowshaper Cypher, Book 1)
- By: Daniel José Older
- Narrated by: Anika Noni Rose
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paint a mural. Start a battle. Change the world. Sierra Santiago planned an easy summer of making art and hanging out with her friends. But then a corpse crashes the first party of the season. Her strokeridden grandfather starts apologizing over and over. And when the murals in her neighborhood begin to weep real tears... Well, something more sinister than the usual Brooklyn ruckus is going on.
-
-
Fantasy with an Afro-Latinx heroine
- By AudioBookHoe on 07-18-17
-
This Is How You Lose Her
- By: Junot Díaz
- Narrated by: Junot Díaz
- Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The stories in This Is How You Lose Her, by turns hilarious and devastating, raucous and tender, lay bare the infinite longing and inevitable weaknesses of our all-too-human hearts. They capture the heat of new passion, the recklessness with which we betray what we most treasure, and the torture we go through - "the begging, the crawling over glass, the crying" - to try to mend what we've broken beyond repair. They recall the echoes that intimacy leaves behind, even where we thought we did not care.
-
-
Yes, he lost her. So deservedly.
- By McSue on 10-16-12
By: Junot Díaz
-
The Penderwicks
- A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy
- By: Jeanne Birdsall
- Narrated by: Susan Denaker
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This summer the Penderwick sisters have a wonderful surprise: a holiday on the grounds of a beautiful estate called Arundel. Soon they are busy discovering the summertime magic of Arundel's sprawling gardens, treasure-filled attic, tame rabbits, and the cook who makes the best gingerbread in Massachusetts. But the best discovery of all is Jeffrey Tifton, son of Arundel's owner, who quickly proves to be the perfect companion for their adventures.
-
-
Happy Accident
- By Neily on 01-14-13
By: Jeanne Birdsall
Critic reviews
"Alvarez proves as gifted at writing for adolescents as she is for adults. Here she brings her warmth, sensitivity and eye for detail to a volatile setting, the Dominican Republic of her childhood, during the 1960-1961 attempt to overthrow Trujillo's dictatorship....A stirring work of art." (Publishers Weekly)
"An involving book for adults as well as young adults....[Julia Alvarez] reads with emotion and clarity, and her warm Latin accent is a pleasure to listen to." (AudioFile)
Related to this topic
-
Return to Sender
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Ozzie Rodriguez, Olivia Preciado
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After Tyler's father is injured in a tractor accident, his family hires migrant Mexican workers to help save their Vermont farm from foreclosure. Tyler isn’ t sure what to make of these workers. Are they undocumented? And what about the three daughters, particularly Mari, the oldest, who is proud of her Mexican heritage but also increasingly connected her American life. Her family lives in constant fear of being discovered by the authorities and sent back to the poverty they left behind in Mexico. Can Tyler and Mari find a way to be friends despite their differences?
-
-
Great Book for preteens
- By Anonymous User on 02-10-18
By: Julia Alvarez
-
Boy, Snow, Bird
- By: Helen Oyeyemi
- Narrated by: Susan Bennett, Carra Patterson
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the winter of 1953, Boy Novak arrives by chance in a small town in Massachusetts, looking, she believes, for beauty - the opposite of the life she' s left behind in New York. She marries a local widower and becomes stepmother to his winsome daughter, Snow Whitman. A wicked stepmother is a creature Boy never imagined she' d become, but elements of the familiar tale of aesthetic obsession begin to play themselves out when the birth of Boy' s daughter, Bird, who is dark-skinned, exposes the Whitmans as light-skinned African Americans passing for white.
-
-
For Literary Lovers
- By M. Shipe on 04-25-14
By: Helen Oyeyemi
-
The Red Umbrella
- By: Christina Diaz Gonzalez
- Narrated by: Kyla Garcia
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1961, two years after the Communist revolution, Lucía Álvarez still leads a carefree life, dreaming of parties and her first crush. But when the soldiers come to her sleepy Cuban town, everything begins to change. Freedoms are stripped away. Neighbors disappear. And soon, Lucía's parents make the heart-wrenching decision to send her and her little brother to the United States - on their own. Suddenly plunked down in Nebraska with well-meaning strangers, Lucía struggles to adapt to a new country, a new language, a new way of life. But what of her old life?
