#VelshiBannedBookClub: Julia Alvarez on 'How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents'

“How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents” tells the story of four sisters after they flee a sheltered life in the Dominican Republic for a new one in New York City. It is also partly the story of its author Julia Alvarez. “When you’re an immigrant, you're this hybrid person.” Part coming-of-age story and part historical fiction, “How the García Girls Lost Their Accents," explores themes of identity, assimilation, family, sexual assault and memory. And those themes have led to numerous calls for removal since the book’s publication in the early 1990s. “People are afraid of anything that is going to be disturbing, or I guess other than what they want in their bubble.”April 9, 2023