More thoughts

Okay.
I was the only person in the class who initially did not respond well to this book, and though I am not completely finished with it, I must say that my opinion has improved. This is by no means my favorite book we have read for the class and I am less impressed by by her actual writing style than the other authors. However, needless to say, as I read more I got more into the stories, became less irritated with the characters, and found their story to be more relatable. I think that part of the reason why I was not initially into the book was because of the reverse chronological order in which it is written. I am not used to reading books in this order and for some reason, meeting these characters at the 'end' of the scope in which their lives are discussed left me a bit uninterested because I didn't find them very likable. As I read more though, I began to understand how they came to be as they are and the reasons behind their idiosyncrasies. They were very 'Americanized' in the beginning of the novel, and it was interesting to watch the psychology behind the progression of their assimilation into a new culture. With each chapter, I began to see them as more 'Dominican' which made me understand the elements in their lives that lead to their Americanization. This book was interesting to me because my roommate is a whitewashed Dominican who migrated to the U.S. at age nine. I have heard many tales of her assimilation process, and the difficulties she faced, which were surpisingly similar to the struggles of the Garcia Girls.