-
-
The performance
- By Luca on 04-05-24
-
Homesick
- My Own Story
- By: Jean Fritz
- Narrated by: Jean Fritz
- Length: 4 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This heartwarming fictionalized autobiography tells the story of what it is like for a little girl to be growing up in an unfamiliar place. While other girls her age were enjoying childhood in America, Jean Fritz was in China in the midst of political unrest. During this time, foreigners were becoming more and more unpopular, and evacuation at a moment’s notice was imminent. Although Jean appreciated the beauty of China - the mountains, the countryside, the sea - she knew she belonged in America and longed to make her home there.
-
-
Great book!
- By R. SEVERSON on 10-19-18
By: Jean Fritz
-
The Dollhouse Murders
- By: Betty Ren Wright
- Narrated by: Carol Jordan Stewart
- Length: 3 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twelve-year-old Amy knows there's some connection between Aunt Claire's old dollhouse in her great-grandparents' attic and a deadly family secret from years ago. Aunt Claire seems upset about the dollhouse, which is a replica of the house they're in, but she's not talking.
-
-
Fun Listen!
- By keynotes on 10-04-10
By: Betty Ren Wright
-
Saints for All Occasions
- A Novel
- By: J. Courtney Sullivan
- Narrated by: Susan Denaker
- Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nora and Theresa Flynn are 21 and 17 when they leave their small village in Ireland and journey to America. Nora is the responsible sister; she's shy and serious and engaged to a man she isn't sure that she loves. Theresa is gregarious; she is thrilled by their new life in Boston and besotted with the fashionable dresses and dance halls on Dudley Street. But when Theresa ends up pregnant, Nora is forced to come up with a plan - a decision with repercussions they are both far too young to understand.
-
-
The narration ruined it
- By Janis Reynolds on 06-12-17
-
Return to Sender
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Ozzie Rodriguez, Olivia Preciado
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After Tyler's father is injured in a tractor accident, his family hires migrant Mexican workers to help save their Vermont farm from foreclosure. Tyler isn’ t sure what to make of these workers. Are they undocumented? And what about the three daughters, particularly Mari, the oldest, who is proud of her Mexican heritage but also increasingly connected her American life. Her family lives in constant fear of being discovered by the authorities and sent back to the poverty they left behind in Mexico. Can Tyler and Mari find a way to be friends despite their differences?
-
-
Great Book for preteens
- By Anonymous User on 02-10-18
By: Julia Alvarez
-
Boy, Snow, Bird
- By: Helen Oyeyemi
- Narrated by: Susan Bennett, Carra Patterson
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the winter of 1953, Boy Novak arrives by chance in a small town in Massachusetts, looking, she believes, for beauty - the opposite of the life she' s left behind in New York. She marries a local widower and becomes stepmother to his winsome daughter, Snow Whitman. A wicked stepmother is a creature Boy never imagined she' d become, but elements of the familiar tale of aesthetic obsession begin to play themselves out when the birth of Boy' s daughter, Bird, who is dark-skinned, exposes the Whitmans as light-skinned African Americans passing for white.
-
-
For Literary Lovers
- By M. Shipe on 04-25-14
By: Helen Oyeyemi
-
The Red Umbrella
- By: Christina Diaz Gonzalez
- Narrated by: Kyla Garcia
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1961, two years after the Communist revolution, Lucía Álvarez still leads a carefree life, dreaming of parties and her first crush. But when the soldiers come to her sleepy Cuban town, everything begins to change. Freedoms are stripped away. Neighbors disappear. And soon, Lucía's parents make the heart-wrenching decision to send her and her little brother to the United States - on their own. Suddenly plunked down in Nebraska with well-meaning strangers, Lucía struggles to adapt to a new country, a new language, a new way of life. But what of her old life?
