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.

I love Alaine! She gets sent to Haiti after an unfortunate school presentation. While there she volunteers at her Aunt's non-profit. We follow Elaine as she navigates life, bonds with her Mother, and deal with old family curses. Alaine is smart, funny, and feisty. She is great character. I love the epistolary style of this book. Great debut!

Thanks Netgalley and publishers for this book I was so so so excited to get This Arc I been wanting to read this book since I first saw it! This book was very good I loved it it teaches you about another culture and it has romance in there also and it is just good and I feel like everyone should read it Teen and older people

I wanted to love this book, and maybe it was due to the editing, but it didn’t do it for me. The story was hard to follow and it wasn’t an enjoyable experience for me.

This story is at once an exploration of identity, a swoony romance, and an homage to diversity. With realistic characters, vivid writing, and intimate storytelling, this book will grip you.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 



Author: Maika and Maritza Moulite

Release Date: September 3, 2019

SUMMARY:

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.

REVIEW:

Well, this was a mixed bag...let's break it down in bullet points. 

WHAT I LIKED 

The Alzheimer's subplot (spoiler alert: Alaine's mom is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's). I've never read a YA book that deals with Alzheimer's before, and I think "Dear Haiti, Love Alaine" did a great job of showing how devastating it can be both for the patients and for their loved ones. Great take on a rarely-covered but very prevalent real-life issue. 
Alaine's voice. Though she often came off as really entitled and reckless, she was written with a wicked sense of humor and a lot of intelligence, and I liked the way she narrated her story. 
The glimpse into Haitian culture and class structures. "Dear Haiti..." went to great pains to show multiple facets of Haitian society, and to point out the extreme divide between Haiti's upper and lower classes. We get glimpses of both privilege and poverty, and the characters who fall into the "privileged" category (mostly) show an admirable desire to bridge the gap between classes. The story also presents Haitian worldviews and customs (the best example of this is the "family curse" subplot) in a way that left me feeling like I'd learned a lot about the culture. 
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE 

The busy-ness of the plot. There were sooooo may subplots, and I didn't dislike any of them, but there were just way too many of them. From the family curse to the Alzheimer's diagnosis and the romance (more on that later) and everything else, trying to follow all of the plot threads left me mentally out of breath. 
The romance seemed super rushed. There was almost no explanation of it: Alaine's aunt tries to set her up with a guy, and she is vehemently opposed to this. Then, she meets said guy, and boom! Love. I was a little confused - "where did that come from?" was all I could think. It was cute, but came out of absolutely nowhere; it didn't really feel earned. 
I liked Alaine's voice, but her personality grated on me. A lot. She seemed so entitled. In a lot of cases Alaine acted like she expected to be allowed to do whatever she wanted without consequence. (Case in point: the school project that initially gets her sent to Haiti.) She was very self-centered and not particularly mature, and although she grows during her time in Haiti, she never loses that above-the-law attitude. I know a lot of people like it when people show that kind of assertiveness, so they'll probably like Alaine, but it drives me nuts. (To be fair, a lot of it probably has to do with the fact that she uses humor/snark/acts out to cope with grief.) Alaine's mom had a lot of the same personality traits, but she didn't get as much page time, so it wasn't as bothersome.
RATING: 

Plot: 4/5. The story was fascinating, but at times, there was a bit too much going on. There were a LOT of subplots and none of them were ostensibly weak or boring, but there were just so many of them.

Characters: 5/5. The characters' relationship dynamics were really the beating heart of the story. Not all of them were entirely likable, but their motivations were fleshed out enough to make that lack of likability understandable.

Pacing: 3/5. Slow in parts; some of it was really redundant and in other parts, there was simply too much happening at once.

Handling of Subject Matter: 5/5. The plotline involving Alaine's mother's diagnosis with Alzheimer's (what a lot of apostrophes) was handled well and Haitian culture is lovingly and respectfully incorporated into almost every element of the story. 

Writing Style: 3/5 - I probably shouldn't take points off of this category for the formatting of an ARC because it probably won't stay like that in the actual publication version, but the format was so incredibly incoherent that it was difficult to read. The writing itself was nice, but I couldn't get past the formatting issues. 

Content: 4/5 - generally pretty clean save for a smattering of strong language. Also, Alaine makes some choices that I should hope most teenagers would not want to emulate.

Overall: 4.00/5

Truly loved this book. It felt good to read and it taught me a lot about other cultures. This book is the perfect summer read and a great book for people who want to connect with characters who don't resemble their own self. This book was light when it needed to be and deep other times. It was everything I needed to read.

