Julia Alvarez has 12 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 17 narrators, with an average listener rating of 5★ across 20 ratings. The most-rated is In the Time of the Butterflies.
In the Time of the Butterflies
Summary
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. It doesn't have to. Everyone knows of Las Mariposas: "The Butterflies". Now, three decades later, Julia Alvarez, also a daughter of the Dominican Republic and long haunted by these sisters, immerses us in a tangled and dangerous moment in Hispanic Caribbean history to tell their story in the only way it can truly be understood: through fiction. In this brilliantly characterized novel, the voices of all four sisters - Minerva, Patria, Maria Teresa, and Dede - speak across the decades, to tell their own stories, from hair ribbons to gunrunning to prison torture, and to describe the everyday horrors of life under Trujillo's rule.
©1994 Julia Alvarez (P)2006 Recorded Books
Return to Sender
Summary
After Tyler's father is injured in a tractor accident, his family hires migrant 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? In a novel full of hope, but no easy answers, Julia Alvarez weaves a beautiful and timely story that will stay with readers long after they finish it.
©2010 Julia Alvarez (P)2010 Listening Library
Once Upon a Quinceanera
Summary
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. In Once Upon a Quinceañera, Julia Alvarez explores this celebration that brings a Latina girl into womanhood. She attends the quince of a young woman named "Monica" who lives in Queens, and witnesses the commotion, confusion, and potential for disaster that comes with planning this important event. Alvarez also weaves in interviews with other quince girls, her own memories of coming of age as an immigrant, and the history of the custom itself: how it originated and what has changed as Latinas become accustomed to a supersize American culture. Once Upon a Quinceañera is an enlightening, accessible, and entertaining portrait of contemporary Latino culture, as well as a critical look at the rituals of coming of age and the economic and social consequences of the quince parties. Julia Alvarez's dedicated fans will be eager to hear her thoughts on this topic. It is a great book for anyone interested in American youth today: parents, teachers, and teenagers themselves.
©2007 Julie Alvarez (P)2007 Penguin Audio, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc. and Books on Tape. All rights reserved.
Como las muchachas Garcia perdieron su acento
Summary
Abandonando la tensión política de la República Dominicana de los explosivos años 70, las cuatro hermanas García acompañadas de sus padres se autoexilian en el Bronx Neoyorquino, arribando a un ambiente totalmente desconocido y en extremo liberal para sus conservadores padres. La excelente narrativa de Julia Alvarez nos lleva de la mano por el recorrido de las dinámicas hermanas García, por caminos deliciosamente divertidos y también plagados de conflictos generacionales, donde las barreras del lenguaje y del prejuicio social se patentizan en el trayecto de unas rebeldes hermanas que han dejado atrás la vida privilegiada y conservadora en Santo Domingo y que harán todo lo posible para adaptarse a este nuevo país plagado de novedosas oportunidades. Alvarez nos deleita, narrando con una originalidad y ligereza sorprendente el cómo las García perdieron su acento, pero también ganaron una identidad que retrata al de muchas familias de inmigrantes que día a día luchan por tener un futuro en este gran país. Please note; This title is in Spanish.
©2007 Editorial Santillana (P)2008 Recorded Books
Before We Were Free
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.
©2002 Julia Alvarez (P)2004 Random House, Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of Random House Audio Publishing Group
Finding Miracles
Summary
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. Beautifully written by renowned author Julia Alvarez, Finding Miracles examines the emotional complexity of familial relationships and the miracles of everyday life.
©2004 Julia Alvarez (P)2004 Random House, Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group
![Cover art for El cuento del cafecito [The Story of Coffee]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51H59fTsHBL._SL500_.jpg)
El cuento del cafecito [The Story of Coffee]
Summary
Un audiolibro maravilloso que deja en nuestros labios el sabor del mejor café. «Una cosa he aprendido en la vida: solo un hombre o una mujer que plantan una semilla en la tierra o una historia en la mente de alguien o un libro en manos de otros, serán capaces de salvar el mundo.» Con lírica simplicidad, El cuento del cafecito es una historia de amor. De amor a la tierra, que, exhausta, ha dejado de devolvernos más de lo que le damos. De amor a la naturaleza, que, exhausta, tiene pocas ganas de sonreírnos. De amor a las palabras, que, exhaustas, que manipuladas, tergiversadas, heridas, han perdido significado. Y de amor al amor, que, al fin y al cabo, ¿no es el peso del mundo? Los mejores relatos para escuchar donde quieras. Please note: This audiobook is in Spanish.
©2002 Julia Álvarez (P)2018 Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial S.A.U.
![Cover art for Antes de Ser Libres [Before We Were Free]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51eQzt+2nEL._SL500_.jpg)
Antes de Ser Libres [Before We Were Free]
Summary
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 for their suspected opposition to the country's dictator. While Anita deals with this frightening series of events, she also struggles with her adolescence and her own personal fight to be free. Please note: This audiobook is in Spanish.
©2002 Julia Alvarez (P)2004 Random House, Inc.
Saving the World
Summary
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. A best-selling, Latin-American author living in Vermont, Alma stays behind when her husband travels to the Dominican Republic to help fight AIDS. She needs the time to work on her latest book, but she has terrible writer’s block. Soon, her focus is diverted to an entirely new story, that of the early 19th-century anti-smallpox expedition of Dr. Francisco Balmis. Accompanying Dr. Balmis was Doña Isabel, who cared for the orphan boys serving as living carriers of the smallpox vaccine. It is the narrative of the courageous Doña Isabel that provides hope and inspiration when Alma’s husband is taken captive. Mesmerizing and poetic, Saving the World is a visionary tale that raises profound questions about the world we live in—and whether or not it is beyond redemption.
©2006 Julia Alvarez (P)2006 Recorded Books, LLC
![Cover art for Devolver al Remitente [Return to Sender]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61ACUiHk-1L._SL500_.jpg)
Devolver al Remitente [Return to Sender]
Summary
After Tyler's father is injured in a tractor accident, his family is forced to hire 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? In a novel full of hope, but no easy answers, Julia Alvarez weaves a beautiful and timely story that will stay with readers long after they finish it. Please note: This title is in Spanish.
©2010 Olivia Preciado (P)2010 Listening Library
Afterlife
Summary
The first adult novel in almost 15 years by the internationally best-selling author of In the Time of the Butterflies and How the García Girls Lost Their Accents. 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. Antonia has always sought direction in the literature she loves - lines from her favorite authors play in her head like a soundtrack - but now she finds that the world demands more of her than words. Afterlife is a compact, nimble, and sharply droll novel. Set in this political moment of tribalism and distrust, it asks: What do we owe those in crisis in our families, including - maybe especially - members of our human family? How do we live in a broken world without losing faith in one another or ourselves? And how do we stay true to those glorious souls we have lost?
©2020 Julia Alvarez (P)2020 Recorded Books
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents
Summary
Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "simply wonderful", 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. But Mami and Papi are more traditional, and they have far more difficulty adjusting to their new country. Making matters worse, the girls, frequently embarrassed by their parents, find ways to rebel against them. A touching coming-of-age tale, this enthralling book perfectly illuminates the intergenerational struggles and multicultural clashes so common to the American immigrant family.
©1991 Julia Alvarez (P)2006 Recorded Books