Behind the Mountains

Every one of Danticat's books is a delight. Her narrative voice is so distinctively hers yet conveys such a range of Haitian (and human) experience. Each time I read a new work of hers I feel like I get to know her more, like she has unveiled and shared another layer of herself. She writes about and has herself lived through such pain and sorrow in way that is beautiful, full of light and hope. I do not know of any other contemporary writer with such a gift for writing with grace in the face of sometimes unimaginable loss, of her own and of the people of Haiti.

Celiane lives in the Haitian mountains with her mother and brother while her father works in New York, sending money and recordings of his voice home to his family when he can. After surving a bombing at and being witness to increasing violence in Port-au-Prince surrounding the 2000 elections, Celiene and her family holes up into her aunt's house for safety to afraid to go outside and hoping that her father will be able to send for her soon.

This is not my favorite of Danticat's work. It's good, but I feel that Danticat doesn't work well in the diary format. Also, since I've read several of her books, I feel that she's stuck in this story of a child coming from Haiti to the U.S. I know that she is drawing from her own life with this show more storyline. However, I also feel that she's already told this story and told it better with Breath, Eyes, Memory, which was much more richly textured. show less

I was so pleased to see that Danticat had written a middle grade novel! I live and teach in a community with a large Haitian population, so books set in that part of the world are especially valuable for my library. But I only got through half of this. It feels Important, but it's boring. Some of this is, I think, the fault of the diary format -- for instance, when the main character is caught in a bomb blast, that should have been a riveting action scene, but we have to hear about it at a remove a few days later when she gets around to writing about it in the hospital. Some of it might be that writing for middle schoolers is different from writing for adults, and even the most brilliant adult authors often don't get it. But when I have show more to force myself this hard, kids will too -- it isn't worth it. show less

I recently read James Levine's The Blue Notebook, and it was interesting to consider this work in relation to that one (and to Slave Moth for that matter). Yet, the clear targetting of young readers for this book took away some of the power that comes with the young writers in those books---Danticat's voice is graceful and powered, but in the second half of the narrative especially, things just moved too quickly (and still without enough action) for any real emotional or intellectual involvement on the part of a mature reader--in fact, I'm not sure that adolescent readers would feel much differently. The story here is well-told and worthwhile, without doubt, but in the end I found it lacking in both passion and breadth, particularly show more (again) in the second half of the book. Thus, while I'd recommend this book to readers interested in narratives portrayed through journals or letters, and to readers interested in young adult first person fiction, it's probably not one that I'll find the need to further consider in other lights. show less

I wanted to like this book more than I did. After the earthquake, I thought I would write about some YA books with a Haitian theme for my recommendation column. There aren't that many out there (hint, hint, YA authors) but I felt sure that this one by Danticat, a really talented author, would be terrific. It was good, but not great. First of all, it was described as a young adult novel, but it's solidly middle grade. That's OK. But more disappointing was that it seemed to lack emotional depth, the writing a little clunky at times. Don't get me wrong, it's an interesting and sometimes entertaining account of the immigrant experience of a young Haitian girl. Perhaps my expectations were too high. What I'd really like to read is a YA show more equivalent of Madison Smartt Bell's Haitian trilogy. show less

This is a very short, but good novel. The story centers around Celiane, a young girl growing up in Haiti during the 2000 elections and the unrest that preceded them. Celiane's father has gone to New York where the family eventually hopes to join him. Celiane's childhood in Haiti is depicted as well as her experience as an immigrant to New York, through her writings in her journal. The book is an enjoyable glimpse into life in Haiti and the immigrant experience, though at times I was left hungering for a bit more detail.

This is in diary form. She tells her story to through her diary. Living in Haiti with her father gone. Being injured in a bombing. Than dealing with the move to join her father in the US. Well told from a young girls POV.