#tbt: Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez

Before We were Free by Julia Alvarez is our #tbt feature. it was published in 2002 and won the Pura Bel Pré Award. It is 1960 and Anita de la Torre is about to turn twelve. She lives in a compound with her extended family in the Dominican Republic. Her life changes when a dictator comes to power. The Secret Police visit the compound. People start disappearing. Anita and her mother have to hide in a closet. Eventually, she and most of her family flee to the United States leaving her beloved uncle behind. This story has a bit of a slow start, but suspense builds as danger nears. 

Before We were Free by Julia Alvarez. 176 p. Random House Children's Books, August, 2002. 9780375915444.