Reviews with content warning for Suicide - The Haunting of Alejandra

I struggled a little with how to rate this book. There were some really excellent parts, some parts that made me want to scream, and some parts that just felt a little lacking.

THE GOOD:
- I loved the interspersing of Alejandra's family and their history with La Llorona. Much of the family history and background was so interesting.
- Alejandra's finding her own voice and strength made me want to cheer.
- I really liked Melanie and her role the story.
- The writing overall was really good.

THE NOT-SO-GOOD:
-

Everything involving Matthew made me want to scream. He was completely one-note and one-dimensional, which I guess was part of Alejandra's depression and story, but man, I hated him a lot and I didn't think he needed to be that bad to make the point.

- I can say the same about Alejandra's upbringing and adopted family.
- The pacing was a little off throughout the book.

THE LACKING:
-

I didn't understand Flor's chapter. It was interesting, for sure, but didn't seem to fit at all with the rest of the family's story. It felt like a way to throw in a well-known figure in Mexican history without properly integrating him into the story.

Alejandra's sudden decision that she had to kill herself (or try to) in order to kill the creature and magically knowing what she had to do. That kinda came out of nowhere. See also the pacing issue above.

Similarly, as much as I loved Alejandra's own journey to finding her voice and her strength, it was definitely a little rushed, given how deeply buried she was.

The ghosts of her ancestors coming to help her kill the creature was underdeveloped and underwhelming.

- The hints of Alejandra's sexuality could have been better developed, I think.

The book as a whole was definitely uneven, but well-written and I think the strength of Castro's message overcomes a lot.

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amarieb's review against another edition

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challenging dark hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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briboheme's review

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dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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reneebraceysherman's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I just finished and LOVED The Haunting of Alejandra by V Castro. It’s a beautiful and eerie retelling of La Llorona through the eyes of Alejandra, a despondent suburban housewife who loves her children but longs for more. As she reconnects with her birth mother and her Mexican heritage, she finds that she’s not the only one in her family who has experienced a depression around lack of access to choices and the haunting of La Llorona. The story is told through women of several generations and is a rich story of reproductive choices and liberation accessible to the women in the bloodline.

There’s also an abortion consideration and what I would consider to be a mystical abortion in the story, so I’m categorizing it as an #AbortionBook.

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gem114's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I actively disliked the first 30% or so and thought about DNFing, but I’ve been in a reading slump and was committed to finishing this book.

I had a hard time sympathizing with Alejandra regarding her situation, despite the fact that I know the author meant for me to feel for her. I also don’t think she’s a healthy representation of mental health struggles, as she goes from rock bottom to an empowered woman ready to battle literal demons after only a month or so of therapy. I found myself more drawn to minor characters, like Melanie, Flor, and Francine. I enjoyed the lore of La Llorona and little details about Mexican culture.

I think I probably would have liked this book better if it had been edited down about 100 pages. The organization would have needed to be tighter, fewer loose ends regarding the ancestor characters, less repetitive descriptions of the creature, etc.

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lanternsjourney's review

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challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Haunting of Alejandra is not just another retelling of La Llorona. It is a beautiful and heartbreaking story about finding strength by listening to your inner voice. It's about intergenerational trauma that can only be healed with confrontation, learning, and acceptance. It's about how women have been suppressed by the patriarchy over the years and how they survived, or didn't survive, with all they endured. Encasing all of that is a spooky ghost story where we also meet a curandera, or a traditional Mexican healer. They only thing that could make this book better is a family tree in the front of it. I highly recommend giving this one a read!

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kayyyla's review

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dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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inky_cap's review

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challenging dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

V Castro is a master at her craft, exposing the deep wounds of generational trauma and showing how they fester. How generations of pain can meld demons that feast on its descendants, the only hope of exorcising the evil is by confronting it.

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