Bochica – When Your Generational Trauma is a Demon

Bochica by Carolina Florez-Cerchiaro is as much a story about grief and loss as it is about a haunted mansion and the demons within it. At its heart, it’s a story about fighting a demon and the cult that summoned it, yes, but it’s also about letting go and overcoming trauma. There’s themes of religious trauma, generational trauma, and sexism. Except the generational trauma is ALSO a demon. It’s a heavy, sometimes unsettling read that leaves you at times unsure if what the protagonist is telling you is real.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the uncertainty of it all. Narratives where the protagonist can’t be sure who or what they can trust are always compelling to me, and this one leans into that paranoia beautifully. There are times where you don’t know that our MC has drifted into a hallucination and it It adds to the haunting, almost nightmare-like quality of the story.

That said, not everything landed for me. Some plot elements wrapped up a little too quickly and neatly for my taste, smoothing over what could have been messier and more powerful. I’ve also got a personal pet peeve about diary entries being used as exposition. There’s nothing wrong with them if they’re done well, but when they’re dropped in carelessly, they can really take you out of the story. Especially when those entries read like an internal monologue. No one’s scribbling down “what was that noise?” in anything, let alone a private diary.

Overall though, I still enjoyed Bochica. It’s eerie and carries enough emotional weight to make you care about the characters and root for the protagonist. If you’re in need of a spooky book, check this one out.