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Book Review By Meghan Wotring
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

Four beautiful girls were born on a farm in Oja de Agua, Dominican Republic. Their names were Patria, Dede, Minerva, and Maria Theresa. They also had another name and sworn duty to rid the Dominican Republic of it's dictator. Their code name was Las Mariposas, or the butterflies.This is their story.

All four girls soon go off to school for and education, where the revolutionary spark is ignited. Minerva is the first to embrace the idea of living in a free country. Her parents hush this idea up until the Discovery Day Dance. They get out of the fix, and her father dies after only a few days at home.

Now the girls are all grown up and Trujillo is becoming more and more obsessive. One by one the girls and their families joined the revolutionary group started by Minerva and her husband. They went through rough times like jail, and house arrest and no friends. They believed in their cause and didn't give up when things got rough.


Plot & Themes
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - 1930's-1950's
Political/social activism Yes
Plotlet:
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status:
Ethnicity/Nationality

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status:
Eccentric/Smart/Dumb: Yes
Eccentric:
How sensitive is this character?
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 7 ()
Island? Yes
Island: - Caribbean Islands
Farm/Ranch? Yes
Farm/Ranch: - ranch
Small town? Yes
Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee

Writing Style
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
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