Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro

29 reviews

ecn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Generational trauma, healing, La Llorna, queer rep. This book is AMAZING and feels made for me. I was apprehensive at first since motherhood was a main theme but I am sooo glad I stuck with it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Religious bigotry, Racism, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Death of parent, Death, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Grief, Colonisation, Child death, Sexual violence, Body horror, Infidelity, Gore, and Genocide

caseythereader's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Blood, Colonisation, Death of parent, Abandonment, Self harm, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, and Death

Moderate: Rape

briboheme's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Suicide

tigger89's review

dark emotional mysterious 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

I picked this book up for the feminist horror, to watch a woman embrace her ancestors and fight a monster, but for me personally this fell somewhat flat. The monster wasn't particularly scary or unnerving to me, the action sequences felt lifeless, and I was irked by the fact that the book kept stopping to explain things rather than trusting the reader to have picked up on metaphors on their own. There were some things that Castro did really well, but with all the parts that were meh it felt like a merely okay read to me. But then I gave it to my mom to read, because I thought she might like some of the themes around women and the curandera while not being bothered by what I didn't like.

Well, she absolutely loved it. She agreed with me that it wasn't traditionally scary(except for one scene near the end involving a toilet, be warned), but that wasn't what she was reading it for. Apparently, this novel is the best depiction she's ever read of what it feels like to sacrifice your career, your social life, your preferences, everything that makes you you, in order to be a wife and mother. So what was a miss for me(unmarried, childfree) resonated extremely powerfully with her.

Something I did like was the emphasis on Alejandra's maternal ancestors, tracing the history of the haunting back through time. I thought that was very well-executed, and I was able to hold each of the women distinct in my mind. Apart from the fact that the book held my hand all the way through it, I enjoyed uncovering the mystery of La Llorona. I also appreciated that Alejandra was bisexual, not for any plot-related reason, just because she could be so why not? Always love that. There was also a very positive depiction of therapy-slash-spiritual-healing, and I appreciated reading a book where the protagonist realized early on that things were Not Okay and sought help, rather than stubbornly sticking it out on their own as their mental health collapses.

Ultimately, I think I'm going to split the difference between my mom's opinion and my own, giving this four stars overall.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Child death, and Pregnancy

Minor: Infidelity

poisoned_icecream's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Death of parent, Misogyny, Racism, Body horror, Child death, and Colonisation

Moderate: Miscarriage and War

gem114's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Child death, Suicide, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Infidelity, Gore, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, War, and Death of parent

Minor: Rape, Colonisation, and Car accident

edevoe8891's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Abandonment, Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Self harm, Child death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Misogyny, Colonisation, Miscarriage, and Medical trauma

simplyammee's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Colonisation, War, Abandonment, and Death

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Blood, Animal death, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Slavery

mfrisk's review

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious 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

4.5

This read is another highly rated read for me from V. Castro. I can understand why there are low ratings from folks who are expecting fast paced action packed horror. This is not that. This book is a character study of Alejandra and is a story about mental health, relationships, family history, and love (with a dash of creature feature/mythology). As we get into the story there are split perspectives which bring us deeper into the story and bring depth to Alejandra’s family tree. This is a slow burn horror with so much to say and I’m hopeful this book can find the people who will love it as much as I do. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, War, Murder, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Death of parent, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts

ticktock's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Rape, Suicide attempt, Grief, Colonisation, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts