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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
I received an advanced reader copy from a Goodreads giveaway. Thank you, Goodreads!
The first word that came to mind when I was done was WOW. WOW. WOW. WOW. WOW. I was instantly hooked to Alaine's story from the moment that I began reading. I absolutely adore pretty much any book that is written in epistolary style, so before I knew it I was already deep into the story. This wonderfully written novel is genre-bending with elements of realistic young adult, magical realism, romance, thriller & suspense, crime fiction, and probably other genres that I did not include here. This book, simply put, is amazing. And, plus, it has a strikingly gorgeous cover.
As mentioned in the author's note, practically anyone can relate to one aspect in this book or another. The aspect that I related to the most was the way that early onset Alzheimer's took control of Celeste's mother. My grandmother developed full-blown Alzheimer's and succumbed to the disease in 2010. I was so young when the disease progressed that I did not get a fighting chance to know my grandma. Although this disease isn't rare, it seems to me that it is rarely mentioned and discussed in young adult literature. I think that Alzheimer's needs to be discussed more in young adult novels with factual information and new perspectives like Dear Haiti, Love Alaine provided - the readers of these novels (of all ages) could be surrounded by this disease in the future, and/or even could be the ones to discover remedies and cures for it in our lifetime! You never know.
There are HUGE opportunities here for sequels and even prequels to this book. I would read anything else that includes these multidimensional characters in it. I can see novels expanding on Celeste and Jules's love story highlighted by the beauty of their romance, underneath the gorgeous Haiti sunset. I can see Alaine & Jason's relationship becoming a novel - a long distance relationship that includes letters back and forth after Alaine's gap year? Or a book about Celeste's childhood and her rise to stardom as a journalist, as well as her challenges and accomplishments. I would love to read Celeste's perspective more in regards to her own individuality before she became a mother. The possibilities are endless! (Yes, the book is not even officially released yet and I'm suggesting ideas for a whole series. Yes, this book is THAT amazing.)
We need more books like this to represent a multitude of different cultures as well as to defy misleading stereotypes. I will be definitely recommending this book to my students, and I'm excited to read the next book by the authors - and hopefully, Maika and Maritza will expand on the ideas for more books in Alaine's world!
More Reviews on my Blog
The first word that came to mind when I was done was WOW. WOW. WOW. WOW. WOW. I was instantly hooked to Alaine's story from the moment that I began reading. I absolutely adore pretty much any book that is written in epistolary style, so before I knew it I was already deep into the story. This wonderfully written novel is genre-bending with elements of realistic young adult, magical realism, romance, thriller & suspense, crime fiction, and probably other genres that I did not include here. This book, simply put, is amazing. And, plus, it has a strikingly gorgeous cover.
As mentioned in the author's note, practically anyone can relate to one aspect in this book or another. The aspect that I related to the most was the way that early onset Alzheimer's took control of Celeste's mother. My grandmother developed full-blown Alzheimer's and succumbed to the disease in 2010. I was so young when the disease progressed that I did not get a fighting chance to know my grandma. Although this disease isn't rare, it seems to me that it is rarely mentioned and discussed in young adult literature. I think that Alzheimer's needs to be discussed more in young adult novels with factual information and new perspectives like Dear Haiti, Love Alaine provided - the readers of these novels (of all ages) could be surrounded by this disease in the future, and/or even could be the ones to discover remedies and cures for it in our lifetime! You never know.
There are HUGE opportunities here for sequels and even prequels to this book. I would read anything else that includes these multidimensional characters in it. I can see novels expanding on Celeste and Jules's love story highlighted by the beauty of their romance, underneath the gorgeous Haiti sunset. I can see Alaine & Jason's relationship becoming a novel - a long distance relationship that includes letters back and forth after Alaine's gap year? Or a book about Celeste's childhood and her rise to stardom as a journalist, as well as her challenges and accomplishments. I would love to read Celeste's perspective more in regards to her own individuality before she became a mother. The possibilities are endless! (Yes, the book is not even officially released yet and I'm suggesting ideas for a whole series. Yes, this book is THAT amazing.)
We need more books like this to represent a multitude of different cultures as well as to defy misleading stereotypes. I will be definitely recommending this book to my students, and I'm excited to read the next book by the authors - and hopefully, Maika and Maritza will expand on the ideas for more books in Alaine's world!
More Reviews on my Blog
Quick thoughts before the full review:
One of my favorite things to read in books is the relationships between mothers and daughters. At it's heart Dear Haiti, Love Alaine examines not only the bond between Alaine and her TV journalist mom Celeste, but the bond both of these women have to Haiti. Haiti is the motherland and both of these characters fill the role of daughter towards the country. It was very interesting to see the growth of both of these parallel journeys throughout the novel.
Alaine is hilarious and is a child of the digital age, so if internet talk isn't your thing you might not enjoy as much. I loved seeing her reference pop culture because it added depth to personality and essence as a character.
