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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
Beautifully written with engaging characters all around. Entries coming through journals, text conversations, emails, it really felt like going through these documents with Alaine.
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was an interesting read and it took me a bit to get used to the format. I felt that it did drag a bit and I had to really push myself to finish (I listened to the last 20% or so). I felt it tackled a lot of issues and some were rushed or glanced over because of this.
DNF @ 40%
So this wasn't bad at it, it's just the more I read the more I raelized that this wasn't the book I thought it was going to be be and I just started enjoying it less. And while I love mixed media book formats, the ARC for this one was jumpy and hard to read. But it was wonderful seeing a spotlight on Haiti and Haitian culture - and Alaine's love for her family both in Miami and in Haiti. So overall, not for me, but I'm positve many readers will enjoy Alaine's story.
I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
So this wasn't bad at it, it's just the more I read the more I raelized that this wasn't the book I thought it was going to be be and I just started enjoying it less.
Spoiler
I was not expected Alaine's mom to have Alzheimer's, and it almost felt out of place with everything else going on in the story.I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Lovely YA novel that packed in a lot of information about Ayiti (Haiti) and her vibrant culture. It tackled pretty serious topics like (early onset) Alzheimer’s, abuse voodoo but did it with humor and reverence! I enjoyed this book, and would recommend it!
There’s a lot going on in Dear Haiti, Love Alaine! There may be too much plot, going in different directions, almost to confusion for the reader. The story is told through diary entries, text messages, emails, news articles, and narration, which was too abrupt for me as a reader because there were so much plot happening. A flow, segue, or connection would’ve helped. With that being said I enjoyed the family relationships and the setting of Haiti. Having the story set in Haiti, along with some history, is much needed for a diverse novel.
Struggled to finish. I didn’t really connect with Alaine as much as usually like to, and don’t feel like she grew as a character, or really learned a lesson in Haiti. I got a little intrigued at the possible supernatural element, but that fell flat… I will say, the writing style was pretty interesting.
Three stars for DEAR HAITI, LOVE ALAINE, by by Maika and Malitza Moulite. This was a solid 4-star read for me until a certain something upsetting happened near the end that soured the whole thing. *Spoilers ahead!* For those who have read it, am I on my own here? Did the authors really need to kill off the nice peanut man in a dramatic boat accident? And how awful would it be for a teenager to carry that guilt with her for the rest of her life? The gravity of what happened did not seem to fit with the tone of the rest of the story, but let me back up.
DEAR HAITI, LOVE ALAINE is a young adult novel about Alaine, a Haitian-American high school student who is suspended from school after she makes an error in judgment during a presentation and a nearby kid with serious allergies has to use his epipen. Her parents send her on a forced "vacation" to Haiti to volunteer and spend time with her family. It is told in an epistolary collage style, presented in a group of e-mails, articles, and notes. The narrator, Alaine, is great - she is sassy and funny, and too sarcastic for her own good. The novel tackles a lot of tough stuff: Haitian history, voodoo, race, class, Alzheimer's, and the concept of fate versus free will. Honestly, it had a little too much going on. But, I did get to learn a bit more about Haiti and its history, which is why I read this. (I needed more after DANCE ON THE VOLCANO, which I read earlier this summer.)
I really enjoyed it until the end, which is a big old mess. There is a long-standing family curse that Alaine thinks has caused her mom's early onset Alzheimer's (really sad), so she tries to reverse it by performing a voodoo ritual...and it turns out that a man from a family her ancestor wanted to destroy (hundreds of years ago?) dies in exchange and as a direct result of Alaine's decisions. And then of course her mother still has Alzheimer's. In sum, I wasn't on board with the magical realism elements of the end of the story, but the powerful female characters are fantastic and I loved learning more about Haiti.
Format: Hardcover, borrowed from NYPL
Read for:
2020 POPSUGAR Summer Reading Challenge Prompt 4 - A book about a vacation (I originally had this in the sunglasses prompt, but then another book I want to read popped up for that!)
DEAR HAITI, LOVE ALAINE is a young adult novel about Alaine, a Haitian-American high school student who is suspended from school after she makes an error in judgment during a presentation and a nearby kid with serious allergies has to use his epipen. Her parents send her on a forced "vacation" to Haiti to volunteer and spend time with her family. It is told in an epistolary collage style, presented in a group of e-mails, articles, and notes. The narrator, Alaine, is great - she is sassy and funny, and too sarcastic for her own good. The novel tackles a lot of tough stuff: Haitian history, voodoo, race, class, Alzheimer's, and the concept of fate versus free will. Honestly, it had a little too much going on. But, I did get to learn a bit more about Haiti and its history, which is why I read this. (I needed more after DANCE ON THE VOLCANO, which I read earlier this summer.)
I really enjoyed it until the end, which is a big old mess. There is a long-standing family curse that Alaine thinks has caused her mom's early onset Alzheimer's (really sad), so she tries to reverse it by performing a voodoo ritual...and it turns out that a man from a family her ancestor wanted to destroy (hundreds of years ago?) dies in exchange and as a direct result of Alaine's decisions. And then of course her mother still has Alzheimer's. In sum, I wasn't on board with the magical realism elements of the end of the story, but the powerful female characters are fantastic and I loved learning more about Haiti.
Format: Hardcover, borrowed from NYPL
Read for:
2020 POPSUGAR Summer Reading Challenge Prompt 4 - A book about a vacation (I originally had this in the sunglasses prompt, but then another book I want to read popped up for that!)