Part 1: 1989-1972

Julia Alvarez's How the Garda Girls Lost Their Accents is a collection of stories that recounts experiences in the lives of four Dominican-American sisters-Carla, Sandra, Yolanda, and Sofia-and their parents. Alvarez divides the novel into three sections that she presents in reverse chronological order, beginning with a story from 1989 and ending with one from 1956. Collectively, the stories chronicle the difficulties each member of the family faces as he or she tries to adjust to life in America without losing a sense of tradition and heritage.

The first story, "Antojos," focuses on the third daughter, Yolanda, who returns after five years to the Dominican Republic, where she was born, to visit her aunts and cousins. When asked what she wants to do there, she says she has a craving-an anidja-for guavas. Ignoring her aunt's warning about bow dangerous it is for women traveling alone, Yolanda drives north...