Anthologies#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Flash Fiction: 72 Very Short Stories |
1992 |
Buy |
| Mondo Barbie |
1993 |
Buy |
| Growing Up Female: Stories By Women Writers From the American Mosaic |
1993 |
Buy |
| Mirror, Mirror on the Wall |
1998 |
Buy |
| Women Writing Resistance: Essays on Latin America and the Caribbean |
2003 |
Buy |
| The Future Dictionary of America |
2004 |
Buy |
| Been There, Done That |
2015 |
Buy |
| Tales of Two Americas |
2017 |
Buy |
| Freeman’s Power |
2018 |
Buy |
Chapbooks#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| A Cafecito Story |
2001 |
Buy |
Collections#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Homecoming |
1984 |
Buy |
| The Woman I Kept to Myself |
2004 |
Buy |
| Resistencia |
2020 |
Buy |
| Makeshift Altar |
2024 |
Buy |
Mondo Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Mondo Barbie |
1993 |
Buy |
| Mondo Elvis |
1994 |
Buy |
| Mondo Marilyn |
1995 |
Buy |
| Mondo James Dean |
1996 |
Buy |
Non-Fiction#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Something to Declare |
1998 |
Buy |
| Once Upon a Quinceanera |
2007 |
Buy |
| A Wedding in Haiti |
2012 |
Buy |
Picture Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| A Gift of Gracias |
2005 |
Buy |
| Where Do They Go? |
2016 |
Buy |
| Already a Butterfly |
2020 |
Buy |
Standalone Novels#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents |
1991 |
Buy |
| In the Time of the Butterflies |
1994 |
Buy |
| Yo! |
1997 |
Buy |
| In the Name of Salome |
2000 |
Buy |
| The Secret Footprints |
2000 |
Buy |
| Before We Were Free |
2002 |
Buy |
| Finding Miracles |
2004 |
Buy |
| Saving the World |
2006 |
Buy |
| Return to Sender |
2009 |
Buy |
| Afterlife |
2020 |
Buy |
| The Cemetery of Untold Stories |
2024 |
Buy |
Tia Lola Stories Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| How Tia Lola Came to(Visit) Stay |
2001 |
Buy |
| How Tia Lola Learned to Teach |
2010 |
Buy |
| How Tia Lola Saved the Summer |
2011 |
Buy |
| How Tia Lola Ended Up Starting Over |
2011 |
Buy |
Julia Alvarez is a Dominican-American writer whose novels have brought the experience of Dominican immigrants and Dominican history to a wide American readership. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (1991) follows four sisters navigating two cultures after their family flees the Dominican Republic, and In the Time of the Butterflies (1994) dramatizes the true story of the Mirabal sisters who resisted the Trujillo dictatorship.
Alvarez has published across genres, including poetry, children’s books, essays, and novels. She received the National Medal of Arts from President Obama in 2013. Her more recent works like Afterlife (2020) and The Cemetery of Untold Stories (2024) continue to explore themes of identity, language, and the stories that connect us to our origins.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books has Julia Alvarez written?
Julia Alvarez has written 39 books across eight series.
What was Julia Alvarez's first book?
Julia Alvarez’s first book is Homecoming, published in 1984.
What are Julia Alvarez's most acclaimed novels?
Julia Alvarez’s most acclaimed works include How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (1991), about four sisters adapting to life in the United States after leaving the Dominican Republic, and In the Time of the Butterflies (1994), based on the true story of the Mirabal sisters who opposed the Trujillo dictatorship.