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pages_and_procrastination 's review for:
Rise to the Sun
by Leah Johnson
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was given a digital copy of this title, free. All opinions are my own.
This may be a case of going into a book with too high of expectations. I mean to be fair, when I picked up Johnson's debut novel I had no expectations and was super surprised. That book still makes me smile. Part of that is from the book itself and the impression that the characters made on me. But another part is the reading experience of it. It is also the book that introduced me to one of my best bookish friends. So there is that.
But Rise to the Sun, was in a word -disappointing. But it does redeem itself. Let me explain. the first 75% of this is just okay. I was neither invested in what was going on or in the characters. Olivia was pretty annoying with her obsessive ability to fall in love and to only focus on that. It was like every interaction that she had with someone was an evaluation of how compatible they would be or had been with each other - except for her best friend. Tony wasn't that much better. Albeit for more understandable reasons. There wasn't anything truly remarkable about any of the characters.
But then at 75% Amani made me react. She wasn't being a very good best friend. She should have been the person that made Olivia had her big a-ha! moment and not some stranger. But then Olvia wasn't all that great either. And here we are - the last 25% of the book where the story finds its pocket and shines.
Even though the first 75% of the book was focused on a budding romance, the heart of the story is about so much more than that. it's not even about the romance - and the fact that they find themselves through the other person is very dangerous message. But, aside from that, the growth and the realizations that they had finished the book off on a good note. And I finished it smiling. Between the two books she has so far, I would definitely recommend You Should See Me in a Crown always. But, I am still interested in what other stories Johnson has within her.
This may be a case of going into a book with too high of expectations. I mean to be fair, when I picked up Johnson's debut novel I had no expectations and was super surprised. That book still makes me smile. Part of that is from the book itself and the impression that the characters made on me. But another part is the reading experience of it. It is also the book that introduced me to one of my best bookish friends. So there is that.
But Rise to the Sun, was in a word -disappointing. But it does redeem itself. Let me explain. the first 75% of this is just okay. I was neither invested in what was going on or in the characters. Olivia was pretty annoying with her obsessive ability to fall in love and to only focus on that. It was like every interaction that she had with someone was an evaluation of how compatible they would be or had been with each other - except for her best friend. Tony wasn't that much better. Albeit for more understandable reasons. There wasn't anything truly remarkable about any of the characters.
But then at 75% Amani made me react. She wasn't being a very good best friend. She should have been the person that made Olivia had her big a-ha! moment and not some stranger. But then Olvia wasn't all that great either. And here we are - the last 25% of the book where the story finds its pocket and shines.
Even though the first 75% of the book was focused on a budding romance, the heart of the story is about so much more than that. it's not even about the romance - and the fact that they find themselves through the other person is very dangerous message. But, aside from that, the growth and the realizations that they had finished the book off on a good note. And I finished it smiling. Between the two books she has so far, I would definitely recommend You Should See Me in a Crown always. But, I am still interested in what other stories Johnson has within her.