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sarahmcgurren13's review against another edition
2.0
Quick Synopsis: Alaine is a hilarious and angsty teenage girl with divorced parents. When her mom, a national news anchor, has a big oops on TV, she flees to her childhood home in Haiti to live with her sister. Meanwhile, Alaine gets suspended from school and gets sent to Haiti to complete a service project at her aunt’s company for punishment. In Haiti, Alaine discovers that her mother has some serious health issues which has her digging into the “family curse.” While she tries to work the counter curse and cure her mother, Alaine grows closer with her mother, learns her family history, and matures.
My Opinion:
My Opinion:
kal_self's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
ihateprozac's review against another edition
5.0
This story has two central themes: Alaine coping with her mother's diagnosis, while also falling in love with the motherland. Haiti feels like a character in and of itself, and Alaine is getting to know that character (both the good and bad parts!)
Alaine is one of my favourite YA protagonists I've read recently! She's feisty, voicey, and flawed. She displays so much character growth over the course of the story as she learns about her family, her heritage, and herself. Her relationship with her mother is difficult, and I'm always here for a YA that explores detached or workaholic mother relationships.
As someone who works in philanthropy, I was stoked to see all the discourse about privilege and poverty in Haiti, performative philanthropy, and how international aide can ruin an economy if not executed properly. There's also great conversation about colourism, colonialism, and whitewashing Haiti in the name of tourism.
I loved the mixed media format comprised of school assignments, diary entries, postcards, letters and emails. It added an urgency and vibrancy to the story, and I'm always interested to see how authors switch formats and respond to changing economies of dialogue.
I knew I would like this, but was unprepared for how much I would love it!I'm always here for stories of diaspora kids travelling to the motherland for the first time, and this was an exceptional example of that.
4.5 stars
Alaine is one of my favourite YA protagonists I've read recently! She's feisty, voicey, and flawed. She displays so much character growth over the course of the story as she learns about her family, her heritage, and herself. Her relationship with her mother is difficult, and I'm always here for a YA that explores detached or workaholic mother relationships.
As someone who works in philanthropy, I was stoked to see all the discourse about privilege and poverty in Haiti, performative philanthropy, and how international aide can ruin an economy if not executed properly. There's also great conversation about colourism, colonialism, and whitewashing Haiti in the name of tourism.
I loved the mixed media format comprised of school assignments, diary entries, postcards, letters and emails. It added an urgency and vibrancy to the story, and I'm always interested to see how authors switch formats and respond to changing economies of dialogue.
I knew I would like this, but was unprepared for how much I would love it!I'm always here for stories of diaspora kids travelling to the motherland for the first time, and this was an exceptional example of that.
4.5 stars
destheesquire's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
4.0
literary_lyette's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Abortion
thelilbookwitch's review against another edition
4.0
There was a lot of work put into this book, wholly voiced by the (sometimes) unreliable narrator and titular character: Alaine.
When a character is pitched as "smart" and "sassy" I tend to roll my eyes, but Alaine has intellect and razor-sharp wit in spades. This book required active reading as the story is told with traditional prose, email exchanges, post-cards, DMs, and other forms of communication that make it the closest thing to a YA Epistolary novel I've likely ever read.
Equal parts skeptical and trying to grapple with the unimaginable, Alaine's story feels a little disjointed at times, with meaningful moments that could be the jumping point for other novels cast aside to tell a different story with carefully laid connections and growth points.
While not melodramatically heavy, this book isn't light and I definitely think the appeal for it is with older high school readers who will be able to relate to Alaine on their on journeys into adulthood.
When a character is pitched as "smart" and "sassy" I tend to roll my eyes, but Alaine has intellect and razor-sharp wit in spades. This book required active reading as the story is told with traditional prose, email exchanges, post-cards, DMs, and other forms of communication that make it the closest thing to a YA Epistolary novel I've likely ever read.
Equal parts skeptical and trying to grapple with the unimaginable, Alaine's story feels a little disjointed at times, with meaningful moments that could be the jumping point for other novels cast aside to tell a different story with carefully laid connections and growth points.
While not melodramatically heavy, this book isn't light and I definitely think the appeal for it is with older high school readers who will be able to relate to Alaine on their on journeys into adulthood.
lovelykd's review against another edition
3.0
The cover drew me to the book--because the cover is GORGEOUS--but the story is good as well; that said, the multimedia format used within (via the inclusion of text exchanges, emails, letters, news reports, etc.) made it confusing to read in electronic form and often took away from what was, on its on, an important story about family connections being lost and found.
I wasn't particularly interested in the use of a family curse as the means through which Alaine attempts to reconnect with her estranged mother. It was convoluted and, at times, confusing;while I can understand why the Moulite sisters chose to use it as a plot device, it wasn't necessary and took away from Alaine's voice--which, to be honest, was the best part of the book.
Alaine is the only child of immigrant parents. Her mother is a famous journalist and her father is a well-respected therapist within the Miami community. Her parents are long-divorced but have found a way--or so they believe--to successfully co-parent their only child. However, after an embarrassing incident at Alaine's prep school puts her at-risk of derailing her academic career, they decide to send her to Haiti--hoping she'll get her act together and find some humility in the process.
