A review by chrissied
Celestina's House by Clarissa Trinidad Gonzalez

adventurous challenging dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Celestina’s House is the story of Celestina adjusting to adulthood after a traumatizing incident from her teenage years and her journey in finding love and community. I found myself really rooting for her and wanted her to find those meaningful connections. 

Unfortunately few of the characters are well-rounded enough to really understand why they do what they do (Celestina included). Relationships come to an end abruptly and we see very little emotion, growth, or personality in the characters. 

The author has a very romantic way of writing which I found nice and the reason I give it 2 stars and not 1 (describing a letter delivered as the envelope’s journey, often switching to an observer’s thoughts, the way someone prepares food) but sometimes it can be hard to tell what is important and what is not. Often pronouns are used for long stretches in place of names which also makes it challenging to follow which characters are being referred to. 

The book’s synopsis and title no not do the book justice either as it implies that the house itself and the spiritual elements will play a much larger role in the story than the do. If you’re looking for a ghosty story this is not it. The spirits that reside in Celestina’s house are mentioned briefly every few chapters but the book would honestly be no different if it were omitted. 
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