-
-
The performance
- By Luca on 04-05-24
-
Homesick
- My Own Story
- By: Jean Fritz
- Narrated by: Jean Fritz
- Length: 4 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This heartwarming fictionalized autobiography tells the story of what it is like for a little girl to be growing up in an unfamiliar place. While other girls her age were enjoying childhood in America, Jean Fritz was in China in the midst of political unrest. During this time, foreigners were becoming more and more unpopular, and evacuation at a moment’s notice was imminent. Although Jean appreciated the beauty of China - the mountains, the countryside, the sea - she knew she belonged in America and longed to make her home there.
-
-
Great book!
- By R. SEVERSON on 10-19-18
By: Jean Fritz
-
The Dollhouse Murders
- By: Betty Ren Wright
- Narrated by: Carol Jordan Stewart
- Length: 3 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twelve-year-old Amy knows there's some connection between Aunt Claire's old dollhouse in her great-grandparents' attic and a deadly family secret from years ago. Aunt Claire seems upset about the dollhouse, which is a replica of the house they're in, but she's not talking.
-
-
Fun Listen!
- By keynotes on 10-04-10
By: Betty Ren Wright
-
Saints for All Occasions
- A Novel
- By: J. Courtney Sullivan
- Narrated by: Susan Denaker
- Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nora and Theresa Flynn are 21 and 17 when they leave their small village in Ireland and journey to America. Nora is the responsible sister; she's shy and serious and engaged to a man she isn't sure that she loves. Theresa is gregarious; she is thrilled by their new life in Boston and besotted with the fashionable dresses and dance halls on Dudley Street. But when Theresa ends up pregnant, Nora is forced to come up with a plan - a decision with repercussions they are both far too young to understand.
-
-
The narration ruined it
- By Janis Reynolds on 06-12-17
-
Vegas Rich
- Vegas, Book 1
- By: Fern Michaels
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 21 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With a heart full of dreams, Sallie Coleman leaves Texas and heads west determined to get as far from the squalor of her dirt poor beginnings. With its shifting sands, smoky saloons, and bingo palaces, Las Vegas seems like a paradise. A paradise where an extraordinary twist of fate makes Sallie the most powerful businesswoman in Nevada.
-
-
Get this booK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- By Amazon Customer on 09-26-10
By: Fern Michaels
-
Bewitching
- By: Alex Flinn
- Narrated by: Casey Holloway
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once, I put a curse on a beastly and arrogant high school boy. That one turned out all right. Others didn’t. I go to a new school now - one where no one knows that I should have graduated long ago. I’m not still here because I’m stupid; I just don’t age. You see, I’m immortal. And I pretty much know everything after hundreds of years - except for when to take my powers and butt out. Now a girl named Emma needs me. I probably shouldn’t get involved, but her gorgeous stepsister is conniving to the core.
-
-
Emma and Kendra
- By Elizabeth Gordon on 07-12-16
By: Alex Flinn
-
Walk Two Moons
- By: Sharon Creech
- Narrated by: Hope Davis
- Length: 5 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her own award-winning style, Sharon Creech intricately weaves together two tales, one funny, one bittersweet, to create a heartwarming, compelling, and utterly moving story of love, loss, and the complexity of human emotion.
-
-
Such a great story wonderfully told
- By Susan on 02-06-12
By: Sharon Creech
-
The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove
- A Novel
- By: Susan Gregg Gilmore
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bezellia Grove was born into the most prominent of Nashville families, but that didn’t stop her from having an alcoholic mother and a distant, adulterous father. Her nanny, Maizelle, and Nathaniel, the handyman, are the people who have taken care of her since she can remember. She considers them family, but her parents just consider them servants because they are Black. When Bezellia has a clandestine romance with Nathaniel's son, Whites and Blacks unite in fury at the young couple.
