She Is a Haunting

This was an exemplar of the unsettling, creeping horror genre. The horror was really superbly done—the atmosphere foreboding, the relationships skewed and unsettling, and all the bugs were just wildly creepy—and I like bugs! The horror genre is a perfect home for the exploration of main character, Jade's, relationships: with her parents, who each immigrated from Vietnam not entirely willingly; with Vietnam itself as a country she both does and does not belong to; with the ongoing effects of colonization and western exploitation of Vietnam, which serve as the catalyst for the story of her family and their different levels of displacement, and for the events of the novel specifically; and with her own queerness and her fears that this show more fact of herself will only increase her alienation. Between this and Mexican Gothic, if 'colonialism as an encroaching parasite' is going to be an ongoing genre, I'm here for it. I kind of lost track of the action near the end—I found the events at the climactic showdown, and of its epilogue, to be difficult to follow, engage with, and understand—but up until that point the book had me firmly under its spell. show less

"They say all old houses have death in them, but what of houses that begin in death?"

She is a Hanuting by Trang Thanh Tran was a beautifully written debut. The slow pace built up the tension until it was boiling over. The sense of dread that lasted throughout the story felt lifelike. The descriptive tone made it all the more creepy and horrifying at certain points. I'm not scared of much but bugs and worms creep me out and they made parts of this book terrifying for me. The horror scenes were the stuff of nightmares.

This one was a Vietnamese gothic horror tale with heavy themes and social commentary woven into the mani story. The author explores, Vietnamese history, French colonialism in Vietnam, racism, abuse, sexual identity, show more migration to the U.S, biphobia and themes of belonging. Our main protagonist grapples with what it means to be Vietnamese, especially language proficiency. This is also a coming of age story where Jade is trying to figure out her sexuality while navigating her feelings of abandonment towards her father, who she's forced to spend time with in order to get tuition money.

The house as a metaphor for the sins of colonialism was my favorite part. It was literally devouring and bleeding people dry, just as imperialist powers do to marginalized nations. The house was a reminder that no amount of whitewashing of history can get rid of the stains of the truth. The ghosts of the past will always show themselves and expose the truth. The only way to rid ourselves of oppressive systems is to burn them to the ground and start new because those in power never give it up voluntarily. The ghosts of colonized people always come back to speak truth to power.

If you love gothic writing, ghosts in haunted houses, slow burn tales and queer coming of age stories, this one is for you. She is a Haunting published is out now in multiple formats. Thanks to @bloomsburypublishing and @coloredpagesblogtours for the gifted copy. show less

"The house won't tell, but.
She's always underneath the bed."

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for gifting me access to this eARC!

I was so grateful to have the opportunity to read this, especially in the week prior to Halloween. It was the perfect spooky read for the Autumn season; ominous and eerie from the very first page, a feeling that doesn't let up even after the book is long finished. This is definitely one that will stay with me.

The writing is beautiful. Undeniably flowery and purple at times, which some may dislike, but which felt thoroughly correct for the story within the pages of this one. When a house is seen as a living, breathing thing, it seems only right that the writing be more poetic than not.

There are show more moments of true horror in this. Plenty of moments that I can only describe as gross, in the most shocking of ways, without being too obvious or too much. Themes of rot, decay and infestation are strong throughout. I loved, loved how the author was able to integrate the house at the heart of it all, the experiences being the same for a home as for a person, at times.

Knowing little about Vietnamese culture, I really enjoyed reading from the POV of a young Viet-American girl, who feels never one or the other of anything. The writing really lent itself to the setting, beautiful images conjured up of the Vietnamese countryside, even when followed by those more terrible. I really liked the main character and related to her in some ways; in others, whilst I couldn't relate, I could empathise and feel for her, as you want for a character that is written well.

The interludes from the perspective of the house itself were particularly creepy and wonderful; the link to a body part for each one just utterly perfect metaphorically!

I struggled with the pace of this one, if anything, and the use of foreign language without always having the translation; but that's not a fault of the book, per se. I loved that this book really focused on the history and colonisation, which was really at the root of the haunting.

Definitely would recommend!

"Married at seventeen, dead at twenty: there's a nursery rhyme somewhere, a warning for girls who follow." show less

I didn't realise this was a YA novel before I started reading, or I would have mentally prepared myself for the whiny teenage first person narration and heavy-handed themes. Other than that, She Is A Haunting is the Vietnamese-American baby sister of Mexican Gothic and doesn't come off well in comparison.

Jade Nguyen is nearly eighteen and wants to go to university, but like everything in America, the fees are astronomical, and being the responsible, emotionally-overburdened eldest child, she doesn't want to make her single mother work harder to pay for her tuition. Her father, who abandoned his family and returned to his native Vietnam four years ago, has an alternative offer - if Jade and her younger sister Lily will visit him in show more Vietnam for five weeks and help to get his French colonial hotel up and running, he will pay for Jade's first year at college. Which sounded funky to me, but Americans gotta do what they can to live the dream.

