Thank you very much to the publishers and Netgalley for sending me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review (I later bought my own copy of the book)!
When Jade Nguyen arrives in Vietnam for a visit with her estranged father, she has one goal: survive five weeks pretending to be a happy family in the French colonial house Ba is restoring. She’s always lied to fit in, so if she’s straight enough, Vietnamese enough, American enough, she can get out with the college money he promised.
But the house has other plans. Night after night, Jade wakes up paralyzed. The walls exude a thrumming sound, while bugs leave their legs and feelers in places they don’t belong. She finds curious traces of her ancestors in the gardens they once tended. And at night Jade can’t ignore the ghost of the beautiful bride who leaves her cryptic warnings: Don’t eat.
Neither Ba nor her sweet sister Lily believe that there is anything strange happening. With help from a delinquent girl, Jade will prove this house—the home her family has always wanted—will not rest until it destroys them. Maybe, this time, she can keep her family together. As she roots out the house’s rot, she must also face the truth of who she is and who she must become to save them all.
I knew I had to read this book the moment I saw it. I had quite high expectations for this one and although it didn’t completely live up to those expectations it was still a haunting and brilliantly written YA gothic horror.
When Jade arrives in Vietnam to visit her estranged father, she has one goal: survive five weeks pretending to be a happy family in the French colonial house Ba is restoring. But, the house has other plans. Night after night, Jade wakes up paralysed.
Jade finds curious traces of her ancestors in the gardens they once tended. And, at night Jade can’t ignore the ghost of the beautiful bride who leaves her cryptic warnings: don’t eat. Neither Ba nor her sister, Lily, believe there is anything strange happening. So, with help from a local girl, Florence, she will prove the house won’t rest until it destroys them.
All of the characters in this book were interesting and brought something different to the story. Jade is an intriguing main character who at first I wasn’t a fan of. As the book progressed I grew to like her character even more. Ba, Lily and Florence are all excellent additions to the story and have their own unique voices.
The plot of this book is what had me hooked. It may seem on the surface like this is going to be a typical haunted house story but it is much more than that. It explores some important and complex themes. Those include colonialism, coming to terms with your identity, sexuality and generational trauma. These are all explored in an excellent way.
There are moments in this book which are genuinely horrifying. The writing of Trang Thanh Tran creates images in your mind that will have your skin crawling. Her writing is beautiful and lyrical and I will certainly be looking out for more books by her in the future.
Overall, She is a Haunting is an engrossing, horrifying and well-crafted story that I would highly recommend. It is so much more than a haunted house story!
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