-
-
light southern fiction
- By suzanne on 02-08-13
-
The Daisy Children
- A Novel
- By: Sofia Grant
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Katie Garrett gets the news that she’s received an inheritance from the grandmother she hardly knew, it couldn’t have come at a better time. She flees Boston and travels to rural Texas. There, she’s greeted by her distant cousin Scarlett. Friendly and flamboyant, Scarlett couldn’t be more different from sensible Katie. And as they begin the task of sorting through their grandmother’s possessions, they discover letters and photographs that uncover the hidden truths about their shared history, and the long-forgotten tragedy of the New London school explosion of 1937 that binds them.
-
-
Multigenerational storyline lacked dignity
- By John F. Oldani, Jr. on 06-07-24
By: Sofia Grant
-
Finding Fish
- A Memoir
- By: Antwone Q. Fisher
- Narrated by: Thomas Penny
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Baby Boy Fisher was raised in institutions from the moment of his birth in prison to a single mother. He ultimately came to live with a foster family, where he endured near-constant verbal and physical abuse. In his midteens he escaped and enlisted in the navy, where he became a man of the world, raised by the family he created for himself. Finding Fish shows how, out of this unlikely mix of deprivation and hope, an artist was born.
-
-
This book will not disappoint you.
- By Joseph on 10-16-16
-
Bettyville
- By: George Hodgman
- Narrated by: Jeff Woodman
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When George Hodgman leaves Manhattan for his hometown of Paris, Missouri, he finds himself - an unlikely caretaker and near-lethal cook - in a head-on collision with his aging mother, Betty, a woman of wit and will. Will George lure her into assisted living? When hell freezes over. He can't bring himself to force her from the home both treasure - the place where his father's voice lingers, the scene of shared jokes, skirmishes, and, behind the dusty antiques, a rarely acknowledged conflict...
-
-
Title Should Be Georgeville-It's All About George
- By Sara on 10-08-15
By: George Hodgman
-
Charms for the Easy Life
- By: Kaye Gibbons
- Narrated by: Kate Fleming
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A family without men, the Birches live gloriously offbeat lives in the lush, green backwoods of North Carolina. Radiant, headstrong Sophia and her shy, brilliant daughter, Margaret, possess powerful charms to ward off loneliness, despair, and the human misery that often beats a path to their door. And they are protected by the eccentric wisdom and muscular love of the remarkable matriarch Charlie Kate, a solid, uncompromising, self-taught healer who treats everything from boils to broken bones to broken hearts.
-
-
So Lovely!
- By Doodle slave on 01-04-17
By: Kaye Gibbons
-
Nearly Normal
- Surviving the Wilderness, My Family and Myself
- By: Cea Sunrise Person
- Narrated by: Cea Sunrise Person
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her best-selling memoir North of Normal, Cea wrote with grace about her unconventional childhood - her early years living in a tipi in Alberta with her pot-smoking, free-loving counterculture family. But her struggles do not end when she leaves her family at the age of 13 to become a model. Honest and daring, Nearly Normal reveals the many ways that Cea's unconventional childhood continues to reverberate through the years.
-
-
This one is just not for me
- By Pamela Plimpton on 03-15-19
-
Treasure Box
- By: Orson Scott Card
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A shattering childhood tragedy left Quentin Fears devastated. But the wealthy, enigmatic recluse has experienced the extraordinarily unexpected: love at first sight, with Madeleine. Now he must meet his new wife's family. A bizarre, dysfunctional collection of extreme characters, they are guarding a secret both shocking and terrifying, as is Madeleine herself. And suddenly Quentin Fears must prevent his dream woman from unleashing an ageless malevolence intent on ruling the world.
-
-
OSC at his best!!!
- By KaHef on 01-13-07
By: Orson Scott Card
-
The Good Sister
- By: Wendy Corsi Staub
- Narrated by: Allyson Ryan
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In New York Times best-selling author Wendy Corsi Staub's electrifying new thriller, a mother races to save her daughter before her darkest nightmare comes true. Sacred Sisters Catholic girls' school has hardly changed since Jen Archer was a student. Jen hoped her older daughter would thrive here. Instead, shy and studious Carley becomes the target of vicious bullies. But the real danger at Sacred Sisters goes much deeper.
