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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3 Stars
This is the story of Alaine, a Haitian girl with a big heart. She gets sent to Haiti from America after she has a disastrous school presentation. In Haiti, Alaine interns for her aunt’s charity company, where she gets wind of a family curse, and figures it must be responsible for the problems going on in her family. She also learns more about her past, and so she goes about to break the curse. There’s also, conveniently, another cute intern whom Alaine hits it off with. The book wasn’t bad, and Alaine was a good character with a lot of heart. However, the book was a little scattered and random. In my opinion, there were two major plotlines: fixing the curse and solving a random mystery about the charity, which we didn’t know was a mystery that had to be solved. The curse plotline was a little bizarre, and quite honestly dark, it didn’t quite fit the feel of the rest of the middle-grade-toned. Book. PG+, content was pretty okay except some swearing, but keep in mind there was mention of child molestation…
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Dementia
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Pregnancy
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.
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
https://cdnbookworm.blogspot.com/2021/04/dear-haiti-love-alaine.html
The characters were so rich and well developed I laughed, I felt sorrow, and surprise. The plot twists and I felt so seen and related to it so deeply. I absolutely love this book and of course Bahni Turpin as narrator. Add it to your favorites ! Magic, history, important conversations, and a main character with an enormous personality- it’s a black girl magic win win! I took my time to immerse myself fully in this book. So glad I did
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-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:
Yes
Meet Alaine. An only child of divorced parents, she lives in Miami with her dad and has a distant relationship with her famous political reporter mom, Celeste Beauparlant. When her mom slaps a senator on live TV and retreats to her family home in Haiti, Alaine must endure cruel teenage taunting at school. Never one to back down from a fight, Alaine's public and theatric retaliation gets her suspended and on a plane to Haiti for some character-building volunteer work. While there, she'll learn about family history and drama, including a curse that just might be behind an earth-shattering change in her mom's life.
The story is a cleverly crafted collage of diary entries, letters, tweets, emails, news stories, etc. Throughout, Alaine's forthright narration and snide attitude are the voice and soul of the book. While her quick wit brings the story its fun atmosphere, there are also heavy topics addressed with heart and careful reflection. It will pull on your heartstrings and make you laugh, sometimes within a single sentence.
The story manages to be both far-reaching and personal. Broad issues of race, class, and gender commingle with the individual problems surrounding messy family relationships. The characters are morally grey in a realistic way, paving the way for betrayals and reconciliations, misunderstandings and common purpose.
It's a lovely adventure with the added bonus of being an #ownvoices narrative written by two sisters, an inspiring feat of collaboration.
The story is a cleverly crafted collage of diary entries, letters, tweets, emails, news stories, etc. Throughout, Alaine's forthright narration and snide attitude are the voice and soul of the book. While her quick wit brings the story its fun atmosphere, there are also heavy topics addressed with heart and careful reflection. It will pull on your heartstrings and make you laugh, sometimes within a single sentence.
The story manages to be both far-reaching and personal. Broad issues of race, class, and gender commingle with the individual problems surrounding messy family relationships. The characters are morally grey in a realistic way, paving the way for betrayals and reconciliations, misunderstandings and common purpose.
It's a lovely adventure with the added bonus of being an #ownvoices narrative written by two sisters, an inspiring feat of collaboration.