This was a really creative book told as a school assignment with journals, tweets and emails. This made it harder to read as an ebook. I think this is YA book will appeal to youth and adults. It is well written and I loved the main character.

A big thank you to NetGalley for this advance reader copy. Note, this book debuts September 2019, so I'm thankful for the chance to read it early.

First, writing a novel must be spectacular challenge, I'll grant any author that. But writing one with your sister? Spectacular times 10! The Moulite sisters succeeded spectacularly with this exceptional debut novel. Main character Alaine Beauparlant, is "sentenced" to a visit to Haiti after a school presentation goes terribly awry. Both her mother and father, now divorced, are originally from Haiti, and she still has family there.  It might be perceived as punishment, but Alaine is not unhappy with the prospect. She's actually looking forward to spending time with her mother, a famous reporter who is dealing with her own problems. Other benefits for Alaine include working with her super motivated aunt on a nonprofit initiative, getting to know the island, and spending time with cousins. There is even a handsome young intern at the nonprofit who seems pretty interested.

Complications ensue in the form of theft, illness, a boating disaster and of course a voodoo spell in need of breaking! But don't worry, spunky heroine Alaine makes the most of this summer of learning and loving opportunities.

Great book! I love Alaine- she’s funny. Endearing and dramatic. And I love her relationships with her family and the setting in Haiti!

Unfortunately, I could not finish this--but not necessarily because the story wasn't good. The formatting of the eARC I received for review was so out of wack that it was impossible to read. I made it about 30% before I had to give up. Up until that point, the story was moving along--it was a little slow to start, but I was interested in what was going to happen now that Alaine was in Haiti with her mother. Maybe I'll pick it up at the library at some point and read it for real.

This was a fun read. Alaine has a great voice that shines through the story's format. I loved the setting and enjoyed exploring a country not often featured in YA books.

Beautiful cover, beautiful story! I love the correspondence/epistolary format of the story, its one of my favorite book formats. I really appreciated learning more about Caribbean culture and Alaine was such a great MC. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the finished book in person.

I loved Alaine's voice. It was fresh, complex, endearing and funny. I was looking forward to reading this book based on the cover and subject matter and it was such a fun book to read. The mixed media format was fun to read (though a little wonky sometimes in the formatting of the ARC). Can't wait for this book to be out in the world!

I loved this book in so many different ways that it hurt. I cannot wait to book talk this book to teens and adults alike.

This book was absolutely fabulous! Loved the representation in this novel: fantastic! And I found the female lead to be witty and fun - I loved her! Her voice was so strong and it made it so easy to connect to her story. I'm such a character driven reader, so this is a huge deal for me. All around this book was a big hit! **I post all of my netgalley reviews on my instagram stories at @booknerdnative**

This is the book that I would give all my nieces and nephews; although I'm not certain all my nephews wouldn't find it "too girly". As an adult, I loved the way Alaine embraces both her American side and her Haitian culture. Since she's a teenager, there were moments when I wanted to throttle her and wish she'd grow up. And, for someone who comes from a cultural of also believing in the mythical and having family members with Alzheimers, I could understand her wishing and hoping and believing that if she could complete the ritual her mother would be saved. Overall, I thought it was a good premise, fairly well written, and likely to resonate with teens.

The premise of this story is interesting, a slightly angsty teen going back to her native country to learn about her history and reconnect with family. While I enjoyed learning more about Haiti and the family dynamics were interesting I had trouble getting into the book, the emails/texts/etc that were added in the text made it feel a bit disjointed and I had trouble following the story and getting really immersed in the book, part of this may have been because it was an ARC though.

Other readers might enjoy the format though so if you're a fan of YA fiction and interested in the story still give it a shot. It just wasn't for me.

I don't know how to describe Dear Haiti, Love Alaine. It is so extraordinarily good. The format, the characters (especially Alaine), the voice, the exploration of Haiti and Alaine's family's past. It's all so good. So, before this turns into unintelligible mess, let's get to the review

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Quick-witted high school journalist Alaine Beauparlant gets booted from her elite private school after an intricate prank goes cruelly awry. She warily accepts an invitation from her aunt to spend her suspension at the family’s estate in Haiti--where her estranged mom is recuperating from a political fiasco. In her homeland for the first time, Alaine is immediately put to work at her aunt’s start-up helping native children in need. Alaine meets locals, interacts with kids connected to donors, and is shown the ropes by Jason, a fellow intern whose charming ways are making work a bit more challenging. What she doesn’t expect to find are letters, articles, emails, and diary entries that she compiles into a final project that will not only save her academic standing in school, but also help her finally know the mother she’s never really understood.

