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1brightrainbow 's review for:
Dear Haiti, Love Alaine
by Maritza Moulite, Maika Moulite
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