-
-
This was an okay book
- By Erica on 05-09-15
-
To See the Moon Again
- By: Jamie Langston Turner
- Narrated by: Eva Kaminsky
- Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first step to letting go of the past is forgiving it …Every day of her life Julia Rich lives with the memory of a horrible accident she caused long ago. In the years since, she has tried to hide her guilt in the quiet routine of teaching at a small South Carolina college, avoiding close relationships with family and would-be friends. But one day a phone call from Carmen, a niece she has never met, disrupts her carefully controlled world.
-
-
Beautiful Story of Forgiveness and Selfless Love
- By sharon on 09-20-14
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Return to Sender
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Ozzie Rodriguez, Olivia Preciado
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After Tyler's father is injured in a tractor accident, his family hires migrant Mexican workers to help save their Vermont farm from foreclosure. Tyler isn’ t sure what to make of these workers. Are they undocumented? And what about the three daughters, particularly Mari, the oldest, who is proud of her Mexican heritage but also increasingly connected her American life. Her family lives in constant fear of being discovered by the authorities and sent back to the poverty they left behind in Mexico. Can Tyler and Mari find a way to be friends despite their differences?
-
-
Great Book for preteens
- By Anonymous User on 02-10-18
By: Julia Alvarez
-
Afterlife
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo
- Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Antonia Vega, the immigrant writer at the center of Afterlife, has had the rug pulled out from under her. She has just retired from the college where she taught English when her beloved husband, Sam, suddenly dies. And then more jolts: her bighearted but unstable sister disappears, and Antonia returns home one evening to find a pregnant, undocumented teenager on her doorstep.
-
-
Highly recommended
- By Louise on 04-29-20
By: Julia Alvarez
-
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Blanca Camacho, Annie Henk, Annie Kozuch, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents captures the vivid lives of the Garcia sisters, four privileged and rebellious Dominican girls adapting to their new lives in America. In the 1960s, political tension forces the Garcia family away from Santo Domingo and toward the Bronx. The sisters all hit their strides in America, adapting and thriving despite cultural differences, language barriers, and prejudice.
-
-
I'm Latina and even I didn't like it
- By Anonymous User on 07-28-19
By: Julia Alvarez
-
In the Time of the Butterflies
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Noemi de la Puente, Alma Cuervo, Bianca Carnacho, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is November 25, 1960, and the bodies of three beautiful, convent-educated sisters have been found near their wrecked Jeep at the bottom of a 150-foot cliff on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. El Caribe, the official newspaper, reports their deaths as an accident. It does not mention that a fourth sister lives. Nor does it explain that the sisters were among the leading opponents of General Raphael Leonidas Trujillo's dictatorship.
-
-
Maybe it's just me but...
- By Sarah PK on 03-05-16
By: Julia Alvarez
-
Yo!
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo, Luis Moreno, Coral Pena
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Yolanda García—Yo, for short—is the literary one in the family. Her first published novel, in which she uses as characters practically everyone she knows, was a big success. Now she’s basking in the spotlight while those “characters” find their very recognizable selves dangling in that same blinding light. But turnabout is fair play, and so here, Yolanda García’s family and friends tell the truth about Yo.
By: Julia Alvarez
-
Finding Miracles
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Daphne Rubin-Vega
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Milly Kaufman is an ordinary American teenager living in Vermont, until she meets Pablo, a new student at her high school. His exotic accent, strange fashion sense, and intense interest in Milly force her to confront her identity as an adopted child from Pablo's native country. As their relationship grows, Milly decides to undertake a courageous journey to her homeland and along the way discovers the story of her birth is intertwined with the story of a country recovering from a brutal history.
-
-
A good exploration of adoption feelings...
- By R. Lopez on 11-30-04
By: Julia Alvarez
-
Return to Sender
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Ozzie Rodriguez, Olivia Preciado
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After Tyler's father is injured in a tractor accident, his family hires migrant Mexican workers to help save their Vermont farm from foreclosure. Tyler isn’ t sure what to make of these workers. Are they undocumented? And what about the three daughters, particularly Mari, the oldest, who is proud of her Mexican heritage but also increasingly connected her American life. Her family lives in constant fear of being discovered by the authorities and sent back to the poverty they left behind in Mexico. Can Tyler and Mari find a way to be friends despite their differences?
