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harper11's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
booksandbears's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Grief
Moderate: Suicide and Mental illness
lenny002's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
hkbarnes14's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lashanda's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I really wanted to like this book. The description seemed intriguing; I like books about complicated emotions like grief and I enjoy magical realism, so this felt fitting for me. I think ultimately, the book fell flat and none of the things touted in its description really came to life.
One thing I mostly enjoyed about the book was the writing. I found it well-written and clear. The colour descriptions were unique, if not a little repetitive. However, Pan (whether intentional or not) would write in a way where she would give away what the reader would be thinking after a scene. For example, in this passage, we have a scene where Leigh's teacher pulls her aside and tells her her art is really good and she should attend an event to showcase it. Then, Pan writes, "It wasn't until later I realized what was bothering me. Art had always felt like our thing. Not my thing. Something we shared...Slamming the car door shut, I felt a strange sense of separation. When Nagori singled me out, he severed something between me and my best friend." To me, Pan gives away too much with this description. She didn't let scenes speak for themselves, or let the reader extrapolate. And it happened all the time. A scene would play out, and then a description of exactly what Leigh would feel would follow. It gave the impression that the reader didn't really need to be a part of the story, and it diminished the reading experience for me.
Leigh did not stand out as a unique or interesting character for me. So much of what happened in the book just felt like it was happening to her—it didn't feel like she was causing anything to happen, but rather just being a bystander to the plot. And there wasn't much plot at all, making this book a bit hard to want to keep reading.
The pacing of the book was an issue for me as well. The first ~150 pages move very quickly. The middle ~200 pages are tediously slow, and then the last ~150 pages move quickly as well. This book is 480 pages, and I don't think it needs to be. So much of the stagnant middle could have been cut out and the pacing would have been fixed. I did however, enjoy the short chapters. I also thought the movement between past and present and the memories was well done.
I didn't love the magical realism in this book. I found it took away from the message and the metaphors used to convey dealing with death and grief. Leigh's mother being a bird was well done, but by the end, Pan was throwing in magical scenes I couldn't decipher.
A lot of reviewers didn't enjoy the romance subplot, and after reading these reviews, I must agree. While reading, I thought the subplot made the book more enjoyable, but I think I only felt this way because the main plot fell flat.
In general, I felt like the book was very obvious in that in was "leading to something." The colour descriptions sometimes didn't fit, which lent to this feeling even more. As a reader, I did not feel transported into the story; if anything, I felt very removed in a meta way, like I could tell why Pan wrote certain things and what she was trying to do for the reader. It ultimately took me out of the story and again, made me feel like I didn't need to be there as a reader.
One thing I mostly enjoyed about the book was the writing. I found it well-written and clear. The colour descriptions were unique, if not a little repetitive. However, Pan (whether intentional or not) would write in a way where she would give away what the reader would be thinking after a scene. For example, in this passage, we have a scene where Leigh's teacher pulls her aside and tells her her art is really good and she should attend an event to showcase it. Then, Pan writes, "It wasn't until later I realized what was bothering me. Art had always felt like our thing. Not my thing. Something we shared...Slamming the car door shut, I felt a strange sense of separation. When Nagori singled me out, he severed something between me and my best friend." To me, Pan gives away too much with this description. She didn't let scenes speak for themselves, or let the reader extrapolate. And it happened all the time. A scene would play out, and then a description of exactly what Leigh would feel would follow. It gave the impression that the reader didn't really need to be a part of the story, and it diminished the reading experience for me.
Leigh did not stand out as a unique or interesting character for me. So much of what happened in the book just felt like it was happening to her—it didn't feel like she was causing anything to happen, but rather just being a bystander to the plot. And there wasn't much plot at all, making this book a bit hard to want to keep reading.
The pacing of the book was an issue for me as well. The first ~150 pages move very quickly. The middle ~200 pages are tediously slow, and then the last ~150 pages move quickly as well. This book is 480 pages, and I don't think it needs to be. So much of the stagnant middle could have been cut out and the pacing would have been fixed. I did however, enjoy the short chapters. I also thought the movement between past and present and the memories was well done.
I didn't love the magical realism in this book. I found it took away from the message and the metaphors used to convey dealing with death and grief. Leigh's mother being a bird was well done, but by the end, Pan was throwing in magical scenes I couldn't decipher.
A lot of reviewers didn't enjoy the romance subplot, and after reading these reviews, I must agree. While reading, I thought the subplot made the book more enjoyable, but I think I only felt this way because the main plot fell flat.
In general, I felt like the book was very obvious in that in was "leading to something." The colour descriptions sometimes didn't fit, which lent to this feeling even more. As a reader, I did not feel transported into the story; if anything, I felt very removed in a meta way, like I could tell why Pan wrote certain things and what she was trying to do for the reader. It ultimately took me out of the story and again, made me feel like I didn't need to be there as a reader.
science_nerd_reads_books's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
tashaseegmiller's review
5.0
This book is stunning. Pan addresses heart-heavy ideas like depression and suicide and grief in a way that is rich with color and emotion with a just right amount of weight. True to the title, this book is astonishing.