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melreadsandrecs's review against another edition
1.0
I'm sorry, but this was subjectively, to me, a really bad book. I found out not only poorly written but problematic. This review will be fairly brief but will contain spoilers.
Firstly, the characterization was very weak. Every character sounded and acted the exact same. The POV would change and I wouldn't even notice, since threw characters were just copied and pasted.
More importantly, the plot was extremely weak. Alejandra faces challenges, kind of. But every obstacle is unrealistically easy to solve. She finds her birth parents with ease, despite having been in a closed adoption. She finds and can afford a therapist within a matter of minutes, and of course the therapist has no wait list or screening needs. Of course her husband magically agrees to a very easy divorce despite everything we've been told about him being competitive and callous. Of course her therapist knows a soil analyst (which didn't even really make sense) Of course she gets released from the hospital after a suicide attempt with no issue, even though in real life a hospitalization like that costs thousands and usually ruins your life.
Which brings me to what I thought was problematic about the book: it absolutely failed at depicting the tenacity required to actually overcome post partum depression and the difficulties of motherhood. If everybody could just get into therapy within an hour, we wouldn't be losing mothers and children to suicide and infanticide the way we are. If therapists could do random house calls at the drop of a hat, we might not have police killings of people in mental health crises. And it is irresponsible to write a plot a suicide attempt be the solution to any problem.
Yeah the more I write, the less sorry I am for the low rating. Truly what the hell did I just read.
Firstly, the characterization was very weak. Every character sounded and acted the exact same. The POV would change and I wouldn't even notice, since threw characters were just copied and pasted.
More importantly, the plot was extremely weak. Alejandra faces challenges, kind of. But every obstacle is unrealistically easy to solve. She finds her birth parents with ease, despite having been in a closed adoption. She finds and can afford a therapist within a matter of minutes, and of course the therapist has no wait list or screening needs. Of course her husband magically agrees to a very easy divorce despite everything we've been told about him being competitive and callous. Of course her therapist knows a soil analyst (which didn't even really make sense) Of course she gets released from the hospital after a suicide attempt with no issue, even though in real life a hospitalization like that costs thousands and usually ruins your life.
Which brings me to what I thought was problematic about the book: it absolutely failed at depicting the tenacity required to actually overcome post partum depression and the difficulties of motherhood. If everybody could just get into therapy within an hour, we wouldn't be losing mothers and children to suicide and infanticide the way we are. If therapists could do random house calls at the drop of a hat, we might not have police killings of people in mental health crises. And it is irresponsible to write a plot a suicide attempt be the solution to any problem.
Yeah the more I write, the less sorry I am for the low rating. Truly what the hell did I just read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
bookiesncreme's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Moderate: Infidelity and Abortion
gotbookcitement's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This took me so long to read for being such a short book. I didn't really like it. It was a very depressing story about a woman who feels trapped in her marriage and by her children. Her maternal bloodline has a generational curse that makes them want to harm themselves and their children. There are triggers for suicide, depression, and postpartum depression.
The majority of this book was just inner monologue, which became boring pretty quickly.
Then it became a little self-helpy with her going to therapy.
The horror angle was interesting, but there wasn't enough of it. The encounters were so brief. I do think this author can write good horror, because the way the demon was described was disturbing!
Alejandra bored me as a character. She did have growth, but I just wasn't interested.
I also feel a little misled by the La Llorona angle.
I struggled with this. It was just very dull. I wanted more action instead of talking through everything.
Getting other characters in history POV's was interesting, but they were all miserable and depressed too.
It just wasn't for me.
The majority of this book was just inner monologue, which became boring pretty quickly.
Then it became a little self-helpy with her going to therapy.
The horror angle was interesting, but there wasn't enough of it. The encounters were so brief. I do think this author can write good horror, because the way the demon was described was disturbing!
Alejandra bored me as a character. She did have growth, but I just wasn't interested.
I also feel a little misled by the La Llorona angle.
I struggled with this. It was just very dull. I wanted more action instead of talking through everything.
Getting other characters in history POV's was interesting, but they were all miserable and depressed too.
It just wasn't for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Murder
alixprior's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexism, Suicide, and Violence
cam_holmes's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The Haunting of Alejandra was a fascinating exploration of depression, generational trauma, and finding oneself after years of being lost. However, I feel that the dialog was, at times, stiff, as if I was reading an informative website about therapy sessions. Also, without spoiling anything, I will say I did not like the final solution that the characters came up with. It felt antithetical to the themes of healing and self-love that the author had set up throughout the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, and Pregnancy
spookymartinireads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
rosie_valadez's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child death, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Minor: Infidelity, Miscarriage, and War
kimberlyyyreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Wow, I find myself at a loss of words.
The variety of personal subjects this book touched simply made me incredibly emotionally. As for someone, who feels and carries family generational trauma this book brought to light a view I didn't know I needed.
This book takes the Legenda de La Llorona and turns into a conversation about the struggles of motherhood and family. Alongside opening a field in which self-discovery is a possibility despite inner turmoil.
I am in awe as to how V. Castro wrote this story. Having Alejandra seek out help from a therapist
(who specializes in Curandera). Truly captures the importance of returning to your roots and healing intergenerational trauma.
I have much appreciation for the way this book, not only will it chill your bones but it is a tender book at its core.
I wholly recommend this book to all my latinx mutuals. Especially those, who struggle with intergenerational trauma. And even if you don't fit the description, READ IT!
The variety of personal subjects this book touched simply made me incredibly emotionally. As for someone, who feels and carries family generational trauma this book brought to light a view I didn't know I needed.
This book takes the Legenda de La Llorona and turns into a conversation about the struggles of motherhood and family. Alongside opening a field in which self-discovery is a possibility despite inner turmoil.
I am in awe as to how V. Castro wrote this story. Having Alejandra seek out help from a therapist
(who specializes in Curandera). Truly captures the importance of returning to your roots and healing intergenerational trauma.
I have much appreciation for the way this book, not only will it chill your bones but it is a tender book at its core.
I wholly recommend this book to all my latinx mutuals. Especially those, who struggle with intergenerational trauma. And even if you don't fit the description, READ IT!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Death, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual assault
ashleymcberger's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-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
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it for a buddy read. The beginning was a bit slower but still thrilling to read. This book deals with generational trauma in a beautiful way. It also has women supporting women which I love.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Abandonment
ashleyluvsyellow's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was such a great read about generational trauma and healing.
I would've given it 5 stars but I sometimes got pulled out of the book by the dialougue.
I felt like the characters sometimes re-told something that just happened a few pages beforehand and didn't feel like it needed to be said again.
It's still a great book and I would recommend for anyone who likes horror and demon stories.
I would've given it 5 stars but I sometimes got pulled out of the book by the dialougue.
I felt like the characters sometimes re-told something that just happened a few pages beforehand and didn't feel like it needed to be said again.
It's still a great book and I would recommend for anyone who likes horror and demon stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Suicide attempt