Sara’s mom and dad are dismayed when they receive a letter informing them that it is their turn to look after Sara’s cousins. But they’ll only be staying for a month. What could go wrong? More importantly, why could anything go wrong?
Gothic literature can be defined as writing that employs dark and picturesque scenery, startling and melodramatic narrative devices, and an overall atmosphere of exoticism, mystery, fear, and dread. Often, a Gothic novel or story will revolve around a large, ancient house that conceals a terrible secret or serves as the refuge of an especially frightening and threatening character.
https://www.thoughtco.com/gothic-literature-2207825
Sara’s “cousins” are downright creepy. Sara doesn’t know them and has been instructed that she is to never give them food of any kind. The only thing they “eat” is the horrid-smelling substance her mother gives them. Their breath is also rank. Could it be because of that foul-smelling substance that nourishes them, or is there some other reason their breath smells like death? These “cousins” don’t go to school, yet they are intelligent. They grow at an astounding rate that isn’t possible by human standards. What and who are these cousins?
Sara is pretty much a loner, but she does have some friends. Red-haired Jenny has moved to Hawaii from California with her parents, and her mom is a teacher. Sunami is Hawaiian. When Sara and her friends discover who and what her mysterious cousins are, they realize that all are in danger and attempt to warn everyone.
The Curse of Sara Douroux takes place in picturesque Hawaii. But the beautiful scenery turns dark and spooky when there are violent storms. The characters are well-developed, and secrets abound. The dialogue of some of the characters contains a lot of Hawaiian slang, but what else can you expect when the characters are Hawaiian? The author has provided notes at the end of the book that translates the Hawaiian slang as well as some French that is used.
NetGalley sent me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. If you would like your own copy of this Gothic vampire thriller, I’ve provided an Amazon link for you below.
Amazon Links: The Curse of Sara Douroux
Favorite Sentences:
Instead, Sara has lain in bed for weeks, her body wracked with pain, lips cracked and bleeding from a searing heat that courses through her, a heat so intense that even her eyeballs feel like glowing coals in her skull.
All are slender to the point of frailty, and their bones protrude from milky, white skin that has a peculiar pallor.
Other than the warped image of her face in a shiny pot lid or the shadowy transparent reflection of herself in a windowpane, she has very little idea of what she looks like.
The sky is the color of oyster shells, threatening rain, and the trees and hedges that form the shady grove create shadows along the way, their effect startling at times, the dark shapes long, ominous, and almost human like.
New Words Learned:
corrugation – (of a material, surface, or structure) shaped into alternate ridges and grooves
coqui frogs – small chiefly nocturnal arboreal frogs (Eleutherodactylus coqui) native to Puerto Rico that has a high-pitched call and has been introduced into Hawaii and southern Florida
grommets – young or inexperienced surfers
inglenook – space on either side of a large fireplace
juju – an emanating aura or supernatural force
shoyu – a type of Japanese soy sauce
spam musubi – a snack and lunch food composed of a slice of grilled Spam sandwiched either in between or on top of a block of rice, wrapped together with nori in the tradition of Japanese onigiri.
Inexpensive and portable, Spam musubi are commonly found near cash registers in convenience stores or mom-and-pop shops all over Hawaii.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_musubi
About the Author:
C.A. Wittman grew up in Northern California. In 1993 she moved to Maui Hawaii where she raised her children. Currently, she resides in Los Angeles with her husband Frank.
