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queersubtext's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Alcoholism
camelle's review against another edition
3.0
Because Of The Sun is one of the books that I can relate to. Losing a mother is never easy and you'll always wish they're around. Seeing your mother lifeless is like a nightmare that you can't forget. It will hunt you down no matter what.
"I don't know what to do with myself. I just keep waiting. Waiting for something to happen."
This is a story of a young girl who lost her mother at a very young age, Dani saw her mother died horribly and recovering from that incident wasn't easy. She transferred to New Mexico to live with her Aunt. One day Dani went out to go for a walk and there she met Paulo who changed her life.
The book has a good story even if it's not the fast paced story that I'm used to reading lately. I enjoyed it in my own way. I was curious on some of the parts here like when Dani keeps saying her mom is not a good mom, I wonder how bad it was and It doesn't tell much about her mother until the third part of the book, that's the only time things became clear to me. The rest of the story is how Dani cope up with the new things around her and how she fought her dark days. I could tell it wasn't easy, at some point I actually thought she's getting crazy because she's seeing the bear who killed her mother. And I felt relief when the book suddenly shifted to a lighter mood. It's like Dani finally letting go of her dark past and finally moving on and accepting her aunt in her life.
"Sometimes there is shade, there is respite, there is beauty and love."
"I don't know what to do with myself. I just keep waiting. Waiting for something to happen."
This is a story of a young girl who lost her mother at a very young age, Dani saw her mother died horribly and recovering from that incident wasn't easy. She transferred to New Mexico to live with her Aunt. One day Dani went out to go for a walk and there she met Paulo who changed her life.
The book has a good story even if it's not the fast paced story that I'm used to reading lately. I enjoyed it in my own way. I was curious on some of the parts here like when Dani keeps saying her mom is not a good mom, I wonder how bad it was and It doesn't tell much about her mother until the third part of the book, that's the only time things became clear to me. The rest of the story is how Dani cope up with the new things around her and how she fought her dark days. I could tell it wasn't easy, at some point I actually thought she's getting crazy because she's seeing the bear who killed her mother. And I felt relief when the book suddenly shifted to a lighter mood. It's like Dani finally letting go of her dark past and finally moving on and accepting her aunt in her life.
"Sometimes there is shade, there is respite, there is beauty and love."
pussreboots's review
5.0
Because of the Sun by Jenny Torres Sanchez is a slim volume that takes The Stranger by Albert Camus as a starting point and weaves it into a quiet tale of a teenager who is lost after her mother is mauled to death by a bear.
http://pussreboots.pair.com/blog/2017/comments_01/because_of_the_sun.html
http://pussreboots.pair.com/blog/2017/comments_01/because_of_the_sun.html
rulubear's review
5.0
I feel like I have been reading a lot of books about loss recently. This isn't a book about loss. This is a book about healing, and how everyone is doing it.
endlessreader's review
3.0
Huh. Because of the Sun was kind of a weird book. And my feelings on weird tend to be all over the place, so I wasn't fully on board with this one.
The Good: I loved the relationship between Shelly and Dani. It was new, awkward, angsty, and pretty much how I love all of my book familial relationships to be. I liked that this was the main relationship in the book and how it focused on how these two people so full to the brim with pain could co-exist with each other. Shelly, just as a whole, was such a great character that I definitely wanted to know more about. We do get to see a bit of how she grew up, seeing as how she narrates Part Two of the book (which was my favorite part), but still I wanted to know more about her upbringing.
The Eh: I was never quite enamored with Dani. The problem for me is that when a book deals heavily with a character that has disconnected (as Dani has), it's very hard for me to connect with that character. Dani was no exception. I found her rather aloof and while it's obviously understandable seeing as how she's dealing with her grief, again, I wasn't enamored with her (the stealing did have a lot to do with it, too). The romance also left me flat. I'm not a huge romance fan to begin with and don't tend to mind when it's not at the forefront of a book (in fact, I tend to prefer it), but this one definitely needed more fleshing out for me to buy it.
More Eh: The flashback scenes in Because of the Sun were all sorts of confusing. There's no way to tell what's happening now, what's just in Dani's head as a manifestation of her grief, or what's happening in the past. It was never really clear and the constant back and forth gave me a slight headache. However, I did read an advanced reader's copy of this book, so maybe that's something that'll be more clear in the finished copy.
Overall, I thought Because of the Sun was okay. I really liked Shelly and honestly, would have preferred if the book was about her upbringing as opposed to Dani's because she just seemed like a more intriguing character. Still, this was a quick (but an extremely depressing, there's absolutely no fluff here) read that I don't regret reading.