Also... this book deserves a mini series adaptation bc it would be hella good.... hbo where ya at
One of my favorite things to read in books is the relationships between mothers and daughters. At it's heart Dear Haiti, Love Alaine examines not only the bond between Alaine and her TV journalist mom Celeste, but the bond both of these women have to Haiti. Haiti is the motherland and both of these characters fill the role of daughter towards the country. It was very interesting to see the growth of both of these parallel journeys throughout the novel.
Alaine is hilarious and is a child of the digital age, so if internet talk isn't your thing you might not enjoy as much. I loved seeing her reference pop culture because it added depth to personality and essence as a character.
Also... this book deserves a mini series adaptation bc it would be hella good.... hbo where ya at
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to @netgalley for the e-galley of DEAR HAITI, LOVE ALAINE. I was able to read this book while in the Caribbean, which was extra special. I was intrigued by this book because a couple of years ago, I visited Labadee, Haiti on a cruise stop and what a beautiful place it was.
This was a cleverly formatted book with a great story that provided insight into a culture I wanted to learn more about, including some insight into the tourism industry (including specific to the beach where I went to two years ago!).
I loved Alaine's quirky narration style and her journey to learn more about Haiti and how her character grew as she spent time there, got to know relatives and family friends, and tried to solve the mystery of her parents' past. I loved the family dynamics that were explored. I would have liked a little more swoon in the romance, but that’s just me, and I realize that wasn’t the point of the book. The magical elements were creative and honestly my main complaint with this book was with the e-galley formatting which was very hard to follow (which obviously is nothing against the book itself, but rather something for Net Galley to be aware of).
This was a cleverly formatted book with a great story that provided insight into a culture I wanted to learn more about, including some insight into the tourism industry (including specific to the beach where I went to two years ago!).
I loved Alaine's quirky narration style and her journey to learn more about Haiti and how her character grew as she spent time there, got to know relatives and family friends, and tried to solve the mystery of her parents' past. I loved the family dynamics that were explored. I would have liked a little more swoon in the romance, but that’s just me, and I realize that wasn’t the point of the book. The magical elements were creative and honestly my main complaint with this book was with the e-galley formatting which was very hard to follow (which obviously is nothing against the book itself, but rather something for Net Galley to be aware of).
medium-paced
A wonderful book. It's amazing how much is covered - colonialism, slavery, racism, sexual assault, alzheimers, sexism, religion. And yet overall the book remained pretty light hearted to read. I think because of the tone set as reading through Alaine's diary and the inclusion of texts, emails, etc.
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
High school student Alaine gets in trouble at school so is sent to live with her aunt in Haiti where her mom is recuperating from an embarrassing and very public incident. Teenage angst, family drama, Haitian history, and a bit of magic come together for a fun & suspenseful story. A good read.
2.5 on the low end. A lot of potential, but I felt like I read three different books.
Set (mostly) in Haiti, this is a story about a girl learning more about her family, culture, and her country's history, and maybe a family curse. It is told through letters, emails, journal entries, blog posts, articles, and much more that tells of the lengths we would go to help someone we love.
Our MC Alaine is sarcastic and witty, and I really loved the humor she brought onto the page. Overall, this an enjoyable read, and I learned something about a new country and culture, which is always fun.
Oh, and the cover is adorable.
Our MC Alaine is sarcastic and witty, and I really loved the humor she brought onto the page. Overall, this an enjoyable read, and I learned something about a new country and culture, which is always fun.
Oh, and the cover is adorable.
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An unforgivable amount of what needs to be said among family always remains unspoken.”
Dear Haiti, Love Alaine was an interesting book. The cover is freakin' gorgeous and it's everything I want in a cover. Alaine was not my favourite MC character, I did not like her tbh. She seemed like a know-it-all, who had mommy issues. I did appreciate her smart sarcasticness because she was a brilliant girl. The daddy-daughter relationship was IT for me, love love love that. Alaine's Tati is a boss btch but sis its basically impossible to be an active CEO and an active minister of any ministry. I have people close to me in government (close to the system in Haiti w/ ministers etc) and it just no... It wouldn't work. This by far is my biggest complaint of the whole book.
The format of the Dear Haiti, Love Alaine was different and I can't say I loved it BUT I didn't hate it. The writing style was nice, considering it was two people blending themselves together (I also love how it was sisters, that makes me all warm inside). It was outside the realm of normal though. The plot, oh the plot. I wanted to be invested and everything but a curse? I would have enjoyed it more if the rest of the plot around the curse was interwoven into it better but it seems like the curse plot-line was a thing Alaine picked up and put down when it suited her throughout the book. The ending was not tight at all, I think it could have been done a WHOLE lot better. I'm not sure what the ending was supposed to be telling the reader... There were a lot of extra characters that took away from the story when it could have been a tighter unit with fewer characters.
The history was one of my favourite parts of the book! I was disappointed at how Alaine started out in regards to her personal history but I loved how she appreciated it by the end. (The family background history with Alaine, CHALL it was a lot). I enjoyed learning about Haitian history in general. Haiti gets really disrespected by just about everyone and I thought this book gave it a lot of dignity. I enjoyed seeing how the upper class in Haiti live because the image of Haiti portrayed is usually poverty and slums.