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knod78's review against another edition
5.0
This completes Task 17: Read an own voices YA book with a Black main character that isn’t about Black pain, of Book Riot's Reader Harder Challenge.
I wasn't expecting this book to reach into my soul straight to all of the feels. The book synopsis for this book didn't do it justice, which I think makes this book special. To be honest, I actually didn't take to this book when I started it, because of the writing style. It is quite honestly all over the place. it's done in school project style entries, but also included letters, texts, newspaper articles, dream scenarios, etc. Again, all over the place.
But then the book took us to Haiti and I fell in love with the story. There were so many twists and turns and this book was not at ALL what I expected. I loved Alaine and her sarcasm; she reminds me of well me. I loved the food talk; I just wished they included more recipes. I felt for her mother and her dad. I felt for Alaine. And this book actually made me want to visit Haiti one day and I never thought that would be possible.
My only gripe would be that it was hard to focus with the writing style and I kind of wanted more information about the grandmother.
I so recommend this book and I can't wait to read more from this author.
I wasn't expecting this book to reach into my soul straight to all of the feels. The book synopsis for this book didn't do it justice, which I think makes this book special. To be honest, I actually didn't take to this book when I started it, because of the writing style. It is quite honestly all over the place. it's done in school project style entries, but also included letters, texts, newspaper articles, dream scenarios, etc. Again, all over the place.
But then the book took us to Haiti and I fell in love with the story. There were so many twists and turns and this book was not at ALL what I expected. I loved Alaine and her sarcasm; she reminds me of well me. I loved the food talk; I just wished they included more recipes. I felt for her mother and her dad. I felt for Alaine. And this book actually made me want to visit Haiti one day and I never thought that would be possible.
My only gripe would be that it was hard to focus with the writing style and I kind of wanted more information about the grandmother.
I so recommend this book and I can't wait to read more from this author.
marieintheraw's review
4.0
I loved the formatting and the voice our protagonist has even when the topics get hard.
jreading's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
aishb3's review
funny
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
s_piercenyback's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
bookishmadness's review
4.0
Absolutely adored this book. The history, the culture, the language, the creativity. Wish I could go back and read this again for the first time!
laflormorada's review
4.0
Dear Haiti, Love Alaine is written in multiple formats (emails, chats, essays, newspaper stories, diary entries, etc..) and is about a spirited, witty, whip smart Haitian-American girl named Alaine. Despite attending a prestigious Catholic school and living a fairly privileged life, she carries around some heavy emotional baggage. Most of this stems from the pretty much non-existent relationship she has with her super famous mother, but could it also be due to a longstanding family curse? When an "incident" at school gets her sent to Haiti for a semester immersion project, it's not for the vacation she's always wanted. While there, she learns about some dark family secrets, starts falling for an older intern and finds herself dabbling in Vodou. And that's only the beginning of the drama that is Alaine's life...
It took me about 70 pages in to get into this book, and I almost gave up. But then suddenly the pace picked up, the storyline got seriously interesting and I couldn't put it down. Then at the very end, a big event messed it up for me again and made the story a little too far fetched. BUT I still really, really enjoyed immersing myself in the middle part of this story while learning a little bit about the geography, culture and history of Haiti. Also I loved getting to know Alaine.
It took me about 70 pages in to get into this book, and I almost gave up. But then suddenly the pace picked up, the storyline got seriously interesting and I couldn't put it down. Then at the very end, a big event messed it up for me again and made the story a little too far fetched. BUT I still really, really enjoyed immersing myself in the middle part of this story while learning a little bit about the geography, culture and history of Haiti. Also I loved getting to know Alaine.