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gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
3.5
Thank you to Black Tide Book Tours / Henry Roi PR for a digital copy to participate in the Book Tour. All opinions remain my own.
Part We Have Always Lived in the Castle, part The Haunting of Alejandra, Weep, Woman, Weep tells the account of Mercy as she grows up with the ever taunting presence of La Llorona in the shadows.
Hoping for a better life, one where she can feel genuine happiness and pride, Mercy strives to break the multigenerational chain of trauma and curses and consistently tries to out run the depths of a watery grave.
This was a solid story. I've really enjoyed learning more about the weeping woman legend through my reading over the last year and I particularly enjoyed that in Weep, Woman, Weep, Mercy had this sort of pure terror mold into an old nemesis mentality with the legend. It was a different dynamic to what I've read before, concerning the legend, and it felt inspiring to see her really push to avoid becoming a carbon copy of those who's will just wasn't quite strong enough to escape La Llorna's baptism. A not on the baptisms - I thought this was an interesting and unique way of merging the fantasy with reality and it was frightening how hollow these girls would come back after that encounter... were they really alive, were they scared so much that they completely changed, was society pressures just too much to push back against? I a left wondering.
I wasn't overally fond on the lack of distinct chapters, but the writing style did allow to be read more diary like/stream of consciousness, so it wasn't too jarring for me - I just prefer a more sturdy break point when figuring out where to pause my reading.
As usual, I'm a closure Queen, so I'm not the best with open endings, but I think this ending was... not sweet.. considering the specific scene we left on, but ... hopeful? Yeah, I'll go with that!
Part We Have Always Lived in the Castle, part The Haunting of Alejandra, Weep, Woman, Weep tells the account of Mercy as she grows up with the ever taunting presence of La Llorona in the shadows.
Hoping for a better life, one where she can feel genuine happiness and pride, Mercy strives to break the multigenerational chain of trauma and curses and consistently tries to out run the depths of a watery grave.
This was a solid story. I've really enjoyed learning more about the weeping woman legend through my reading over the last year and I particularly enjoyed that in Weep, Woman, Weep, Mercy had this sort of pure terror mold into an old nemesis mentality with the legend. It was a different dynamic to what I've read before, concerning the legend, and it felt inspiring to see her really push to avoid becoming a carbon copy of those who's will just wasn't quite strong enough to escape La Llorna's baptism. A not on the baptisms - I thought this was an interesting and unique way of merging the fantasy with reality and it was frightening how hollow these girls would come back after that encounter... were they really alive, were they scared so much that they completely changed, was society pressures just too much to push back against? I a left wondering.
I wasn't overally fond on the lack of distinct chapters, but the writing style did allow to be read more diary like/stream of consciousness, so it wasn't too jarring for me - I just prefer a more sturdy break point when figuring out where to pause my reading.
As usual, I'm a closure Queen, so I'm not the best with open endings, but I think this ending was... not sweet.. considering the specific scene we left on, but ... hopeful? Yeah, I'll go with that!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infertility, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Violence, Addiction, Confinement, and Cursing
mindsplinters's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-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
4.0
A gorgeous gothic-flavored modern fairy tale about generational trauma and finding yourself and learning how to heal yourself... and, sometimes, others. This book was a fast read and the conversational first-person tone of Mercy dragged you along with her, feeling as she did, seeing the world of her tiny insular town as she did. Somehow DeBlassie married the uncomplicated dialect of a mestizo woman who was not given educational growth opportunities with the feel of fairy tale language; at no point do the words feel like something Mercy wouldn't use but yet it still felt bigger than a simple tale in the way the best fairy tales do.
More than that, DeBlassie took the threads of La Llorona - a story well known to anyone along the US Mexican border and even to anyone who collects good ghost stories - and weaves them through the internal rot of the small town. Part of you will think La Llorona caused the abuse in the town, the smothering of the women and the degenercy of the men, but then you could be (might be, probably are) wrong and La Llorona just feeds on and encourages what is already there. The generational trauma that Mercy experiences and, tangentially, what she sees her best friend and other women suffer breaks the heart. To watch her fight it while not fully recognizing it as such is heartbreaking and uplifting all at once. For her, it is La Llorona and the curse. For us, we see the real world mirror of it.
This story grows full of hope and pulls you from despair towards the light with every discovery Mercy makes and you find yourself crossing all of your fingers for her even as you wait for the other shoe to drop... Because we all know how the past keeps its claws in you and how one moment of safety could let something through. As Mercy says in the most poignant of ways, "I realized that once you got used to living a certain way, you stopped trusting the good things that happened, even if you made it so."
We can't always save each other. We can't always undo another's cycle or heal their trauma. Sometimes we can only save ourselves and the bit of land we call home... and sometimes that is enough to give everyone a bit more hope.
More than that, DeBlassie took the threads of La Llorona - a story well known to anyone along the US Mexican border and even to anyone who collects good ghost stories - and weaves them through the internal rot of the small town. Part of you will think La Llorona caused the abuse in the town, the smothering of the women and the degenercy of the men, but then you could be (might be, probably are) wrong and La Llorona just feeds on and encourages what is already there. The generational trauma that Mercy experiences and, tangentially, what she sees her best friend and other women suffer breaks the heart. To watch her fight it while not fully recognizing it as such is heartbreaking and uplifting all at once. For her, it is La Llorona and the curse. For us, we see the real world mirror of it.
This story grows full of hope and pulls you from despair towards the light with every discovery Mercy makes and you find yourself crossing all of your fingers for her even as you wait for the other shoe to drop... Because we all know how the past keeps its claws in you and how one moment of safety could let something through. As Mercy says in the most poignant of ways, "I realized that once you got used to living a certain way, you stopped trusting the good things that happened, even if you made it so."
We can't always save each other. We can't always undo another's cycle or heal their trauma. Sometimes we can only save ourselves and the bit of land we call home... and sometimes that is enough to give everyone a bit more hope.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Animal death, Death of parent, and Violence
bookedbymadeline's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
Thank you to netgalley and books go social for the eARC of Weep Woman Weep by Maria DeBlassie!
I love haunted/ghost type stories so when I heard about Weep Woman Weep featuring La Llorona, I was so excited to read it! This was a quick read and had me pulled in right away. The characters were fantastic, especially seeing Mercy develop and grow over time. The writing was really well done with drawing me in and painting a vivid picture of the story!
The ending did feel a little bit rushed but it was a satisfying end to the story. I would’ve loved the book to be longer and see Mercy as a more dimensional character instead of the surface level we saw.
Overall a fantastic gothic/horror ghost story, which I very much enjoyed!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Racism, Colonisation, and Animal death
Moderate: Murder, Child death, and Infidelity
Minor: Alcoholism, Blood, and Sexual assault
horizonous's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, and Racism
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Self harm, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
◦ Death = Friend
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