The story is at its best when things are happening in real-time: Alaine's voice is refreshing, funny, and real. Her observations of the world, as well as those who inhabit her tiny section of it, are where this story shines most.
I only wish there had been more of that within these pages; so much time (too much in my opinion) is spent attempting to tell the story via use of other media/detailing the history of the aforementioned curse.
Alaine's voice is the star of this story but in giving it a backseat to the above elements--elements which, in many ways, made little sense and, ultimately, didn't feel as necessary--took away from my ability to truly enjoy the voice of this amazing character.
Perhaps that will be an issue with just me but it definitely influenced my decision to give it a lower rating than I otherwise might have.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and hope to see more work from the Moulite sisters.
Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced eGalley of Dear Haiti, Love Alaine. Opinions are my own and were not influenced by receipt of the author's work.
I wasn't particularly interested in the use of a family curse as the means through which Alaine attempts to reconnect with her estranged mother. It was convoluted and, at times, confusing;while I can understand why the Moulite sisters chose to use it as a plot device, it wasn't necessary and took away from Alaine's voice--which, to be honest, was the best part of the book.
Alaine is the only child of immigrant parents. Her mother is a famous journalist and her father is a well-respected therapist within the Miami community. Her parents are long-divorced but have found a way--or so they believe--to successfully co-parent their only child. However, after an embarrassing incident at Alaine's prep school puts her at-risk of derailing her academic career, they decide to send her to Haiti--hoping she'll get her act together and find some humility in the process.
The story is at its best when things are happening in real-time: Alaine's voice is refreshing, funny, and real. Her observations of the world, as well as those who inhabit her tiny section of it, are where this story shines most.
I only wish there had been more of that within these pages; so much time (too much in my opinion) is spent attempting to tell the story via use of other media/detailing the history of the aforementioned curse.
Alaine's voice is the star of this story but in giving it a backseat to the above elements--elements which, in many ways, made little sense and, ultimately, didn't feel as necessary--took away from my ability to truly enjoy the voice of this amazing character.
Perhaps that will be an issue with just me but it definitely influenced my decision to give it a lower rating than I otherwise might have.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and hope to see more work from the Moulite sisters.
Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced eGalley of Dear Haiti, Love Alaine. Opinions are my own and were not influenced by receipt of the author's work.
leasummer's review
3.0
3.5 stars - please seek out reviews by voices similar to the author.
This is very YA fiction. There’s a lot of things that I realized at the end didn’t get fleshed out. Was there a romance? Was it mystical? Or was it a story about a girl making waves at school, dealing with a parental illness and going to Haiti for the first time? Maybe all of that. It’s a fun adventure. The epistolary style is one I love. The tweets and some of the format of things were probably better set up for print readers. It’s a very right now book, a lot of slang and technology references. An enjoyable adventure with a girl in Haiti.
This is very YA fiction. There’s a lot of things that I realized at the end didn’t get fleshed out. Was there a romance? Was it mystical? Or was it a story about a girl making waves at school, dealing with a parental illness and going to Haiti for the first time? Maybe all of that. It’s a fun adventure. The epistolary style is one I love. The tweets and some of the format of things were probably better set up for print readers. It’s a very right now book, a lot of slang and technology references. An enjoyable adventure with a girl in Haiti.
scienceworks's review against another edition
emotional
tense
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? No
3.75
ceena's review against another edition
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
2.5 stars
DNF @ 20%
I went into this one, so excited. I like mixed media books and love how they can be done. I do like how this one incorporates texts, comments, blog posts, articles, and diary entries and I think mostly it was done well. I'd love to see how it is done in the finished copy.
The unfortunate thing is, I was bored reading this. While Alaine is a fun character and one I think many people will like, I needed more from the story by this point. Which is a weird thing to state since I can see where the story is going. At times it felt like the story was being bogged down with tons of information or that there were multiple lines the story was potentially going to take. I think the way it is put together also made it seem slow, which might be why I lost interest-- yet clearly the days are moving and things are happening, so I'm not entirely sure why I'm feeling the way I am.
So, at this point I have to call it quits with this novel-- it just isn't for me. BUT, it is one I do recommend and probably will recommend to people at the library. Like I said, Alaine is a fun character and perhaps the finished version will be easier to read, making it a more enjoyable experience. I also think people who like contemporaries and more character-driven plots will enjoy this one.
2.5 stars
DNF @ 20%
I went into this one, so excited. I like mixed media books and love how they can be done. I do like how this one incorporates texts, comments, blog posts, articles, and diary entries and I think mostly it was done well. I'd love to see how it is done in the finished copy.
The unfortunate thing is, I was bored reading this. While Alaine is a fun character and one I think many people will like, I needed more from the story by this point. Which is a weird thing to state since I can see where the story is going. At times it felt like the story was being bogged down with tons of information or that there were multiple lines the story was potentially going to take. I think the way it is put together also made it seem slow, which might be why I lost interest-- yet clearly the days are moving and things are happening, so I'm not entirely sure why I'm feeling the way I am.
So, at this point I have to call it quits with this novel-- it just isn't for me. BUT, it is one I do recommend and probably will recommend to people at the library. Like I said, Alaine is a fun character and perhaps the finished version will be easier to read, making it a more enjoyable experience. I also think people who like contemporaries and more character-driven plots will enjoy this one.