You would not be wrong if you said Alaine's life is a bit of a mess. Her mother just slapped and yelled at a politician on TV (her mother is a famous newsperson), everyone in Alaine's school knows about it, and to get back at the mean girls who made fun of her for it, Alaine...how do I put this into words? She was supposed to do a presentation about Haiti and instead of doing what her teacher signed off on, Alaine brings in a cake shaped like a pig and when she cuts it open, fake blood goes everywhere causing one kid to go into anaphylactic shock.

Needless to say, Alaine gets into a huge amount of trouble and instead of finishing off the school year or GETTING EXPELLED, Alaine's parents decide it would be a good idea if she had a break. So, they send her to Haiti where both her parents are originally from. Her mom is already living there, trying to lay low after slapping a politician. Her aunt also lives there and is the Haitian Minister of Tourism as well as the CEO of Patron Pal, an app that allows people to support kids who needs food, school supplies, and money to make their lives better. Alaine will be working as an intern while she is there.

So, Alaine heads to Haiti and absolutely loves it. She meets new friends, family members she hasn't seen in awhile, and even gets to know a cute boy who she works with. But not everything goes as she expects. When she learns why her mother slapped the politician and why she isn't going back to being a news anchor, Alaine's life begins to spiral. Her mom is sick and Alaine will do just about anything to make it all better.

Ok, before I go further, you need to know one thing. Alaine has been told by her aunt for most of her life that their family is cursed. Alaine has never believed this but once she gets to Haiti, meets other people who believe in the curse, and learns of her mother's illness, she begins to believe it, and this leads her down a road of adventure, past family trauma, death, and maybe a little bit of magic.

Alaine decides she needs to break the curse on her family in order to cure her mother and she is willing to do just about anything to get more time with her mom. Even if that means taking a dangerous boat trip and risking other people's lives.

I love a uniquely formatted book and this is one of those. It's written like Alaine os telling the story of her trip to Haiti to her teacher back at school. It includes emails, documents, diary entries, and Alaine's firsthand accounts. I love when authors do this and I am in awe of Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite. The way they combined all these different elements to create a cohesive story is unbelievable.

And Alaine's voice could not be stronger. Sometimes when a book written by multiple people, the style or the voice changes. That is not the case with Dear Haiti, Love Alaine. It is flawless. Alaine is fun and quirky and shy at times and smart as hell. I love when a character has a strong voice and I could not have asked for anything more here.

I also LOVED the development of Alaine and her mom's relationship. They started off really distant but as they spent more time together and as Alaine got to know more about her past, they became much closer.

The story begins with Alaine not caring too much for her mom but once she finds out her mother won't be around forever, she panics and that starts them both down a road that results in an unbreakable bond . You don't go through what they do without bonding in some way.

And yes, of course I cried. I was so hoping Alaine would find some magical cure for her mom despite knowing this wasn't going to turn into a fantasy novel. Her journey made me think of my own mom and how I never want to let her go.

I treasure books like these because they help me understand that I will be ok when she's gone. I'll, of course, be utterly devastated, but there will still be things to live for. I can live past it. (and now I'm crying again lol)

The book also covers the devastation Haiti is still going through after the multiple natural disasters they've had there. It was good to see those real events incorporated into the story. 

Dear Haiti, Love Alaine is a beautiful story of a teenage girl coming to accept the things she can't change and learning to hold onto the moments she has with her loved ones. She also happens to uncover some shady shit going on with her aunt's app business and a certain politician (the one her mom slapped!). There are lots of surprises in this story and I loved everyone of them.

I am giving Dear Haiti, Love Alaine 4.5 out of 5 stars. If you're looking for a diverse read with a brilliant main character, an insanely well-developed and well-written story, and some laughs and tears along the way, you need to check this out.

Dear Haiti, Love Alaine comes out September 3, 2019

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Teen for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I do t think this book knows what it wants to be: Lesson Learned, Coming of Age, Dealing with Destiny, Curse Reversal, Fish out of Water ... the list could continue for several lines.
A good editor could focus the plot. There are a ton of pop culture references that may or may not be recognizable to readers (I’m an Old Lady, and I thought some of the inclusions were try-hard and unwarranted, but maybe YA readers would be more receptive?)
I’m not sure how to feel, because I like the idea of a book about Haiti that doesn’t focus on negatives, but I don’t think this is a great example of that. On the other hand, there might not be a lot of other books that focus on Haiti, so maybe I shouldn’t complain? You see my dilemma.