-
-
Great Book for preteens
- By Anonymous User on 02-10-18
By: Julia Alvarez
-
Afterlife
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo
- Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Antonia Vega, the immigrant writer at the center of Afterlife, has had the rug pulled out from under her. She has just retired from the college where she taught English when her beloved husband, Sam, suddenly dies. And then more jolts: her bighearted but unstable sister disappears, and Antonia returns home one evening to find a pregnant, undocumented teenager on her doorstep.
-
-
Highly recommended
- By Louise on 04-29-20
By: Julia Alvarez
-
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Blanca Camacho, Annie Henk, Annie Kozuch, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents captures the vivid lives of the Garcia sisters, four privileged and rebellious Dominican girls adapting to their new lives in America. In the 1960s, political tension forces the Garcia family away from Santo Domingo and toward the Bronx. The sisters all hit their strides in America, adapting and thriving despite cultural differences, language barriers, and prejudice.
-
-
I'm Latina and even I didn't like it
- By Anonymous User on 07-28-19
By: Julia Alvarez
-
In the Time of the Butterflies
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Noemi de la Puente, Alma Cuervo, Bianca Carnacho, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is November 25, 1960, and the bodies of three beautiful, convent-educated sisters have been found near their wrecked Jeep at the bottom of a 150-foot cliff on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. El Caribe, the official newspaper, reports their deaths as an accident. It does not mention that a fourth sister lives. Nor does it explain that the sisters were among the leading opponents of General Raphael Leonidas Trujillo's dictatorship.
-
-
Maybe it's just me but...
- By Sarah PK on 03-05-16
By: Julia Alvarez
-
Yo!
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo, Luis Moreno, Coral Pena
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Yolanda García—Yo, for short—is the literary one in the family. Her first published novel, in which she uses as characters practically everyone she knows, was a big success. Now she’s basking in the spotlight while those “characters” find their very recognizable selves dangling in that same blinding light. But turnabout is fair play, and so here, Yolanda García’s family and friends tell the truth about Yo.
By: Julia Alvarez
-
Finding Miracles
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Daphne Rubin-Vega
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Milly Kaufman is an ordinary American teenager living in Vermont, until she meets Pablo, a new student at her high school. His exotic accent, strange fashion sense, and intense interest in Milly force her to confront her identity as an adopted child from Pablo's native country. As their relationship grows, Milly decides to undertake a courageous journey to her homeland and along the way discovers the story of her birth is intertwined with the story of a country recovering from a brutal history.
-
-
A good exploration of adoption feelings...
- By R. Lopez on 11-30-04
By: Julia Alvarez
-
Antes de Ser Libres [Before We Were Free]
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Maria Siccardi
- Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the story of Anita de la Torre, a 12-year-old girl living in the Dominican Republic in 1960. Most of her relatives have immigrated to the United States, her Tio Toni has disappeared, Papi has been getting mysterious phone calls about butterflies, and someone named Mr. Smith and the secret police have started terrorizing her family. While Anita deals with this frightening series of events, she also struggles with her adolescence and her own personal fight to be free.
-
-
A great follow-up to En el Tiempo de las Mariposas
- By Suzy Fox on 09-24-12
By: Julia Alvarez
-
How Tia Lola Came to (Visit) Stay
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Michelle Gonzalez
- Length: 2 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A delightfully entertaining story of family and culture from acclaimed author Julia Alvarez. Moving to Vermont after his parents split, Miguel has plenty to worry about! Tía Lola, his quirky, carismática, and maybe magical aunt makes his life even more unpredictable when she arrives from the Dominican Republic to help out his Mami. Like her stories for adults, Julia Alvarez’s first middle-grade audiobook sparkles with magic as it illuminates a child’s experiences living in two cultures.
