Book Review #4

     The non-fiction book "Something to Declare" by Julia Alvarez is mainly about how the author is drastically affected by the fleeing dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. There was many serviles at her home so she came to a place where she knew she wouldnt have to worry about dictatorship, America. She had to be trained to speak english from spanish and watched many American shows to learn about the American life. Alvarez wrote this from her perspective to construe what she struggles she had as an immigrant to a citizen in New York City. The author has come to many genius qualities in her book. For example, one genius quality she has is sensitivity, always sensitive about herself compared to the Americans. In "Something to Declare", it states, "I grew insecure about Spanish. My native tongue was not quite as good as English, ..". This shows that she wasn't sure if her spanish was good enough in her new home. Alvarez knew she had to abide to the American laws which stopped her drinking problems. In addition, her demeanor revolves around her life since how she acts towards others matters most. Another genius quality she has is wonder. Alvarez is always wondering about the difference of her old home and her now home at New York. She finds new interests and new American hobbies from wondering and experiencing new things. This genius quality connects to another one she has in reality, vitality. She's always engaged in every activity so she can fit in and she  actually enjoys doing it. This autobiography was interesting and imparted me what kind of person the author really was, knowing the struggles she went through.