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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed the story line and the character development in this book. My electronic copy had formatting issues and so sometimes I got confused with the letters. But overall, an entertaining read.
Dear Haiti, Love Alaine is the Moulite Sisters' love letter to their dear, dear Haiti and I am happy to hear it won’t be their last because I want more of this!
In Dear Haiti, Love Alaine we are introduced to Alaine, a 17 year old Haitian American living in Miami with her father while her mother works her high profile Television job in DC. Alaine is a confident young lady, she knows exactly what she wants for her future and is willing to work at it. She is sarcastic, funny and rumbustious- not your typical teenager but she is fine with that.
Alaine attends a private school in Miami where a lot of the attendees are very rich and privilege. During one of Alaine’s school project things went left and she is asked to take a leave of absence (not a suspension because you know the family donated to the school over the years so they are afforded this privilege). For her two months absence Alaine will visit live in Haiti and work at her Tati Estelle’s non-profit organization.
Alaine is not sold on living in Haiti but embraces the experience for what is it. She also gets to spend some time with her Mother who is recuperating after having a show down on national television. Alaine makes best use of her time trying to uncover and learn more about Haiti and the family curse she grew up hearing about. This curse will change Alaine in ways she is not prepared for…
First let me say, it is not every day I read a book written by Haitian sisters that flowed seamlessly. I thought it would going to be choppy but Maika and Maritza did a solid job in writing this book together. I loved the character of Alaine, she was believable, real, very interesting and laugh out loud funny at times. I also loved that the authors gave the main character emotional range while making it realistic. A solid job for character development.
I have always had a soft spot for Haiti. I think the World does not give Haiti and Haitians the respect they deserve for being the first free Republic in history and actually fighting for that freedom. With that said, I was so happy that majority of the book was set in Haiti, I learned so much about the culture, I even have a itinerary for when I do visit. I loved hearing about all the historical facts… yoew, Haiti is just so rich with history.
Overall I really enjoyed this book- why not a five star? I felt that the book could have been a bit shorter and tighter. I felt there were a lot of sub-plots and characters that didn’t add to the overall plot but took away from it. I felt the book could have been shortened by 50-80 pages had we focused mostly on Alaine and her core family. I also felt the ending fell apart a little.
Regardless, this is a great YA read, that’s packed with history and filled with a character that will keep you entertained! Truly it was a delight reading this!
What I learned reading this book
“Jean-Jacques Dessalines: Called for the massacre of Haiti’s white minority, which resulted in several thousand deaths. He became emperor of Haiti in 1804 and was assassinated in 1806. Fun fact: Haiti’s theme song (that is, national anthem), La Dessalinienne, is named after him.”
Dutty Boukman: A slave who was born in Jamaica who eventually became an early leader of the Haitian Revolution. On August 14, 1791, Boukman (along with a vodou priestess named Cécile Fatiman) led the religious ceremony at Bois Caïman that served as the catalyst for the Haitian Revolution.
In Dear Haiti, Love Alaine we are introduced to Alaine, a 17 year old Haitian American living in Miami with her father while her mother works her high profile Television job in DC. Alaine is a confident young lady, she knows exactly what she wants for her future and is willing to work at it. She is sarcastic, funny and rumbustious- not your typical teenager but she is fine with that.
Alaine attends a private school in Miami where a lot of the attendees are very rich and privilege. During one of Alaine’s school project things went left and she is asked to take a leave of absence (not a suspension because you know the family donated to the school over the years so they are afforded this privilege). For her two months absence Alaine will visit live in Haiti and work at her Tati Estelle’s non-profit organization.
Alaine is not sold on living in Haiti but embraces the experience for what is it. She also gets to spend some time with her Mother who is recuperating after having a show down on national television. Alaine makes best use of her time trying to uncover and learn more about Haiti and the family curse she grew up hearing about. This curse will change Alaine in ways she is not prepared for…
First let me say, it is not every day I read a book written by Haitian sisters that flowed seamlessly. I thought it would going to be choppy but Maika and Maritza did a solid job in writing this book together. I loved the character of Alaine, she was believable, real, very interesting and laugh out loud funny at times. I also loved that the authors gave the main character emotional range while making it realistic. A solid job for character development.
I have always had a soft spot for Haiti. I think the World does not give Haiti and Haitians the respect they deserve for being the first free Republic in history and actually fighting for that freedom. With that said, I was so happy that majority of the book was set in Haiti, I learned so much about the culture, I even have a itinerary for when I do visit. I loved hearing about all the historical facts… yoew, Haiti is just so rich with history.
Overall I really enjoyed this book- why not a five star? I felt that the book could have been a bit shorter and tighter. I felt there were a lot of sub-plots and characters that didn’t add to the overall plot but took away from it. I felt the book could have been shortened by 50-80 pages had we focused mostly on Alaine and her core family. I also felt the ending fell apart a little.
Regardless, this is a great YA read, that’s packed with history and filled with a character that will keep you entertained! Truly it was a delight reading this!