By: Julia Alvarez
-
The Cemetery of Untold Stories
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alma Cruz, the celebrated writer at the heart of The Cemetery of Untold Stories, doesn’t want to end up like her friend, a novelist who fought so long and hard to finish a book that it threatened her sanity. So when Alma inherits a small plot of land in the Dominican Republic, her homeland, she has the beautiful idea of turning it into a place to bury her untold stories—literally. She creates a graveyard for the manuscript drafts and revisions, and the characters whose lives she tried and failed to bring to life and who still haunt her.
-
-
Not good for audiobook
- By Dana on 06-17-24
By: Julia Alvarez
-
In the Name of Salome
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo, Coral Pena
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Camila Henríquez Ureña is about to retire from her longtime job teaching Spanish at Vassar College. Only now as she sorts through family papers does she begin to know the woman behind the legend of her mother, the revered Salomé Ureña, who died when Camila was three. In stark contrast to Salomé, who became the Dominican Republic's national poet at the age of seventeen, Camila has spent most of her life trying not to offend anybody. Her mother dedicated her life to educating young women to give them voice in their turbulent new nation.
-
-
Interesting story
- By Roseli on 03-02-24
By: Julia Alvarez
-
A Step from Heaven
- By: An Na
- Narrated by: Jina Oh
- Length: 4 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From master storyteller An Na comes the Printz Award-winning novel about a Korean girl who tells her firsthand account of trying to find her place and identity in America from the day she leaves Korea as a child to her rocky journey through the teenage years.
-
-
missing one chapter(Punishment)
- By Amazon Customer on 12-31-17
By: An Na
-
Saving the World
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Blanca Camacho
- Length: 16 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award with In the Time of Butterflies, author Julia Alvarez is a beloved voice in modern fiction and poetry. In Saving the World, she weaves the stories of two courageous women—separated by two centuries—into a breathtaking novel of love and idealism in an increasingly troubled world.
-
-
Split narrative never comes together -poor audio
- By Kenneth Powell on 05-06-24
By: Julia Alvarez
-
Once Upon a Quinceanera
- Coming of Age in the USA
- By: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Daphne Rubin-Vega
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The quinceañera, the 15th birthday celebration for a Latina girl, is quickly becoming an American event. This legendary party is a sight to behold: lavish ball gowns, extravagant catered meals, DJs, limousines, and multi-tiered cakes. The must haves for a "quince" are becoming as numerous and costly as a prom or wedding. And yet, this elaborate ritual also hearkens back to traditions from native countries and communities, offering young Latinas a chance to connect with their heritage.
-
-
Dont just exist - LIVE!
- By Reina on 04-02-21
By: Julia Alvarez
-
Red Scarf Girl
- A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution
- By: Ji-li Jiang
- Narrated by: Christina Moore
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twelve-year-old Ji-li Jiang has brains, friends, and a bright future. Then Mao Zedong launches China’s infamous Cultural Revolution. Soon school is suspended and students are getting caught up in the fervor of Mao’s extreme politics. When Ji-li’s family is accused of capitalist crimes, all of her beautiful dreams burst like soap bubbles. Because Ji-li’s grandfather was a landlord, her family is harassed and humiliated. Their home is searched, and they live in constant fear. Nonetheless, Ji-li remains loyal to her beloved Chairman Mao....
-
-
compelling story
- By Sharon on 10-02-15
By: Ji-li Jiang
-
Becoming Naomi Leon
- By: Pam Munoz Ryan
- Narrated by: Annie Kozuch
- Length: 4 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
I always thought that the biggest trial in my life was my name, Naomi Guadalupe Zamora Outlaw, but little did I know that it was the least of my problems, or that someday I would live up to it.
-
-
My class LOVES this book!
- By Terri on 09-21-16
By: Pam Munoz Ryan
-
Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna
- By: Alda P. Dobbs
- Narrated by: Kyla Garcia, Ana Osorio
- Length: 5 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1913, and 12-year-old Petra Luna’s mamá has died while the revolution rages in Mexico. Before her papá is dragged away by soldiers, Petra vows to him that she will care for the family she has left — her abuelita, her little sister, Amelia, and her baby brother, Luisito — until they can be reunited.
