Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez

Anita de la Torre never questioned her freedom living in the Dominican Republic. But by her twelfth birthday in 1960, most of her relatives have immigrated to the United States, her Tío Toni has disappeared without a trace, and the government’s secret police terrorize her remaining family because of their suspected opposition to Trujillo’s iron-fisted rule.
 
Using the strength and courage of her family, Anita must overcome her fears and fly to freedom, leaving all that she once knew behind.