In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

Summary:        In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez was a wonderful book that I would recommend all of our class to read on their own. It is about four sisters- Dede, Maria Theresa, Monerva, and Patria Maribel. The book begins with someone coming in to interview Dede, who is the only one of the sisters who is still alive (in 1994). The rest of the book is an earlier account of their lives told as if it was the 1940’s-50’s when the sisters were still alive. Each chapter is from the point of view of a different sister. It is very interesting because they are merely teenagers when they are writing- so it is extremely relatable and Maria Theresa’s chapters are in diary form at some points which makes it interesting. The women are all living in the Dominican Republic where they are under the rule of a terrible dictator- Trujillo. Maria Theresa and Minerva go away to boarding school and they hear the stories of other girls’ families and how Trujillo destroyed theirs. Trujillo will capture girls and use them as his mistresses, impregnate them, and then ship them away. Minerva was one of the girls whom was used by Trujillo. The book recounts their events that take place at the boarding school they attended, the universities they attended, and also shortly afterwards when they have children. The women are part of a revolution in which they are trying to go against the government. There are themes such as oppression, war, mistreatment, feminism, adultery and poverty. The girls have to deal with so much- Patria with a miscarriage, Minerva being used by several men and getting ridiculed for sneaking out to have meetings about revolting against Trujillo, Maria Theresa coping the most with the death of their father, and all of the girls had to deal with finding out that their father was having another life with a woman and four other children. The epilogue explains what happens to the other three sisters and it is extremely violent and heart-wrenching.

Teachability: I think this book would be more of an independent read. It was definitely an incredible book, but I think it was more for girls considering every main character is a woman. Also, I think it was pretty hard to get into. It did not become eventful until about page 50, and I think at a middle school age that is just way too long. However, I do believe the themes and what is going on in the Dominican Republic at this time is very important for the students to learn about. It could also be interesting to show the movie with Salma Hayak side by side and compare. So I think it depends on the teacher with this one! The vocabulary I would say is a tad tough for middle school as well, so I think this would be a great independent read to have available in the classroom.