Reviews - Rise to the Sun | The StoryGraph

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741 reviews for:

Rise to the Sun

Leah Johnson

3.62 AVERAGE

alexikakon's review against another edition

2.75

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

antsneversleep's review against another edition

4.0

Leah Johnson & Alaska Jackson are sooooo good together, like Jason Reynolds & Guy Lockard good.

rosepearl_reads's review against another edition

4.0

3.5 stars, the front half felt stronger than the back half.

goblingirlreads's review against another edition

4.0

emotional hopeful lighthearted 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

Leah Johnson...how the hell do you do this?! I keep saying I'm done reading contemporary YA and then somehow I find myself so absorbed in this book and these two characters that deserve something good. I did feel annoyed at the "ignore the best friend" arc bc I legitimately felt so bad for the best friend but it did eventually get resolved in a way that felt true and right. And of course I got absolutely soppy at the sapphic love story. Another solid one Leah Johnson.

unapologeticallyniy's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous emotional funny reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

readingqueerly's review against another edition

2.75

hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Felt a little superficial. Most of the plot happened in the last 80-ish pages and the rest kinda felt like filler. It was fine imo. Not badly written, but nothing special. It took me a while to figure out why I felt something was off and in my opinion, this books should have been written from Imani's POV. I think that would have made it more interesting. Mostly couldn't get into it I think because the characters weren't relatable for me. But that's a me problem.

Content Warnings

steel_city_peach's review against another edition

4.0

Almost Perfect

This book delivered everything that I love about the Young Adult genre. The storyline was fun and interesting from beginning to end. The romance was so sweet and wholesome. I loved seeing Olivia and Toni learn to love themselves. Their growth and acceptance was beautiful. The highlight of having real friends to have your back no matter what warmed my heart. There was a reasonable amount of angst and heartache. There was comedy and feel good moments. The only draw back was the lack of soul. The backdrop of the story happened at a punk music festival. That’s not relatable for me. I was hoping for something with a little more seasoning. A little more melanin magic. Overall, it was a great read. Leah Johnson delivered another winner!