Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite

Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite

Alaine was being sent to Haiti as punishment. Well, sort of. She was getting out of the line of fire after a really dramatic school presentation that almost resulted in the death of another student. In all honesty Alaine was just trying to highlight one of the events that ignited the Hatian revolution, with interesting theatrics. It was a part of her history and she wanted to put on a show! She had been suspended, instead of expelled, and was going to conduct not only independent studies but would also be interning under her aunt, the Minister of Tourism of Haiti. But Alaine would also have the chance to bond with her mother, who she hasn’t lived with in years and has a somewhat strained relationship with. What Alaine doesn’t know is that she could possibly end the curse that has been affecting her family since Haiti won its independence.

This was a mix of quite a few things but most importantly this book was fun. There’s humor and foolishness, as well as history and adventure, while also exploring familial relationships and how complicated they can truly be. All of it explored through Alaine, who is one of those characters that is just very entertaining. She has a very distinct voice and character. She gets into some shenanigans that you simultaneously laugh and shake your head at. Alaine is extremely outgoing and sure of herself but she is nowhere near perfect. Her family is complicated. She lives with her father while her mom pursues her career on the other coast. Both of her parents are from Haiti and her mother’s family are descendants of one of Haiti’s most famed leaders. It is in Haiti our story really takes off.

 I really enjoyed the way the authors chose to the tell this story. Most of it is in the form of diary entries but there are also emails, text messages, letters, postcards even newspaper clippings and list. The different mediums never felt like a distraction and were used to inform or bring in a different point of view or simply as a moment of humor. All were done well. I also really enjoyed the snippets of Haitian history littered and explored throughout. The deep dive into Haitian culture, the poverty besides the richness and even the spiritual elements explored were all so interesting. If you know nothing about Haitian history then this will be an interesting crash course. In all honesty though I am very intrigued. Haiti has a very unique history, one that I don’t feel like is celebrated enough, so to see the pride of this history highlighted in this book was very pleasing.

Needless to say, I am really excited about this book and will definitely recommend it. It was easy to read and so much fun. It was quite a ride with so many emotional highs and lows. I loved that Alaine had to come to terms with so many different aspects of her life and her family’s history as well as her future. There were a few loose strings that I wish had been tightened up but besides that I absolutely enjoyed this. I’m giving it 4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you Netgalley, for this book in exchange for an honest review.