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

dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This book was almost impossible to put down. I tore through it, even though I rarely read horror and there was some disturbing stuff on the page. I really found Jade an instantly relatable character. While I, as a white woman, cannot directly relate to her experience as a Vietnamese-American teen who doesn't feel wholly at home in the US or in the country of her parents' birth, I can definitely remember being on the cusp of 18 and angry and at odds with my family. Jade's emotions feel so real and well-portrayed, giving me a lot of empathy for what it must be like to be in diaspora and have to deal with the legacy of issues like colonization and being the child of refugees.

This very complex human character serves to anchor a story that can otherwise feel a bit like a fever dream.

If you're not a big horror reader, make sure to check the content warnings to decide if this is a good book for dipping your toes into the genre!
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