Reviews

Each Night Was Illuminated by Jodi Lynn Anderson

favedvd's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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

gschwabauer's review

adventurous hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

 

I thought this book was going to be more about wrestling with religious trauma, but it was actually about a character who lost her personal faith early on and felt awkward allowing anybody else to find out. Still interesting, but I feel like the book is being presented as a story about a young person grappling with belief, and I didn't honestly feel she did much grappling.

The relationship between the two primary characters felt pretty stereotypical to me. Not in a bad way--I thankfully did not hate Elias or find him sexist and annoying, so he's probably still in the top 50% of YA boys I've encountered this year. Their friendship certainly seemed like it'd be fun and mysterious and exciting and resonant, if you were there. But the author never quite convinced me I was part of their world. Also, I'm kinda over teen boys having really bizarre hobbies seemingly as, like, this thing they push the female lead to do with them, but I don't ever feel totally convinced that they're sincere in the hobby even though I think the story intends me to believe that, and then they dramatically aBaNdOn tHe HoBbY at a tense moment and I guess it means they're now very sad? I dunno it's just always a bit awkward. He was going through some truly crushing stuff and I was sympathetic, but he always kept himself at arm's length.

Lest this review sound too negative, I enjoy Anderson's sparse, direct prose when I'm in the right mood. Having a supportive and insightful nun as a secondary character was super cool. And honestly, the entire flood scene, which is a good third of the novel, was absolutely riveting. It is so, so hard to write that kind of intense action in a way that both feels believable and is easy to understand and imagine when translated through text, so huge props to the author for that! The night our protagonist spends in a hotel during a hurricane was incredibly well depicted. A bit weird to say that the hard-hitting action sequence was my favorite part of this meandering tale about feeling lonely in a small town and having a crush on a boy and thinking about life after death, but it's the truth.

1 like

 

rivalreads's review

4.0

Jodi Lynn Anderson has this magical way of writing about seemingly unrelated themes and plot lines in a way that come together so beautifully. If there are two things I love, it's anxious teenagers ghost hunting, and I love that this book always went somewhere different than I was expecting. At the same time, the second part of this book felt more disjointed and strangely paced than the first part, and I didn't find the ending to be as strong as the beginning.

But I felt for these characters and Jodi Lynn Anderson's language was as beautiful as ever. I will continue to read everything she ever writes.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

kajh23's review

5.0

A fabulous blend of contemporary issues, religious mysticism, and young love. Cassie and Elias are two of the best written characters I’ve come across. Thoughts I have after reading this: that having faith in a religion isn’t always the answer when those governing that religion are themselves fallible, families can be imperfect, and children are their own special kind of miracle.

bookcaptivated's review

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Death, Medical content, and Abandonment

emilyctrigg's review

reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

hannahm218's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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

3.75

mkdaily's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-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

lazygal's review

3.0

I was probably just not the right audience for this, because it was just "meh". I felt as though I'd read this before, and there was very little that made me remember much about the plot or characters.

ARC provided by publisher.

speterson47's review

3.0

Cassie and Elias both witness a tragic event, but they see it a little differently. Time separates them as Elias is sent back to Australia with his family, but when he returns many years later will Cassie allow their friendship to be renewed, or avoid him to forget the memories of the event?