As Julia Alvarez stepped up to give a talk about her first novel, based on her Dominican family's immigration to the United States, a Dominican girl in the audience turned to her friend and said, "What she got to say to us? She's a white girl." Nevertheless, by the time Alvarez finished her speech, the girls were laughing along with her. Alvarez, who related this story in Essence, may not appear to be a Dominican. She writes in English, not Spanish. In addition, she is an American citizen by birth. Yet, in her work, Alvarez has pulled together her Dominican roots and her experience as a young woman growing up in the United States to the delight of people of Latin American descent, other immigrants, and Americans of all backgrounds. Doing so with intellectual rigor and passion, Alvarez is not just considered to be one of the most...