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Review: Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Magical Realism, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

Dear Haiti, Love Alaine
Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite
Inkyard Press
September 3, 2019

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About Dear Haiti, Love Alaine

Co-written by sisters Maika and Maritza Moulite, and told in epistolary style through letters, articles, emails, and diary entries, this exceptional debut novel captures a sparkling new voice and irrepressible heroine in a celebration of storytelling sure to thrill fans of Nicola Yoon, Ibi Zoboi and Jenna Evans Welch!

When a school presentation goes very wrong, Alaine Beauparlant finds herself suspended, shipped off to Haiti and writing the report of a lifetime…

You might ask the obvious question: What do I, a seventeen-year-old Haitian American from Miami with way too little life experience, have to say about anything?

Actually, a lot.

Thanks to “the incident” (don’t ask), I’m spending the next two months doing what my school is calling a “spring volunteer immersion project.” It’s definitely no vacation. I’m toiling away under the ever-watchful eyes of Tati Estelle at her new nonprofit. And my lean-in queen of a mother is even here to make sure I do things right. Or she might just be lying low to dodge the media sharks after a much more public incident of her own…and to hide a rather devastating secret.

All things considered, there are some pretty nice perks…like flirting with Tati’s distractingly cute intern, getting actual face time with my mom and experiencing Haiti for the first time. I’m even exploring my family’s history—which happens to be loaded with betrayals, superstitions and possibly even a family curse.

You know, typical drama. But it’s nothing I can’t handle.

My Review

For me, DEAR HAITI, LOVE ALAINE had two incredibly powerful parts: the first is the relationships between characters. The second is the description of Alaine’s time in Haiti.

Alaine has complex relationships with pretty much everyone. Haha. She’s a bit prickly and probably too smart for her own good, and that makes being close to her a complicated thing. She feels estranged from her mom, and that pain totally comes across in the story. The helplessness she feels and the frustration were heartbreaking.

On a lighter note, I love Alaine’s sense of humor (not going to lie– even the school project gone wrong made me laugh) and her quirky way of relating things. She made the story really fun to read.

The landscape of Haiti is beautifully described, but that isn’t even the whole of it. There’s really something magical in the way the Moulite sisters write about Haiti and what it’s like for Alaine to be there.

I guess the family curse surprised me a little bit in that I didn’t realize until maybe the second half of the book that the curse was going to be such a huge part of the story. It felt like a bit of a hard left turn to me, if that makes sense.

Still, I think the authors tied all the threads of the story together nicely, and stayed away from some of the predictable tropes. I enjoyed reading DEAR HAITI, LOVE ALAINE, and I think readers who enjoy books about narrators making a first visit to a homeland, like THE CAT KING OF HAVANA by Tom Crosshill would enjoy this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Most characters are Haitian. Much of the story takes place in Haiti.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Alaine’s family member believe her family is under a curse which can only be broken through some spiritual rituals.

Violent Content
A woman slaps a man.

Drug Content
A girl drinks a hallucinogenic drink as part of a ritual.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of DEAR HAITI, LOVE ALAINE in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara Rutherford

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Crown of Coral and Pearl
Mara Rutherford
Inkyard Press
Publishes August 27, 2019

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About Crown of Coral and Pearl

For generations, the princes of Ilara have married the most beautiful maidens from the ocean village of Varenia. But though every girl longs to be chosen as the next princess, the cost of becoming royalty is higher than any of them could ever imagine…

Nor once dreamed of seeing the wondrous wealth and beauty of Ilara, the kingdom that’s ruled her village for as long as anyone can remember. But when a childhood accident left her with a permanent scar, it became clear that her identical twin sister, Zadie, would likely be chosen to marry the Crown Prince—while Nor remained behind, unable to ever set foot on land.

Then Zadie is gravely injured, and Nor is sent to Ilara in her place. To Nor’s dismay, her future husband, Prince Ceren, is as forbidding and cold as his home—a castle carved into a mountain and devoid of sunlight. And as she grows closer to Ceren’s brother, the charming Prince Talin, Nor uncovers startling truths about a failing royal bloodline, a murdered queen… and a plot to destroy the home she was once so eager to leave.

