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andysposato's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Damien is one of if not the most interesting character in the Atypical universe. His and Mark’s stories converging was my favorite aspect of the podcast series. This novel was an insightful look at Damien’s past, and Charlie Ian (narrator) is the exactly perfect voice for this character. In A Neon Darkness, he goes from sad, vulnerable Robert to sad, terrifying Damien. If you’ve listened to the podcast, you know exactly what kind of character development is coming.
What I really want is a book or podcast following Damien/Robert post-AM, when his ability is distorted beyond influence. He’s maybe the biggest victim of his own ability, but still I want so badly for his life to turn around for him. Now with his power muted, he’s all alone. Just sad Damien. And that doesn’t feel satisfying at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Drug use
issue of consent is a huge, recurring theme of the novel due to the nature of the main character’s abilitypaigerini's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I bought A Neon Darkness and Some Faraway Place from a second-hand book store, not knowing they were part of a series. So, I read this book as a standalone novel (so some takes may not apply to those who are reading all of the books in order).
I never sympathized with Robert/Damien at all. Even though he has terrible trauma and knows what it is like to struggle to live life normally, he never considers that his friends also experience the same things. I understand he is supposed to be flawed and this is like his villain origin story, but he's not likable whatsoever. For an audience to care about villains, they need to be charismatic, funny, or complex, but Damien is barely any of these things. He doesn't even attempt to change - genuinely trying to change and failing would've made his story much more of a tragic hero plot than him being stubborn and awful.
I wish we learned more about all of the characters' backstories.It would have made Damien's plan to keep everyone happy with his power much more effective if he thought he was saving them from their past trauma. Missed an opportunity to flesh out the friend group's dynamic, especially Marley and Blaze.
The side conflict also seemed extremely anti-climatic (probably because there is more information about them in the other books).Who is Isaiah? Why is he in California? What is he experimenting on Unusuals for? Again, this probably makes more sense in the context of the other books, but there is little connecting this book to the others from what I've researched.
When it comes to the writing, it was mostly okay. It was easy enough to follow. However, some of the descriptions of actions sound like how I wrote in middle school, which I would rather not have paid $8 for.
Overall, this was a...read. I wish I had known before I purchased this book that it was part of a series, but to be fair, each book does not follow the same characters, so they should be able to stand alone without too many complications. I wish that Robert had more depth and that the side plot didn't flatline near the end as it did.
I never sympathized with Robert/Damien at all. Even though he has terrible trauma and knows what it is like to struggle to live life normally, he never considers that his friends also experience the same things. I understand he is supposed to be flawed and this is like his villain origin story, but he's not likable whatsoever. For an audience to care about villains, they need to be charismatic, funny, or complex, but Damien is barely any of these things. He doesn't even attempt to change - genuinely trying to change and failing would've made his story much more of a tragic hero plot than him being stubborn and awful.
I wish we learned more about all of the characters' backstories.
The side conflict also seemed extremely anti-climatic (probably because there is more information about them in the other books).
When it comes to the writing, it was mostly okay. It was easy enough to follow. However, some of the descriptions of actions sound like how I wrote in middle school, which I would rather not have paid $8 for.
Overall, this was a...read. I wish I had known before I purchased this book that it was part of a series, but to be fair, each book does not follow the same characters, so they should be able to stand alone without too many complications. I wish that Robert had more depth and that the side plot didn't flatline near the end as it did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
alicelalicon's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Gaslighting, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Murder
sophiesmallhands's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship
Moderate: Gaslighting, Murder, Death, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Racism, and Drug abuse
dodecashedron's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It's always weird when you read a book where the main character is kind of a baddie.
But I felt the author did a great job of having us empathise with him without sympathising too much or making us forget his own role in all this.
It is so clear that Robert/Damian's view of the world is so skewed,and thst he cannot see this. Every time he fucked up and you thi k he might learn from this, he learns the exact wrong lessons. That combined with 0 accountability make him interesting to read about, impossible to be around.
But I felt the author did a great job of having us empathise with him without sympathising too much or making us forget his own role in all this.
It is so clear that Robert/Damian's view of the world is so skewed,and thst he cannot see this. Every time he fucked up and you thi k he might learn from this, he learns the exact wrong lessons. That combined with 0 accountability make him interesting to read about, impossible to be around.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Addiction, and Murder
theheartisanaro's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
3.0
This entire book screams "it's Damien's world and we're all just living in it". It was hard to get through and mostly unpleasant to read but I did find myself understanding Damien to some extent and feeling sympathetic towards him. The one thing I didn't like was the occasional switch between perspectives which felt choppy and didn't really add much to the overall plot. I also generally think Lauren Shippen is better at writing podcasts than books, but I'd still recommend this to anyone who likes The Bright Sessions or enjoys reading about an emo teen with no character development.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Vomit, Alcoholism, and Violence
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, War, Confinement, Drug abuse, and Suicide attempt
poemsarelikepeople's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Moderate: Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Cursing, Addiction, Stalking, Islamophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Vomit and Homophobia
opossumom's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sooo much better than the first book in the series. i can't believe lauren made me actually care about damien--crazy.
my biggest gripe with this book is that the perspective unexpectedly changes (i listened to the audiobook, so i was a bit jarring for me) from first person to third person limited to third omniscient.. and i kinda hated it lmao. other than that, this was a great character study for a character i was very uninterested in to begin wih.
my biggest gripe with this book is that the perspective unexpectedly changes (i listened to the audiobook, so i was a bit jarring for me) from first person to third person limited to third omniscient.. and i kinda hated it lmao. other than that, this was a great character study for a character i was very uninterested in to begin wih.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Drug use
saukittome's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death, and Murder
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Gaslighting
candycain's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Stalking
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Confinement, Medical content, and Sexual assault
Minor: Blood, Torture, and Medical trauma