-
-
¡Me encanto!
- By Roxann Martinez on 01-11-23
By: Alda P. Dobbs
-
Clap When You Land
- By: Elizabeth Acevedo
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Acevedo, Melania-Luisa Marte
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times best-selling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.
-
-
Narration
- By VB on 06-05-20
-
Brown Girl Dreaming
- By: Jacqueline Woodson
- Narrated by: Jacqueline Woodson
- Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child's soul as she searches for her place in the world.
-
-
Memoir of a childhood, in verse.
- By Adam Shields on 02-18-19
What listeners say about Before We Were Free
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 08-17-20
Gracias!
I read it from beginning to end with out stopping. Julia Alvarez you're one of the best storytellers ever.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Keith E meyer
- 09-07-20
Amazing
Loved every second of the novel. Beautiful. The narration was top-notch and I truly fell in love with every character.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- QueenNay
- 12-02-22
Lovely book
I started reading this book at my local library, but never was able to find the name again until recently. I was so excited to see the audiobook available. I truly enjoyed this book and highly recommend.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Stacy
- 10-24-21
Humbling
To hear others stories is humbling to me. Humans can be cruel to people when we do not understand their story. This is a good, simple, story for all ages to develop compassion for another person.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 02-16-23
Before We We Free book by Julia Alvarez
Love the book! The audible reading i wish would be clearer for readers to read.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lily
- 01-08-18
Talented Author Left Much To Be Expected Narrating
Bad News First
Superb story conflicted with not-so-great narrating: characters were not made as lively as they could've, jokes didn't hit as well they should've, many a tender scene was made awkward by monotonous, almost forcibly hushed tone, inappropriate inflections disrupt a truly captivating buildup.
As far as the story itself, the line between historical context and fiction is very efficiently maneuvered. Interesting, well-developed characters endear themselves to the reader as events unfold throughout the story. Events do not simply happen around the characters; the reader is made aware very early on that no one is invincible in this world and that the reign in the character's country is no exception. This gives the reader hope: anything can happen. This also makes the reader consider the fate of every character: anything can happen.
As with any story, there are flaws to be found. This particular story possesses very few.
The reader is left with many questions at the end of the story; many of which can be answered with a great deal of speculation but are ultimately still just speculation.
Narration strengths would include the distinguishing of voices of various characters (which makes it much easier to follow conversations between multiple characters) and an unhurried pace that compliments many image-heavy scenes, allowing the listener to soak in every detail and even add to the scene themselves, in their mind's eye.
In summation: Ms. Alvarez created a beautiful story about war, the avoidance of such, and the key players involved in any conflict, all from the perspective of a child growing into a young woman.
However, this particular medium (audiobook) of communication of aforementioned beautiful story leaves much to be desired and/or imagined, in this case, at least.
Many thanks to anyone who took the time to read this lengthy backhanded compliment.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Reader5309
- 06-11-24
Compelling!
I enjoyed this story from start to finish! It weaves together the coming of age of the protagonist and the heartbreaking situation in her native country in an authentically tween-ager way. At moments lighthearted, and at others devastating, there are many stopping points for pause and reflection. I think this would be a fantastic book for middle schoolers, though more politically conservative regions of the U.S. may contest some of the mentions of puberty’s effects. However, to me, this makes it all the more powerful for young learners to see themselves centered in the story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Boston Shopper
- 02-23-21
Great story
Great story. Julia Alvarez is a wonderful writer and poet. No offense to Julia but I didn’t like narration. I stuck with it because it’s a good short story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
- Carmen Feliciano
- 10-24-21
Beautiful story
I loved it! What a heartbreaking yet beautiful story! The narrator kept me engaged! I especially liked Anita! What a smart , creative and courageous little girl.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Katherine Jaspon
- 02-01-23
Great story.
Very engaging. I read it with my daughter. Narrating is excellent. I would highly recommend.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!