In order to save her people, Nor must learn to negotiate the treacherous protocols of a court where lies reign and obsession rules. But discovering her own formidable strength may be the one move that costs her everything: the crown, Varenia and Zadie.

My Review

I liked Nor’s character straight from the beginning. Her protectiveness toward her family and her closeness with her sister make her an admirable character. Her spirit and thirst for adventure keep her at the center of her story as a heroine rather than the trade goods her people hope to make of her.

Besides Nor, other characters are pretty straightforward. The good guys are very good. The bad guys are very bad. I kept hoping for some hidden complexities, but that wasn’t really the direction the story took. I’m not sure I understood the plot. It felt out of focus to me. I felt like Nor’s goal gets overshadowed by other events, and fizzled a little bit as the story ended.

I found the clash of the two cultures– Nor’s oceanic people and Ceren’s mountain-dwelling people– really creative and interesting. Nor’s life at sea gave her a lot of freedom and vitality. Her new life in the mountain felt oppressive, dark, and creepy, even before all of the politics and people added complications. I thought the way CROWN OF CORAL AND PEARL clashed those two cultures added a lot of feeling to the story and was cleverly done.

On the whole, I felt like the story world was cleverly created and Nor is a fantastic character. I’m glad I read the book, even if I wanted more complexity in its other characters. Fans of SEA WITCH RISING will like CROWN OF CORAL AND PEARL for its cross-culture story and its emphasis on the unbreakable bond of sisterhood.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Nor and her sister have bronze skin and dark curly hair. The Ilarans are pale with blond hair.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Nor’s people worship the god of the sea, Thalos, who is said to have punished those who don’t submit to his will.

Violent Content
Assassins attack a small group. Nor battles a monster and faces torture. A woman jumps from a cliff. A woman hits a soldier over the head and stabs someone.

Drug Content
Nor is encouraged to drink alcohol to help her sleep.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of CROWN OF CORAL AND PEARL in exchange for my honest review.

Review: How We Became Wicked by Alexander Yates

Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

How We Became Wicked
Alexander Yates
Atheneum Books/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Published June 23, 2019

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A plague, called Wicked, is pulsing through the world; and in its wake, it’s dividing the population into thirds:

The WICKED: Already infected by the droves of Singers, the ultraviolet mosquito-like insects who carry the plague, the Wicked roam the world freely. They don’t want for much—only to maim and dismember you. But don’t worry: They always ask politely first.

The TRUE: The True live in contained, isolated communities. They’re the lucky ones; they found safety from the Singers. And while the threat of the Wicked may not be eliminated, for the True, the threat has certainly been contained…

The VEXED: The Vexed are the truly fortunate ones—they survived the sting of the Singers, leaving them immune. But they’re far from safe. The Vexed hold the key to a cure, and there are those who will do anything to get it.

My Review

This book is sooooo creepy! The Wicked say some really violent things but in this cheerful, artless, innocent way. The juxtaposition of those two things gave me chills in lots of scenes.

HOW WE BECAME WICKED is told in two different viewpoints, from characters in two different situations that don’t, at first, overlap. One section follows Astrid’s point-of-view.

Astrid isn’t a super girly heroine. She’s very smart and practical, and almost detached from her emotions. I liked her, but sometimes that detached feeling kind of kept me from feeling like I understood or empathized with her. Astrid is the town leader’s daughter. She’s got an Ariel complex– you know, wants to be part of someone else’s world. Mainly she wants to escape the walls of her town and go somewhere else, find other True survivors.

The other point-of-view is Natalie’s. She lives with her parents and Wicked grandfather on an island with a lighthouse, too far from the mainland to be a temptation for other Wicked. The only thing that keeps Natalie and her family safe from her grandfather is the fact that he’s imprisoned inside the lighthouse.

Natalie’s point-of-view was easier to connect with, for me. I liked her courage and her loyalty to her family as well as her quick thinking.

Despite the separate storylines, I found the plot of HOW WE BECAME WICKED to be really easy to follow (And mostly not too predictable. I did guess one major twist, but only shortly before it was revealed.) and nicely paced.

Because of the nature of the Wicked, the story does show some violence. I know I mentioned this already, but it’s very creepy the way they talk about and commit awful violence with this innocent childlike glee. They don’t understand what it is they’re doing, which is one of the things that makes them so dangerous.

