A review by marleywrites
She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

dark emotional mysterious slow-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

5.0

Jade was the perfect narrator for this haunting novel. She was angry, she was scared, she was smart. Jade was also a normal eighteen year old- a little cocky, a little blunt. I loved every second. 

I found learning about Vietnamese culture through this story really engaging. I like reading stories about taking down nasty colonizers so I was really enjoying that aspect of the novel. I especially liked that the book did not provide translation for everything said in Vietnamese. I liked that it wasn’t handed to me, I had to pause and go Google it. I didn’t mind that, for me, it worked. It was unapologetic.

Florence was such an interesting character. I liked her sass and her brains and her scheming. I liked that she saw Jade and wanted to know her right from the start. She weaseled her way in there and did not back down when things got hard. 

I found the pacing of this book to be moderately slow, but I think it worked for the story. It sort of goes from a warm water to a rolling boil at a pace where you don’t even realize you’re being pulled in. I liked that when the ending hit, you’re like, “how did we get here??”.

The wealthy couple, Alma and Tommy, were really frustrating characters by design. I enjoyed their role in this book. 

I wish we could have seen Halle on page. I would have liked to know more about that relationship for Jade. I also wish we could have seen more on page, in person interactions with Jade’s mom. But I did enjoy getting to see them interact on FaceTime!

Overall, I loved reading this story and I think the author did a really wonderful job with this book. The horror elements were gross and captivating at the same time, and I look forward to more from this author! We also love to see an author using they/them pronouns! 💛
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