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badmom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: War, Sexism, Grief, Police brutality, Classism, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Car accident, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Death, Infertility, Confinement, and Colonisation
deebee223's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Confinement, Police brutality, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Murder, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death, and Torture
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Animal death and Alcoholism
vereisnthere's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Police brutality, Sexism, Torture, Car accident, War, Sexual harassment, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Violence, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Fatphobia and Xenophobia
ocean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
Graphic: Grief, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Colonisation, Body shaming, Vomit, Dementia, Eating disorder, Genocide, and Kidnapping
star_wanderer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
Moderate: Death, War, Sexual content, Sexism, Racism, and Misogyny
Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Grief
thebakerbookworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This story follows the four Mirabal sisters in the Dominican Republic, during the Trujillo dictatorship. Known as "las mariposas" (the butterflies), the sisters took part in an underground plot to overthrow Trujillo and his government, and three of them were assassinated for their efforts. This book is a fictionalized narrative of their lives, from young teenagers to wives to mothers, and how they became involved with the revolution. We switch from the perspective of the surviving sister, Dede, recollecting these events in 1994, to the perspectives of Minerva, Patria, and Maria Teresa, in the 1950s and '60s.
I loved that we get a point of view from all the sisters—they each have such a distinct personality and I thought the author did a great job of portraying that. A lot of time passes over the course of the story, and their growth and development was also notable. I also really liked seeing each sister from the others' perspective—for instance, Maria Teresa would view Minerva a certain way and then we'd get Minerva's POV and learn her real motivations and doubts and fears. It was a good reminder that we never really know what a person is thinking or feeling, even the people we're close to.
The plot stays close to the sisters; we don't get a ton of big-picture information, but I kind of liked it that way. We only know what they know in the moment.
Reading this book, you know how the story ends. As with a lot of historical fiction about real people, you know what's coming. Yet I was still sobbing at the end. I have three sisters, and imagining losing all three of them in one act was brutal. Also, my mom was a young girl living in the DR during this time and she still remembers leaving the country via helicopter to come to the States for safety for a time. I liked learning more about the people who fought to make the DR a free country.
November 25 is now the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, in honor of the Mirabal sisters, and they honestly deserve more recognition.
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Car accident, Child death, Death of parent, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Torture
ha1yan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Miscarriage, Child death, Confinement, War, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Gun violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
kaela_arcuri's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Car accident, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Police brutality, Torture, Violence, and War
phoebe_phorreal's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I admit I related more to Patria and Dedé at first than Maria Teresa (Mate) and Minerva, but they all won me over by the end of this soul-baring novel of a suffering but brave and loving family, imperfect but still strongly devoted in its own way. There's a reason Mate's "I can write the saddest things tonight" is so memorable, and Alvarez captures each voice perfectly- Patria's unconventional faith; Minerva, strong and struggling; Dedé, exasperated but thoughtful; and Mate, soulful and poetic.
This is a novel devoted to freedom, written both as a call to reflection and to action, and it truly both breaks your heart and makes you smile. I cannot recommend it enough. Read it if you're interested in Dominican history, sure, but most importantly, read it to free somebody else, as Alvarez says when she quotes Toni Morrison, even if that may be a somebody you never meet.
Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Grief