The hotel in Da Lat, built by a wealthy French family when Vietnam was a European colony (Colonialization being a Big Theme), was also where Jade's paternal family lived, viewed as 'parasites' by the Dumonts. The history of the house continues to haunt the beautiful property, which is surrounded by hydrangeas and decorated in a French theme, yet is decaying from the inside out. But do the 'hungry ghosts' reaching out to Jade mean to help or harm?

The horror elements of the story work well - the spirits of Marion Dumont and her Vietnamese sister-in-law Cam, who offer up memories of the past to Jade, and the house itself, which is hungry for new 'parasites'. I even liked the bugs being fed to the family, and the zombie ants in the woodland beyond the house. However, the take on Vietnam's history was a bit simplistic - 'But who am I to say? I wasn’t colonized. I’m not Vietnamese enough to have an opinion on anything' - and Jade, and the parasitic chip on her shoulder, was a melodramatic, moaning narrator more interested in sniping at her father and snogging the teenage daughter of her father's business partner than surviving five weeks in Vietnam and then moving on with her life. I mean, if you're going to let your own family bribe you to make contact, then at least do it with style. And the narration was like a flashback to Sweet Valley at times: 'For instance: I like girls. I like boys. Still sometimes more girls than boys. I like people who aren’t either' and 'I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but I do have a penchant for sweet people.' I actively wanted the house to claim her by the final chapters.

I'm clearly not the target demographic, but this would have been a better book with a more mature narrator - and maybe a Vietnamese one at that - and a deeper dive into the history of the country. show less

3.5/5
Creepy and bizarre but full of history and hope.

CW // blood, gore, strong language, colonialism, racism, dysfunctional families, bugs

Jade is forced to spend five weeks with her father, Ba, helping fix up a historical house that matters immensely to him. If she can suffer through until the grand opening—also her eighteenth birthday—her father will give her the money she needs for her tuition. The house is creepy and old with dark secrets hiding everywhere. Jade struggles to keep her little sister safe and to not eat any food Ba prepares. Jade enlists the help of Florence whose uncle is helping Ba renovate. Florence fits into Vietnam easier than Jade does and is her ticket to understanding the history and secrets of the house. show more This is a story of acceptance, the disconnect people within a diaspora feel, broken families, history, and love. The horror is feeding on all of those insecurities and lies.

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This one was wild and weird. This book was easy to pick up after long breaks, which is impressive because this story was confusing sometimes with what was real and what wasn't.

I absolutely loved the history of this. I loved learning about the French's roll in the colonization of Vietnam, something I know absolutely nothing about. I really liked the complete opposition of Jade and Alma, it's interesting to watch the story be spun in the eyes of the speaker. I loved Jade and Florence and Jade with Lily. The relationship with Jade and Ba was full of conflict and pain. I really empathize with Jade in her struggles with her language, it's one of the biggest barriers and the judgement it brings is painful.

The story got a little confusing with the hauntings. Regardless, it's creepy, unsettling, and gross. The story was slow in some parts but it's intense at the end. The ending was satisfying and I ended the book having enjoyed it. I think about it periodically, it's so weird and I imagine what the house would be like, and that's truly all you want from a good book. A lasting memory.

If you want a dark, gritty, atmospheric book with authentic characters and their struggles, this will be perfect. The creepy bugs and food just make it better.

Grateful for always seeing this at my library and finally deciding to pick it up. Check your local library for it! show less

I really enjoy horror tales in which the house itself is the villain. The first half of the book is wonderful, spooky and mysterious, but it felt like it went on too long and then just.....ended. That being said the concept of colonialism rotting the house from the inside out was a very nuanced and unique way to tell a haunted house story.

hm. okay. i think my main issue with this one is pacing. it really felt like a long book and i kept finding myself surprised when i looked at the percentage number on my kindle and realized there was still so much more book to go. i can't entirely put my finger on what exactly was the issue, but it felt a little repetative early on, and then the middle kind of seemed like it was picking up a little, and then it didn't as much as i thought it would.

the good: the writing was evocative and descriptive in a way that i enjoyed. the food and inscet horror was CREEPY, the themes around colonization and diaspora were fantastic, and the characters (to me) felt easy to root for. i cared abt jade and lily, but i do feel like there could have been show more a bit more character interaction between them, and jade and her dad? idk. it felt like a lot of it was jade alone in specific ways that felt repetative when i wanted things to kick off.

also though, JADE'S DAD? MY GUY, YOU ASS YOU CANNOT BLAME A 13 YEAR OLD FOR TELLING HER DRUNK DAD TO LEAVE AND STOP MAKING HER FAMILY MISERABLE. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???!! that was literally not the 13 year old's fault, ffs.

still a great read, def an author i'd want to see a second story from, and THAT COVER THOUGH!!!! show less