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littlelizzieborden's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
2.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, and Homophobia
aroma_of_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and War
Moderate: Antisemitism
Minor: Self harm and Alcohol
bobbi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Eating disorder, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Forced institutionalization
rhi_'s review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death, Violence, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Homophobia, Antisemitism, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol
bittennailbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The First Bright Thing is JR Dawson's debut novel that promises to be for fans of the Night Circus and Addie La Rue. Ambitious claims! I was very excited to get into it.
First off, there are a lot of storylines in this book. You have the ring master Rin trying to stop World War II while dealing with the injustice of the treatment of her people as both a Spark (magical individual) and being Jewish, and a cat and mouse game with the rival circus owner who used to control her, and a parallel storyline at the same time. The parallel and eventual converging storyline is Edward who finds out that he is a Spark and uses his power of suggestion to go the evil route. Like I said, a lot going on!
What I liked: There was a lot of diversity in this book, just a heads up that this is not a "no homophobia" world and it is a CW for the book. I thought Dawson did an incredible job writing Edward's emotional manipulator personality and drive, a high note on how delightfully frustrating this character was for me. It was an easier read and I managed to read through it in a day and a half on my Kindle.
What I think could use improvement on: there is a lot going on with this book, almost too much. There is way too many storylines and plot driving that don't seem to mesh well together. If you are a fan of the Night Circus and Addie La Rue for the lyrical prose of the book, I don't think this is on par with that. The world building and descriptions are not described thoroughly. It gives more Umbrella Academy or X-Men vibes mixed with the circus.
I think this will be a good book for magical realism fans but some of the plots need to either be reduced or tightened up a bit.
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Sexism, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Sexual violence and Suicidal thoughts