A review by paulineerika
The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro

challenging dark emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

I struggled a little with how to rate this book. There were some really excellent parts, some parts that made me want to scream, and some parts that just felt a little lacking.

THE GOOD:
- I loved the interspersing of Alejandra's family and their history with La Llorona. Much of the family history and background was so interesting.
- Alejandra's finding her own voice and strength made me want to cheer. 
- I really liked Melanie and her role the story.
- The writing overall was really good.

THE NOT-SO-GOOD:
-
Everything involving Matthew made me want to scream. He was completely one-note and one-dimensional, which I guess was part of Alejandra's depression and story, but man, I hated him a lot and I didn't think he needed to be that bad to make the point.

- I can say the same about Alejandra's upbringing and adopted family.
- The pacing was a little off throughout the book.

THE LACKING:
-
I didn't understand Flor's chapter. It was interesting, for sure, but didn't seem to fit at all with the rest of the family's story. It felt like a way to throw in a well-known figure in Mexican history without properly integrating him into the story.

-
Alejandra's sudden decision that she had to kill herself (or try to) in order to kill the creature and magically knowing what she had to do. That kinda came out of nowhere. See also the pacing issue above.

-
Similarly, as much as I loved Alejandra's own journey to finding her voice and her strength, it was definitely a little rushed, given how deeply buried she was.

-
The ghosts of her ancestors coming to help her kill the creature was underdeveloped and underwhelming.

- The hints of Alejandra's sexuality could have been better developed, I think.

The book as a whole was definitely uneven, but well-written and I think the strength of Castro's message overcomes a lot. 
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