What I learned reading this book
“Jean-Jacques Dessalines: Called for the massacre of Haiti’s white minority, which resulted in several thousand deaths. He became emperor of Haiti in 1804 and was assassinated in 1806. Fun fact: Haiti’s theme song (that is, national anthem), La Dessalinienne, is named after him.”
Dutty Boukman: A slave who was born in Jamaica who eventually became an early leader of the Haitian Revolution. On August 14, 1791, Boukman (along with a vodou priestess named Cécile Fatiman) led the religious ceremony at Bois Caïman that served as the catalyst for the Haitian Revolution.
I really enjoyed the Moulites' new voice in this debut novel. Alaine's sassy nature and observational comedy heightened the story. Bahni Turpin brings Alaine's world alive with her narration, not only doing realistic French Haitian accents, but her easy conversational reading of Alaine's diary entries (I appreciate her saying "strike that" for the redacted thoughts) felt like I was listening to a friend recount her life adventures. There were times that Alaine's personality would border on the grandiose, giving it a tv movie quality (a la Disney Channel), and the ending started to take a weird turn, but the Moulites pulled it all back together for the finale.
About 30 pages in, I asked myself, "Am I going to be able to finish this?" Alaine Got. On. My. Last. Nerve. But after stepping away from it and going back it with a fresh set of eyes, I loved this book. Like, lovedddddddd it. Yes, Alaine and her extraness irked me , but I couldn't help but enjoy her as a narrator. I loved the email/text message/news article inserts, but I wish there weren't so many of them; it was hard to stay into the plot when it cut away to 3-4 pages of media every few pages. The whole curse plot... eh, I wasn't a fan of how it was wrapped up, but it kept me into it until the very end. And Jason? Usually, I'm all for the romance, but I genuinely forgot about him a couple of times.
Overall: This was a great book. Couple of missteps, maybe, but a great book nonetheless.
Spoiler
I still don't think she took the whole "I nearly killed a kid trying to get back at a mean girl and nearly got expelled/sued" situation seriously enoughOverall: This was a great book. Couple of missteps, maybe, but a great book nonetheless.
"Dea Haiti, Love Alaine" introduces political commentary into the YA field, a topic not often written about for our youths. What makes Moulite's storytelling different, however, is the immigrant experience Alaine and her family encounter in the eyes of the public. All while juggling the stresses of high school, Alaine also has to deal with the spotlight of her mother's knee-jerk reactions on national television.
I found the topic interesting, and the writing light and comical, but not a very believable storyline. Not many people have a news-anchor mother or the prep-school experience of Alaine, so I found her struggles harder to relate to for teens.
I loved this book! This book is about a young women (teenager) named Alaine who goes to Haiti. She is American- Haitian and her parents are from Haiti. She has to go to Haiti because something happens. But she ends up learning about the superstitions and family curses in her family. Alaine is a funny and witty character. I learned a lot about Haiti reading this book and I recommend this book definitely!
Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika and Maritza Moulite, follows Alaine a daughter of divorced immigrants from Haiti living in United States. When a project goes extremely wrong resulting in Alaine to be sent to Haiti for the first time in her life. Her time in Haiti allows her to meet family members she has never meet, learn about her family’s history and grows closer to her mother
What I loved about the read was learning the interesting facts and culture of Haiti as well as Alaine narrative voice. She had an amazing personality and humor that would make you smile and laugh through the read, it also allowed me to connect to her and understand why she is the way she is. I was also drawn to her complex relationship with her mother since her mother hasn’t always been in Alaine life when she needs her. But when a tragedy occurs involving her mothers health it was beautiful to see Alaine and her mother trying to reconnect and develop a better mother and daughter relationship. The information about what Alaine mother is going through was so intrigued to see and learn about
However, what I didn’t like about the read was there was way too many sides characters and multiple side plots that took place such as a potential romance, the family curse, embezzlement, family feuds etc. With the multiple plots happening and different characters coming in and out I felt it took away from the story. I wish it continued to focused more on Alaine's relationship with her parents especially mending her relationship with her mother and what her mother is going through throughout the read without the distraction of the other plots taking place
Overall, I did enjoy the read, thank you again to hccfrenzy for this beauty arc, 3.5/5 stars
What I loved about the read was learning the interesting facts and culture of Haiti as well as Alaine narrative voice. She had an amazing personality and humor that would make you smile and laugh through the read, it also allowed me to connect to her and understand why she is the way she is. I was also drawn to her complex relationship with her mother since her mother hasn’t always been in Alaine life when she needs her. But when a tragedy occurs involving her mothers health it was beautiful to see Alaine and her mother trying to reconnect and develop a better mother and daughter relationship. The information about what Alaine mother is going through was so intrigued to see and learn about
However, what I didn’t like about the read was there was way too many sides characters and multiple side plots that took place such as a potential romance, the family curse, embezzlement, family feuds etc. With the multiple plots happening and different characters coming in and out I felt it took away from the story. I wish it continued to focused more on Alaine's relationship with her parents especially mending her relationship with her mother and what her mother is going through throughout the read without the distraction of the other plots taking place
Overall, I did enjoy the read, thank you again to hccfrenzy for this beauty arc, 3.5/5 stars
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
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:
Complicated