If you liked THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH by Carrie Ryan, definitely check out HOW WE BECAME WICKED. (Also, if you like zombie or post-apocalyptic stories, go read THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH because it is awesome!)

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Main characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used not very frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
A brief, unwelcome kiss from a boy to a girl (he immediately apologizes for misinterpreting the situation). Some references to past intimacy between Astrid and Hank (the only two teens in their settlement).

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
The Wicked turn violent and talk about the violent things they want to do. They don’t seem to have any grid for the awfulness of what they’re saying. Wicked characters try to murder others using a wrench, guns, knives, a tank, and other items. There are some violent descriptions. They’re usually fairly brief, and more horrible because of the horror of the True witnesses and the Wicked’s inability to understand what they’re doing.

Drug Content
The town plans a celebration which includes drinking champagne.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of HOW WE BECAME WICKED in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Gamer’s Guide to Getting the Girl by Kristine Scarrow

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, Romance, , , , , , ,

The Gamer’s Guide to Getting the Girl
Kristine Scarrow
Dundurn Press
Published July 16, 2019

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Strategy is everything when it comes to gaming — and girls.

Zach is used to living in a world of legendary battles, epic journeys, and life-or-death situations. As a gamer, he is hard-wired for adventure, even though it’s from the comfort of his parents’ couch. But nothing has prepared him for battling the biggest storm in Saskatchewan’s history. 

On top of this, Zach has finally met the girl of his dreams, but he finds himself helping everyone else stay safe while his best friend spends time with her. What Zach doesn’t realize is that love always finds its way when you’ve found the right person and are ready to risk it all to save the day.

My Review

The concept of this book really struck me as fun– kids trapped in a mall during a storm, avid video gamer’s using gamer strategy to win at real life. I liked Zach’s character. He’s caring and genuine and a bit awkward.

I was a little disappointed that there weren’t more tie-ins to gaming throughout the book. Each chapter has a short title representing Zach’s strategy for the next scenes, but I didn’t really see much connection to gaming in those headings. It felt like a missed opportunity.

The tricky thing about the plot of THE GAMER’S GUIDE TO GETTING THE GIRL was always going to be keeping Zach an active hero rather than just a kid following some adults around who know what to do. For the most part, there was some balance there. Zach stepped in to help others who got hurt or overwhelmed. But he wasn’t usually the one calling the shots, so he did remain in some ways more of a passive character.

On the whole, GAMER’S GUIDE is a fun, clean book that younger teens or older elementary school-aged readers will enjoy for its friendship and adventure. Readers looking for more of a computer-focused story might like GENIUS by Leopoldo Gout.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 13.

Representation
Main characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kiss between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
One character prays several times through the story.

Violent Content
People rob a pharmacy and jewelry store while trapped in the mall. One man resists arrest by a mall officer. A tornado rips apart a section of the mall, sending shrapnel into a crowd.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of THE GAMER’S GUIDE TO GETTING THE GIRL in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

Sorcery of Thorns
Margaret Rogerson
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published June 4, 2019

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About SORCERY OF THORNS

All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery—magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.

Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them.

As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught—about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined.

My Review

Wow wow wow. SORCERY OF THORNS is one of those books you could eat with a spoon. The story world feels rich and totally immersive. I loved the library where Elisabeth grew up. A library full of books that are literally dangerous?! So cool.

Elisabeth makes for a truly compelling heroine, too. She’s smart, loyal, and clever. She cares very much about doing the right thing, even when her heart and her head war with each other over what that right thing is.

Okay, and this is very weird, but I loved the demon character, Silas. In SORCERY OF THORNS, demons are creatures from another dimension who wield great power. Elisabeth has been taught that demons are evil, untrustworthy creatures, and yet she begins to suspect that Silas cares for Nathaniel and protects him, which should be impossible. I loved watching her hunch play out, and waiting to see if she’d be proved right, and to what extent. Also, OMG the end of this book! I have so much love for the ending.

Thinking about Nathaniel, I’m kind of burned out on the bad-boy-you-shouldn’t-love-because-he-isn’t-capable-of-returning-your-affection kind of thing lately, so I feel like Nathaniel had a pretty high hill to climb with me in terms of whether I’d actually like him. And honestly, by about the middle of the story, I really started to like him a lot. By the end, I was a true fan.

