Dear Haiti, Love Alaine

Finished March 30

Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite

This teen novel written by two sisters is told by Alaine Beauparlant, a senior in high school, whose parents were both born in Haiti. Her father is a psychiatrist and her mother is a television journalist. They've recently separated and Alaine lives in Miami with her dad while her mom works in Washington doing political news. When her mom has an on air meltdown, Alaine must struggle to understand and deal with the reactions from her fellow students at her private school. 

Alaine is also working on a history project for school and she tries to take her project in a different direction than expected and get back at some of the kids teasing her. It backfires and Alaine is exiled to Haiti to stay with her aunt, the Minister of Tourism there, and her mom who has gone to ground while she determines her next steps. 

As Alaine discovers what is behind her mother's actions, and learns more about the country of her parents, she also learns about the family curse that her mother has never shared with her. Alaine's aunt is also involved with a children's charity and Alaine interns there as part of her remote schoolwork. She also gets to know her mother better, as she comes to term with her mother's medical diagnosis.

There is a lot of Haitian history and culture here, and of course food. 

The book is made up of school reports, texts, emails, articles, transcripts, letters, diaries, and other written material that come together to give a bigger picture of Alaine and her world.

I enjoyed learning more about Haiti, and liked the sassy character of Alaine. This book has a little of everything: romance, drama, mysticism, and humour. 

The Return

Finished November 21
The Return by Dany Laferri ère, translated by David Homel
This is a fascinating novel/memoir told mostly in poems. Laferrière came to Montreal from Haiti as a refugee fleeing the regime of Baby Doc. His father before him fled to New York from Papa Doc when Dany was only 4. When his father Winston dies, Dany struggles with how that makes him feel, telling the story of his emotions, his trip to New York and his father's funeral, and his subsequent return to Haiti. In Haiti, he feels both like a native and like a foreigner, and he reconnects with family and friends, explores the Haiti of his past and the Haiti of now. He finds himself finding a new relationship with his country of birth as he brings his father's spirit back home.
This book was extremely engaging and once I started it, I found it difficult to put down. Using poetry to tell the story makes it magical and brings the emotions to the fore. It allows the exploration of different aspects of the story that a straightforward memoir wouldn't allow. This book is a gem.

Mystery Series

Finished November 30
Lost Girls by George D Shuman
This is the third book in the series featuring Sherry Moore. Sherry Moore is blind and has a special skill. When she holds the hand of a dead body, she can see what was going through their mind just before they died.
Here, she is asked to hold the hand of a dead man who died while coming down from Mount Denali during a storm. The hope is that what she sees will lead them to the other members of his party. She does see information that helps the searchers, but she also sees something that she can't just forget: a castle where women are sexually abused.
Sherry's friend Brigham gives in to her request and helps her make contact with those who might help her find information to make sense of what she has seen. The plot leads Sherry to Haiti and a large-scale criminal organization.
The theme of human trafficking is a gripping one, and Shuman has based the information in the book on the reality of this terrible phenomenon. The story is well-told and the victims are given a voice that rings true.