Official Review: Like My Mother Before Me by Naley Gonzalez
Posted: 08 Dec 2020, 05:15
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Like My Mother Before Me" by Naley Gonzalez.]
Alizé Salvas lives a simple, carefree life, skipping classes and getting high with her friends, especially Estelle. These two girls are inseparable, sharing every detail of each other's lives and showing solidarity in mischief. Alizé's mum is dead, so she lives with her Dad, Gabriel, and her brother, Ezra. One thing Alizé does take seriously is sports. She is a prime player on the girls' volleyball team and has a real shot at a varsity team position, and possibly, a college scholarship.
While Ezra is the typical school sweetheart and the object of many crushes, Alizé has her own thing going with her boyfriend, Martin. Everything seems to be going great until one night when she sees a ghost and a demon. The ghost turns out to be Alizé's mother, who passed when she was four years old. Besides her mother's ghost, she discovers that she can see and communicate with other spirits too. Subsequently, the demon attempts to kill her as Alizé struggles to decide what to make of her gift. What relationship does the demon have with her mother? What led to her mother's death? How do Alizé and her gift factor into all of this?
Like My Mother Before Me by Naley Gonzalez is a dark fantasy thriller novel. Based on an exciting plot, the author painted a good picture of an average teenager's life while spicing it up with a bit of the supernatural. There were many worthwhile relationships in the story. Alizé and Estelle, for one, were best friends even through rough patches and were always there for each other. Alizé supported Estelle through the difficult and abusive times, while Estelle stood by Alizé throughout the ordeal with the demon. I also admired the father-daughter relationship between Gabriel and Alizé and the playful rapport she had with her brother.
What I liked the most about the book were the characters; they were unique, real, and very relatable. Alizé was a prospective UCLA volleyball player with a best friend and a boyfriend. She struggled with her assignments and soon came upon a big realization that changed her life as she knew it. Estelle lived with her abusive mother, who was promiscuous and alcoholic. Ezra was blinded by love for his two-timing girlfriend. Alizé's father's girlfriend, Rhonda, wasn't disliked by other members of Alizé's family, Alizé especially.
The book also featured a lot of Spanish and profanity, with many instances coming from Alizé. I had to pause my reading repeatedly to go look up the meanings of many Spanish words in the text. While this interrupted my reading flow, I do feel like I gained more knowledge as a result. This means that there was nothing I disliked about this book.
I rate this novel 4 out of 4 stars. Not only was the plot deserving of this rating, but I also gave it a full rating because of the professional editing of the book. It showed meticulousness on the author's part. I would recommend it to fantasy-loving readers who aren't scared of ghosts or demons.
******
Like My Mother Before Me
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Alizé Salvas lives a simple, carefree life, skipping classes and getting high with her friends, especially Estelle. These two girls are inseparable, sharing every detail of each other's lives and showing solidarity in mischief. Alizé's mum is dead, so she lives with her Dad, Gabriel, and her brother, Ezra. One thing Alizé does take seriously is sports. She is a prime player on the girls' volleyball team and has a real shot at a varsity team position, and possibly, a college scholarship.
While Ezra is the typical school sweetheart and the object of many crushes, Alizé has her own thing going with her boyfriend, Martin. Everything seems to be going great until one night when she sees a ghost and a demon. The ghost turns out to be Alizé's mother, who passed when she was four years old. Besides her mother's ghost, she discovers that she can see and communicate with other spirits too. Subsequently, the demon attempts to kill her as Alizé struggles to decide what to make of her gift. What relationship does the demon have with her mother? What led to her mother's death? How do Alizé and her gift factor into all of this?
Like My Mother Before Me by Naley Gonzalez is a dark fantasy thriller novel. Based on an exciting plot, the author painted a good picture of an average teenager's life while spicing it up with a bit of the supernatural. There were many worthwhile relationships in the story. Alizé and Estelle, for one, were best friends even through rough patches and were always there for each other. Alizé supported Estelle through the difficult and abusive times, while Estelle stood by Alizé throughout the ordeal with the demon. I also admired the father-daughter relationship between Gabriel and Alizé and the playful rapport she had with her brother.
What I liked the most about the book were the characters; they were unique, real, and very relatable. Alizé was a prospective UCLA volleyball player with a best friend and a boyfriend. She struggled with her assignments and soon came upon a big realization that changed her life as she knew it. Estelle lived with her abusive mother, who was promiscuous and alcoholic. Ezra was blinded by love for his two-timing girlfriend. Alizé's father's girlfriend, Rhonda, wasn't disliked by other members of Alizé's family, Alizé especially.
The book also featured a lot of Spanish and profanity, with many instances coming from Alizé. I had to pause my reading repeatedly to go look up the meanings of many Spanish words in the text. While this interrupted my reading flow, I do feel like I gained more knowledge as a result. This means that there was nothing I disliked about this book.
I rate this novel 4 out of 4 stars. Not only was the plot deserving of this rating, but I also gave it a full rating because of the professional editing of the book. It showed meticulousness on the author's part. I would recommend it to fantasy-loving readers who aren't scared of ghosts or demons.
******
Like My Mother Before Me
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