I haven’t read Margaret Rogerson’s first book, but you can read Gabrielle’s review. And after reading SORCERY OF THORNS, I absolutely have to get my hands on a copy of ENCHANTMENT OF RAVENS. If you liked the Thickety series by J. A. White or The Great Library series by Rachel Caine, you definitely want a copy of SORCERY OF THORNS in your hands as soon as possible.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Nathaniel briefly mentions that he is attracted to both men and women.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. At one point it seems like the kissing will go further but the couple is interrupted.

Spiritual Content
Sorcerers have the ability to summon demons (here seen as powerful monsters from another dimension). They bargain for the service of a demon, but receive no guarantee that the demon won’t double-cross them in some way to get their payment early.

Grimoires, books of magic spells, can transform into monsters if not stored properly. Even in their book form, they seem alive.

One character is a demon summoned to service by Nathaniel.

Violent Content
Lots of battle scenes in which characters face monsters and mortal peril.

Drug Content 
A few scenes show social drinking as would be appropriate for the culture.

Note: I received a free copy of SORCERY OF THORNS by Margaret Rogerson in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links which cost you nothing but which help support this blog.

Review: Romanov by Nadine Brandes

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Historical, Magical Realism, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

Romanov
Nadine Brandes
Thomas Nelson
Available May 7, 2019

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About ROMANOV

The history books say I died.

They don’t know the half of it.

Anastasia “Nastya” Romanov was given a single mission: to smuggle an ancient spell into her suitcase on her way to exile in Siberia. It might be her family’s only salvation. But the leader of the Bolshevik army is after them… and he’s hunted Romanov before.

Nastya’s only chances of survival are to either release the spell, and deal with the consequences, or enlist help from Zash, the handsome soldier who doesn’t act like the average Bolshevik. Nastya’s never dabbled in magic before, but it doesn’t frighten her as much as her growing attraction for Zash. She likes him. She thinks he might even like her…

That is, until she’s on one side of a firing squad… and he’s on the other.

My Review

Okay, so as soon as you saw the name Anastasia Romanov, you probably started thinking of animated movie where Meg Ryan voices Anastasia. And any second you’re going to wind up with that catchy lullaby from the movie stuck in your head. Or maybe I’m just showing my age.

This book has very little in common with that children’s movie. Actually, according to the author’s note, the book has a lot more in common with the real history of the Romanov family– with the exception of the magical elements of the story, and obviously, the fact that not all of the Romanov family members die at the hands of their captors.

I liked ROMANOV. Nastya was mischievous and fun and tried very hard to keep her family’s spirits up. I loved her dad’s humble, gentle character and his commitment to showing love for their captors as a part of his personal faith. Once I realized ROMANOV told a more historically accurate version of events, I found myself getting lost in the more unbelievable or amazing parts. Nastya’s sister’s romance with one of the guards, for instance.

Because of the consent issues, I felt uncomfortable with Nastya’s sister’s relationship with one of the guards. It is something that apparently happened in real life. Most of their relationship remains emotional rather than physical. Nastya herself has feelings for one of the guards but keeps telling herself to forget about that.

Overall I liked a lot of things about the book and really enjoyed learning some more about the Romanov family. If you enjoy re-imagined history, like THE RING AND THE CROWN by Melissa de la Cruz, then you’ll probably like ROMANOV.

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
All characters are Russian, some based on true historical figures and others made up. Nastya’s brother has hemophilia.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
No profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. In one instance, the kiss happens between a guard and prisoner.

Spiritual Content
Lots of references to Iisus, or Jesus. Nastya and her father in particular speak of their faith and how important it is, even as prisoners, to show love to their captors and try to understand their perspective. She prays at some critical moments, but it’s clear she also has a great deal of faith in Rasputin and other spell masters to provide for her family’s needs.

Violent Content
Instances of open cruelty toward Nastya and her family by soldiers. They hear gunshots and learn they mean executions (mostly of people they don’t know, but not always). Nastya witnesses the execution of people does know and love.

Drug Content
The leader of the Romanovs’ captors is very often drunk. Some references to her mother’s and brother’s need for morphine for headaches and severe pain.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links which cost you nothing but help support this blog when used to buy books.