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thisbookbelongstosk 's review for:
Dear Haiti, Love Alaine
by Maritza Moulite, Maika Moulite
**Thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for this ARC of Dear Haiti, Love Alaine in exchange for an honest review**
With stories like this (second generation ex-pat visits the motherland), I want history, culture and a bit of adventure. This book gave me all of that and more.
A sassy teenaged protagonist, a beautiful and complex setting, family drama, rich history, political intrigue, generationally repressed trauma, a curse, and even a brief foray into romance; this book has a lot going on. In many ways, some of these elements seem unnecessary, but the authors are able to balance these themes in a way that flows and is easily readable, even if there were many plotlines that seemed to wander carelessly in and out of the narrative.
In this regard, some of the events that were brushed aside could have used a little more detail (especially near the end), but I still really enjoyed this book.
Most of my enjoyment comes from Alaine, our narrator. Her voice is young, relatable, and rarely serious, even when the moment calls for decorum. She is strong despite her insecurities, her determination to help her family is admirable. Her honesty and her humour are both a delight and relief throughout the book.
The magical realism was both interesting and frustrating to me; interesting for obvious reasons and frustrating as we never quite get a direct answer regarding the superstitious elements of this story. I'm not sure whether I liked certain ambiguities.
Also, the romantic storyline seemed to fall apart at the end. Granted, it wasn't the main focus of the book, but I'd have liked at least a little more closure on that piece.
I think this might be closer to a 3.5* book, but I'm bumping it up to 4*.
I have some complaints, but I flew through this book and really enjoyed my time in this story, even if it wasn't perfect.
Plus I always love the epistolary style of conveying the story through diary entries, letters, transcripts, emails, articles, etc., so bonus points for that!
With stories like this (second generation ex-pat visits the motherland), I want history, culture and a bit of adventure. This book gave me all of that and more.
A sassy teenaged protagonist, a beautiful and complex setting, family drama, rich history, political intrigue, generationally repressed trauma, a curse, and even a brief foray into romance; this book has a lot going on. In many ways, some of these elements seem unnecessary, but the authors are able to balance these themes in a way that flows and is easily readable, even if there were many plotlines that seemed to wander carelessly in and out of the narrative.
In this regard, some of the events that were brushed aside could have used a little more detail (especially near the end), but I still really enjoyed this book.
Most of my enjoyment comes from Alaine, our narrator. Her voice is young, relatable, and rarely serious, even when the moment calls for decorum. She is strong despite her insecurities, her determination to help her family is admirable. Her honesty and her humour are both a delight and relief throughout the book.
The magical realism was both interesting and frustrating to me; interesting for obvious reasons and frustrating as we never quite get a direct answer regarding the superstitious elements of this story. I'm not sure whether I liked certain ambiguities.
Also, the romantic storyline seemed to fall apart at the end. Granted, it wasn't the main focus of the book, but I'd have liked at least a little more closure on that piece.
I think this might be closer to a 3.5* book, but I'm bumping it up to 4*.
I have some complaints, but I flew through this book and really enjoyed my time in this story, even if it wasn't perfect.
Plus I always love the epistolary style of conveying the story through diary entries, letters, transcripts, emails, articles, etc., so bonus points for that!