Order of Book Series
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Julia Alvarez Books in Order

Julia Alvarez has written 27 books, published between 1984 and 2026. The first book is Homecoming (1984) and the newest is Visitations (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
27
Published
1984–2026
Pages on record
4,537 in 20 of 27 books
Reading time
76–113 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,537 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 20 of 27 titles with a page count on record.

See all 27 books in order Printable Julia Alvarez checklist
Photo of Julia Alvarez, author of the Tia Lola Stories series

Julia Alvarez is an American poet, novelist and essayist whose work returns to Dominican American families, migration and grief. The novels How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (1991), In the Time of the Butterflies (1994) and Yo! (1997) brought her international readership. Homecoming (1984) opens her poetry, Something to Declare (1998) collects autobiographical essays, and the Tia Lola stories are written for younger readers. Twenty-seven books reach Visitations (2026).

How many Julia Alvarez books are there?

Julia Alvarez has 27 books, released between 1984 and 2026. 4 of them belong to the Tia Lola Stories series.

Julia Alvarez Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 27 Julia Alvarez books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Homecoming by Julia Alvarez (1984)
  2. Cover of How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez (1991)
  3. Cover of In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez (1994)
  4. Cover of Yo! by Julia Alvarez (1997)
  5. Cover of In the Name of Salome by Julia Alvarez (2000)
  6. Cover of A Cafecito Story by Julia Alvarez, book 1 of the Chap series (2001)
  7. Cover of How Tia Lola Came to(Visit) Stay by Julia Alvarez, book 1 of the Tia Lola Stories series (2001)
  8. Cover of Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez (2002)
  9. Cover of Finding Miracles by Julia Alvarez (2004)
  10. Cover of A Gift of Gracias by Julia Alvarez (2005)
  11. Cover of Saving the World by Julia Alvarez (2006)
  12. Cover of Once Upon a Quinceanera by Julia Alvarez (2007)
  13. Cover of Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez (2009)
  14. Cover of How Tia Lola Learned to Teach by Julia Alvarez, book 2 of the Tia Lola Stories series (2010)
  15. Cover of How Tia Lola Ended Up Starting Over by Julia Alvarez, book 4 of the Tia Lola Stories series (2011)
  16. Cover of A Wedding in Haiti by Julia Alvarez (2012)
  17. Cover of Already a Butterfly by Julia Alvarez (2020)
  18. Cover of Resistencia by Julia Alvarez (2020)
  19. Cover of Afterlife by Julia Alvarez (2020)
  20. Cover of The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez (2024)
  1. 1
    Homecoming1984 · 120 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984120
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents1991 · 311 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1991311
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    In the Time of the Butterflies1994 · 352 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1994352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Yo!1997 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1997320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Something to Declare1998 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    In the Name of Salome2000 · 357 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000357
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Secret Footprints2000 · confirmed 1/4
    2000–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    A Cafecito StoryChap #12001 · 72 pages · confirmed 1/4
    200172
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    How Tia Lola Came to(Visit) StayTia Lola Stories #12001 · 147 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2001147
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Before We Were Free2002 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Woman I Kept to Myself2004 · 176 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2004176
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Finding Miracles2004 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2004304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    A Gift of Gracias2005 · confirmed 1/4
    2005–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Saving the World2006 · 400 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2006400
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Once Upon a Quinceanera2007 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2007288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Return to Sender2009 · 336 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2009336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    How Tia Lola Learned to TeachTia Lola Stories #22010 · 134 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2010134
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    How Tia Lola Saved the SummerTia Lola Stories #32011 · confirmed 1/4
    2011–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    How Tia Lola Ended Up Starting OverTia Lola Stories #42011 · confirmed 1/4
    2011–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    A Wedding in Haiti2012 · confirmed 1/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Where Do They Go?2016 · 24 pages · confirmed 1/4
    201624
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Already a Butterfly2020 · 40 pages · confirmed 1/4
    202040
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Resistencia2020 · 260 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2020260
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Afterlife2020 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2020256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Makeshift Altar2024 · confirmed 1/4
    2024–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    The Cemetery of Untold Stories2024 · confirmed 1/4
    2024–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Visitations2026 · 112 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2026112
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Julia Alvarez books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Tia Lola Stories in order

4 books
  1. 1. How Tia Lola Came to(Visit) Stay
  2. 2. How Tia Lola Learned to Teach
  3. 3. How Tia Lola Saved the Summer
  4. 4. How Tia Lola Ended Up Starting Over

Chap in order

1 book
  1. 1. A Cafecito Story

Standalone books

22 books

22 Julia Alvarez titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Julia Alvarez books in order?

You only need to read Julia Alvarez books in order within the Tia Lola Stories series, which holds 4 of the 27 Julia Alvarez books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Julia Alvarez

Start with Homecoming (1984), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Julia Alvarez book?

Visitations (2026) is the newest Julia Alvarez book released so far.

Is there a new Julia Alvarez book coming?

No next Julia Alvarez book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Julia Alvarez has won

Wikidata records 5 awards for Julia Alvarez. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Belpré Medal2010Won
  • Américas Award2010Won
  • Belpré Medal2004Won
  • Américas Award2002Won
  • PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award1992Won

Julia Alvarez at a glance

Still publishing
Julia Alvarez published a book as recently as 2026.
Release pace
Julia Alvarez books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
4,537 pages across the 20 of 27 books with a recorded length, a median of 258 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Julia Alvarez books, 11 of 27, were published in the 2000s.

What the Julia Alvarez books are about

25 of the 27 Julia Alvarez books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: dominican americans is tagged on 9 of 25. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • Dominican Americans 9 of 25 books
  • American literature 5 of 25 books
  • Family life 5 of 25 books
  • Great-aunts 3 of 25 books
  • Children's fiction 3 of 25 books
  • Divorce 2 of 25 books
  • Grief 2 of 25 books
  • Illegal aliens 2 of 25 books
  • Poetry 2 of 25 books