Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro

29 reviews

readingwithcoffee's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, War, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

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

victoriarose12's review

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Death

Moderate: Abandonment, Violence, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Gore

alisacress's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore and Violence

Minor: Abandonment

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

lanternsjourney's review

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Miscarriage, Child death, Colonisation, Blood, Body horror, Abandonment, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm

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

katreadsmore's review

dark sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Self harm, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt