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sarah_e_j's review against another edition
4.0
I won this book through goodreads first reads.
It's a heartwarming story of a teenager dealing with normal teenage issues, as well as a cancer diognosis. Being a young adult book dealing with cancer I was worried that it might be a bit 'deep and meaningful' for me. Lots of soul searching etc. isn't really my thing, but I was pleasently suprised.
This book is funny. There are some very sarcastic characters and overall a general 'British' humour that I could really relate to.
It's a heartwarming story of a teenager dealing with normal teenage issues, as well as a cancer diognosis. Being a young adult book dealing with cancer I was worried that it might be a bit 'deep and meaningful' for me. Lots of soul searching etc. isn't really my thing, but I was pleasently suprised.
This book is funny. There are some very sarcastic characters and overall a general 'British' humour that I could really relate to.
fr1d4_'s review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Cursing
Moderate: Drug use, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death, Drug use, Vomit, and Car accident
xasdfxas's review against another edition
5.0
It took a little longer to meet amber then I would have wanted to ,but other than that I loved everything else.
sammieescano's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
bibliophilicrichard's review against another edition
4.0
It was supposed to be a 3 for me but the last part made up for it :D
saragrochowski's review against another edition
5.0
My goodness, I adore this novel so incredibly much. Yes, it's another cancer book about a teen falling in love with a fellow patient and discovering what it means to live while his body is dying, but here's the thing: this book is so much more than the familiar premise.
“He had to be nice to me at the moment because he had to be surrounded by people. This was because boys like him were, essentially, pasta. Everyone thought they loved him because they had never been forced to experience the true blandness of him on his own.” - from The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise
When you read The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise's description, you might automatically think of The Fault in Our Stars, Before I Die, and all the rest. Then you'll assume you've already read this story. But you haven't... because you haven't met Francis, his family, or Amber, characters that make this novel shine, allowing it to stand out from the mountain of other books with similar plots and conceits. Despite this being sick-lit, it's incredibly funny, due to both Francis' wry observations and his colorful family. His mother, brother, and grandmother all play large parts in the novel and, despite what the novel's summary implies, I think of it as more of an exploration of family relationships than romantic relationships.
“Mum just laughed gleefully at his mounting frustration, like the villainous matriarch in a Roald Dahl story. I suspect a TV guide would describe her idea of comedy as 'dark', or, at very best, 'alternative'.”- from The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise
Like the characters, this book is sometimes happy and sometimes sad. Sometimes it's about cancer, but, most of the time it's about everything but cancer. It truly is a story about learning to live, even when you've been dealt an unfair hand. There aren't any characters within these pages that give up or stop living their lives, even when there might not be that much time left for them to live it. It's not melodramatic and it isn't falsely cheery or optimistic. Instead it feels like you're peeking into Francis' life, watching the exhilarating ups and the difficult downs as they truly are, as people live them everyday despite all types of struggles and drama.
“Grandma's house had the atmosphere of a Tupperware box left out in the sun. Like a tropical flower, she had to be kept warm and moist at all times, or she would wilt and die.”- from The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise
The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise was originally published in the UK as In Bloom and some of the slang and colloquialisms remain, giving the novel an extra bit of charm for American readers like me. There were a couple phrases and references that gave me pause and took a second or two to figure out, but I never found this particularly distracting or troublesome.
Ignore the fact that this book has a familiar premise and add it to your to-read pile. The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise and its quirky characters will undoubtedly lodge themselves firmly in your heart and you'll be glad you took my advice!
“He had to be nice to me at the moment because he had to be surrounded by people. This was because boys like him were, essentially, pasta. Everyone thought they loved him because they had never been forced to experience the true blandness of him on his own.” - from The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise
When you read The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise's description, you might automatically think of The Fault in Our Stars, Before I Die, and all the rest. Then you'll assume you've already read this story. But you haven't... because you haven't met Francis, his family, or Amber, characters that make this novel shine, allowing it to stand out from the mountain of other books with similar plots and conceits. Despite this being sick-lit, it's incredibly funny, due to both Francis' wry observations and his colorful family. His mother, brother, and grandmother all play large parts in the novel and, despite what the novel's summary implies, I think of it as more of an exploration of family relationships than romantic relationships.
“Mum just laughed gleefully at his mounting frustration, like the villainous matriarch in a Roald Dahl story. I suspect a TV guide would describe her idea of comedy as 'dark', or, at very best, 'alternative'.”- from The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise
Like the characters, this book is sometimes happy and sometimes sad. Sometimes it's about cancer, but, most of the time it's about everything but cancer. It truly is a story about learning to live, even when you've been dealt an unfair hand. There aren't any characters within these pages that give up or stop living their lives, even when there might not be that much time left for them to live it. It's not melodramatic and it isn't falsely cheery or optimistic. Instead it feels like you're peeking into Francis' life, watching the exhilarating ups and the difficult downs as they truly are, as people live them everyday despite all types of struggles and drama.
“Grandma's house had the atmosphere of a Tupperware box left out in the sun. Like a tropical flower, she had to be kept warm and moist at all times, or she would wilt and die.”- from The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise
The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise was originally published in the UK as In Bloom and some of the slang and colloquialisms remain, giving the novel an extra bit of charm for American readers like me. There were a couple phrases and references that gave me pause and took a second or two to figure out, but I never found this particularly distracting or troublesome.
Ignore the fact that this book has a familiar premise and add it to your to-read pile. The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise and its quirky characters will undoubtedly lodge themselves firmly in your heart and you'll be glad you took my advice!
elektrasanchez's review against another edition
1.0
This book was honestly so confusing to me, I didn’t even finish the book...
dprssdmomfriend's review against another edition
5.0
Maravilloso libro sobre apreciar lo que es real, no lo que buscamos sea real. Apreciar lo que tenemos, lo que se nos ofrece, aún en las peores circunstancias. La historia de Francis, un chico que debe aprender a como seguir con su vida tras ser diagnosticado con leucemia. Como su vida y los de quien lo rodean van a cambiar; pues solo tiene dos opciones, vivir o no.
Mantengan un paquete de pañuelos cerca, probablemente hayan lágrimas pero no necesariamente por cosas malas.
Mantengan un paquete de pañuelos cerca, probablemente hayan lágrimas pero no necesariamente por cosas malas.