The Good: I loved the relationship between Shelly and Dani. It was new, awkward, angsty, and pretty much how I love all of my book familial relationships to be. I liked that this was the main relationship in the book and how it focused on how these two people so full to the brim with pain could co-exist with each other. Shelly, just as a whole, was such a great character that I definitely wanted to know more about. We do get to see a bit of how she grew up, seeing as how she narrates Part Two of the book (which was my favorite part), but still I wanted to know more about her upbringing.
The Eh: I was never quite enamored with Dani. The problem for me is that when a book deals heavily with a character that has disconnected (as Dani has), it's very hard for me to connect with that character. Dani was no exception. I found her rather aloof and while it's obviously understandable seeing as how she's dealing with her grief, again, I wasn't enamored with her (the stealing did have a lot to do with it, too). The romance also left me flat. I'm not a huge romance fan to begin with and don't tend to mind when it's not at the forefront of a book (in fact, I tend to prefer it), but this one definitely needed more fleshing out for me to buy it.
More Eh: The flashback scenes in Because of the Sun were all sorts of confusing. There's no way to tell what's happening now, what's just in Dani's head as a manifestation of her grief, or what's happening in the past. It was never really clear and the constant back and forth gave me a slight headache. However, I did read an advanced reader's copy of this book, so maybe that's something that'll be more clear in the finished copy.
Overall, I thought Because of the Sun was okay. I really liked Shelly and honestly, would have preferred if the book was about her upbringing as opposed to Dani's because she just seemed like a more intriguing character. Still, this was a quick (but an extremely depressing, there's absolutely no fluff here) read that I don't regret reading.
desiree930's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars. This is a tough one for me. On one hand, there was some lovely writing in this story. However, there were times where the overly-flowery, highly-metaphorical language was confusing as a reader.
The character of Dani, the main protagonist of the book, is very difficult to connect to, mostly because she has totally checked out after her mom's passing. She is totally numb, and her character shows no emotion for a large chunk of the book.
I liked Paulo. He was my favorite character in the book, and his backstory was so sad.
Dani's arc felt very strange to me, pacing-wise. The first half drags on and on with her being completely void of ambition or determination. Then there is a small part in the middle where we see her relationship with Paulo progress. But then end was kind of a mess for me, beginning with the flashback to see her Aunt's and mom's backstory I was bored silly by this passage in the book. I get that we are supposed to see Ruby in a new light because if this...but it doesn't work for me at all.
I feel pretty disappointed by this book because I think the concept has merit. Between that and the lyrical writing style, this story had major potential. Unfortunately. The execution was lacking.
The character of Dani, the main protagonist of the book, is very difficult to connect to, mostly because she has totally checked out after her mom's passing. She is totally numb, and her character shows no emotion for a large chunk of the book.
I liked Paulo. He was my favorite character in the book, and his backstory was so sad.
Dani's arc felt very strange to me, pacing-wise. The first half drags on and on with her being completely void of ambition or determination. Then there is a small part in the middle where we see her relationship with Paulo progress. But then end was kind of a mess for me, beginning with the flashback to see her Aunt's and mom's backstory I was bored silly by this passage in the book. I get that we are supposed to see Ruby in a new light because if this...but it doesn't work for me at all.
I feel pretty disappointed by this book because I think the concept has merit. Between that and the lyrical writing style, this story had major potential. Unfortunately. The execution was lacking.
kellyhager's review
Dani's mom is killed suddenly--she's mauled by a bear. Dani ends up having to leave Florida to live with her aunt in New Mexico (who she didn't even know about; her mom was estranged from her family). She meets a guy and learns why her mom was the way she was (and why she never talked about her family).
This is a really odd book. I don't mean that in a bad way (it's very beautiful and very sad) but this is not really a straightforward narrative. Dani imagines the bear that killed her mom is coming to kill her too, and so the bear keeps popping up, but it's rarely scary.
Dani also reads The Stranger, and that's a decent chunk of the story, too. Initially, she's just as detached as that main character, which makes for an interesting parallel.
I enjoyed this novel but if you like linear stories where everything is immediately clear and obvious, this is not for you. The reader is expected to do some of the work here.
This is a really odd book. I don't mean that in a bad way (it's very beautiful and very sad) but this is not really a straightforward narrative. Dani imagines the bear that killed her mom is coming to kill her too, and so the bear keeps popping up, but it's rarely scary.
Dani also reads The Stranger, and that's a decent chunk of the story, too. Initially, she's just as detached as that main character, which makes for an interesting parallel.
I enjoyed this novel but if you like linear stories where everything is immediately clear and obvious, this is not for you. The reader is expected to do some of the work here.