Reviews tagging 'War'

The First Bright Thing by J.R. Dawson

40 reviews

sashahc's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“The First Bright Thing” by JR Dawson is about a queer Jewish woman ringmaster of a magical circus in Midwest America in 1926.  It’s about recovering from abuse and the weight of history and the beauty of found family.  It’s about evil and all the ways we fight it.  It’s about Tikkun Olam.  It’s got so many layers and such great characters.  Highly recommended, especially during these days of awe.  #book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Death of parent

briophyta's review

SUPER triggering as a survivor of abuse trying to listen to this audiobook. I think it's really irresponsible of the author to not have a big trigger warning on the first page or the cover or something. From reading the blurb about the plot and the author this sounds like it could be a great story and great representation of queerness, but the voice of the terrifying abuser loudly barging into every scene is very disturbing and seems tone deaf considering the significantly higher rate of abuse that happens to people in our community... and not only that but SO many other types of traumas just casually dropped in all over the place for almost every character encountered in the first few chapters. It was unbearably triggering, I actually had to take anxiety medicine to calm down after trying to push through and then realizing it was just too much and immediately returning the book in the library app. The writing is also frustratingly confusing and poorly paced imo!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War

Minor: Vomit

rhi_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Death, Violence, and War

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Homophobia, Antisemitism, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

atlastheninth's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-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

3.75

This is a lovely story about the past being the past and while we need to worry about the future we have to live in the present and make the best of it. It is about self-acceptance and choosing your own family. 

It was good and I did like the ending, but overall I was a bit underwhelmed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Toxic relationship, Murder, Gaslighting, and War

Moderate: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Antisemitism, and Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse and Genocide

tofugal's review against another edition

The plot and premise were intriguing, but the characters fell flat for me. I did like Jo, but not enough to keep reading. Also, there was far too much time spent in the villain's mind for my liking (especially since he seemed like a discount Kilgrave from Jessica Jones, and he wasn't going to top David Tennant's brilliant portrayal).

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Antisemitism, and War

the_lesbrarian's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Dawson’s debut novel promises a truly unique premise for fans of The Night Circus and Cloud Cuckoo Land. Set primarily in 1920s midwest USA, The First Bright Thing offers an alternate reality where, at the close of the first world war, millions of people were bestowed with sparks, a single magical power stemming from their most desperate wish.

Rin uses her ability to travel through space and time to create a magical circus and refuge for outcast sparks. She and her wife dedicate their lives to saving others through art, performance, and magic. However, when Rin travels forward and sees the horrors the near future holds, she struggles to stay grounded in the present. 

Dawson weaves together so many threads in so few pages that sometimes the story can feel a little rushed— I particularly wish that more time had been dedicated to relationships between the characters, which were central to the plot, but not often thoroughly developed. 

The First Bright Thing delicately explores identity, family, what we owe to the people we love, and how much choice we really have in our futures. 

rep:

-jewish mc

-wlw main 

-mlm side 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Blood, and Death of parent

Minor: Genocide, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, and Antisemitism

More details on the domestic abuse:

it is very central to the story. The main character is in a prolonged relationship with an abusive man who has the power to make people do whatever he says, and he is a constant threat/main villain throughout the novel. Reading how the main character is forced to obey and believe him may be very triggering. Take care of yourself <3

hopefully_jamie's review

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and War

saraellington_'s review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Homophobia

onegalonelife27's review

hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and War

Moderate: Homophobia, Death of parent, and Murder

jenabest's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Ooh, I kind of loved this. This was such a cool concept and it was executed so well. I was surprised, though, at the amount of darkness in the story. It should be noted there's some heavy abuse content & and it was definitely an aspect I wasn't expecting. But if you can brace for the darkness, this story can also dazzle you with light.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and War

Minor: Homophobia