Before We Were Free

Written by Julia Alvarez. (Alfred A. Knopf, 2002).

The book cover of "Before We Were Free" by Julia Alvarez features the head and shoulders of a girl with her right arm alongside her head, looking through the screen of a window in a rundown stucco house. The Pura Belpré Award seal has been affixed to the lower left corner.

About

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Before We Were Free is an engrossing account of 12-year-old Anita's life amidst the fear that consumes her family. "This powerfully written story reflects the uncertainty and danger that pervaded the air during this time in the Dominican Republic's troubling history," said Award Committee Chair Rose Treviño.



Exquisitely written testimonial, sometimes in diary form, immerses readers in the details of life under dictator General Trujillo in the Dominican Republic during the political upheavals of the early 1960s. It is an engaging story of one girl's coming of age set against a backdrop of fear and secrets. Powerful and at times intense, this book will take readers on a frightening journey of fear and anguish that will cause them to pray for the rescue of Anita and her family.

Awards Won

Title Year
Belpré Medal image Pura Belpré Award

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The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.
 2004 - Winner(s)