Seventeen-year-old Alaine Beauparlant finds herself suspended and shipped off to Haiti when a presentation at school goes completely off the rails. She will be spending the next two months writing a "spring volunteer immersion project" instead of vacationing.
Alaine is under the watchful eyes of her (Aunt) Tati Estelle and Celeste, her mother. Celeste is a beautiful reporter who is hiding from the media after a very public incident that is being dubbed as "Slapgate" where she slapped a politician on live TV—she is also hiding a devastating secret of her own.
Happy to be away from the media storm, Alaine gets to flirt with Tati’s cute intern, spend some quality time with her mother, and learn about Haiti—she's visiting for the first time. Alaine also gets to explore her family history, one that is riddled with betrayals, myths, and possibly even a family curse.
But it's nothing she can't handle...
I loved the premise of this book as well as the epistolary style of narrative. The Moulite sisters use letters, emails, diary entries, postcards, and articles to tell Alaine's story. There is also Celeste's storyline which, truth be told, I found more compelling than Alaine's, even though Alaine's had a fresh and intriguing voice. That being said, I am also not the intended audience and I think that readers will identify with Alaine because like most teens, she comes across as confident, yet she is also self-concious with a lot of growing to do.
But the narrative gets away from the authors. There were parts that came across as particularly unorganized and subsequently they lose the plot in places. There are also too many tertiary characters and secondary characters that disappear (Alaine's father, her friend) and an unnecessary sort-of romance.
However, despite that it was 400 plus pages, it was an effortless, enjoyable read. I also liked learning about Haiti and absolutely loved the cover.
MAIKA & MARITZA MOULITE are a sister writing duo.
Maika is a Miami native and daughter of Haitian immigrants. She earned a bachelor’s in marketing from Florida State University and an MBA from the University of Miami. She is also a blogger and writes for nonprofits and other organizations.
Maritza graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s in women’s studies and the University of Southern California with a master’s in journalism. She’s worked in various capacities for NBC News, CNN, and USA TODAY.
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