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emma_reards's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This book had a really slow start and I had to force myself to continue picking it up. I did enjoy last 100 pages significantly more than the rest of the book and was happy with how everything wrapped up.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, and Murder
kelly_e's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Title: We Are the Light
Author: Matthew Quick
Genre: Magical Realism
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: November 1, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Powerful • Challenging • Haunting
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Lucas Goodgame lives in Majestic, Pennsylvania, a quaint suburb that has been torn apart by a recent tragedy. Everyone in Majestic sees Lucas as a hero—everyone, that is, except Lucas himself. Insisting that his deceased wife, Darcy, visits him every night in the form of an angel, Lucas spends his time writing letters to his former Jungian analyst, Karl. It is only when Eli, an eighteen-year-old young man whom the community has ostracized, begins camping out in Lucas’s backyard that an unlikely alliance takes shape and the two embark on a journey to heal their neighbors and, most importantly, themselves.
💭 T H O U G H T S
The premise, including themes of grief and the magical realism aspects, were what drew me to pick up We Are the Light. I also never realized it was written by the same author as The Silver Linings Playbook until I was finished.
Told through a series of letters from the main character to his therapist, Matthew Quick employs a clever writing style to explore grief, mental health, tragedy and the trauma that follows, community and hope. The letters are at times endearing, other times comical, and often sad. Lucas' character is easy to connect and relate to - some of his inner thoughts and dialogue were all too real, especially the idea of survivour's guilt.
What I appreciated most is the open dialogue on therapy and struggle in the face of the unthinkable. The narrative took me on an emotional roller coaster. While there was room for more depth and the epistolary style could be confusing to come readers, it is the ending alone that made this a 4-star read. It is an ending for the age, the type that makes you believe in humanity and tears were shed.
We Are the Light certainly treads into heavy content, but more specifically the aftermath of an unthinkable tragedy and coming out the other side as best you can. It does a fantastic job presenting human fragility, yet I was left feeling hopeful when I turned the final page. I will definitely be reading more from Matthew Quick.
📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• unlikely friendships
• mental illness representation
• epistolary novels
⚠️ CW: death, partner death, gun violence, murder, mass/school shooting, suicide, suicidal thoughts, grief, mental illness, depression, panic attacks/disorders, self harm, child abuse
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"And there is perhaps no greater pain than the suffering that comes from speaking plainly but failing to make any sort of meaningful connection with the people who care about you."
Author: Matthew Quick
Genre: Magical Realism
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: November 1, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Powerful • Challenging • Haunting
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Lucas Goodgame lives in Majestic, Pennsylvania, a quaint suburb that has been torn apart by a recent tragedy. Everyone in Majestic sees Lucas as a hero—everyone, that is, except Lucas himself. Insisting that his deceased wife, Darcy, visits him every night in the form of an angel, Lucas spends his time writing letters to his former Jungian analyst, Karl. It is only when Eli, an eighteen-year-old young man whom the community has ostracized, begins camping out in Lucas’s backyard that an unlikely alliance takes shape and the two embark on a journey to heal their neighbors and, most importantly, themselves.
💭 T H O U G H T S
The premise, including themes of grief and the magical realism aspects, were what drew me to pick up We Are the Light. I also never realized it was written by the same author as The Silver Linings Playbook until I was finished.
Told through a series of letters from the main character to his therapist, Matthew Quick employs a clever writing style to explore grief, mental health, tragedy and the trauma that follows, community and hope. The letters are at times endearing, other times comical, and often sad. Lucas' character is easy to connect and relate to - some of his inner thoughts and dialogue were all too real, especially the idea of survivour's guilt.
What I appreciated most is the open dialogue on therapy and struggle in the face of the unthinkable. The narrative took me on an emotional roller coaster. While there was room for more depth and the epistolary style could be confusing to come readers, it is the ending alone that made this a 4-star read. It is an ending for the age, the type that makes you believe in humanity and tears were shed.
We Are the Light certainly treads into heavy content, but more specifically the aftermath of an unthinkable tragedy and coming out the other side as best you can. It does a fantastic job presenting human fragility, yet I was left feeling hopeful when I turned the final page. I will definitely be reading more from Matthew Quick.
📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• unlikely friendships
• mental illness representation
• epistolary novels
⚠️ CW: death, partner death, gun violence, murder, mass/school shooting, suicide, suicidal thoughts, grief, mental illness, depression, panic attacks/disorders, self harm, child abuse
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"And there is perhaps no greater pain than the suffering that comes from speaking plainly but failing to make any sort of meaningful connection with the people who care about you."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Grief, and Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
partner death, depressionnbaker83's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Some parts of this book were heartbreakingly beautiful and some parts were odd and dragged on. Perhaps it might have made more sense and resonated more with me if I had experience dealing with depression and severe trauma. I had high hopes for this and really wanted to love it, but at the end of the day I just thought that on balance it was ok.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Murder
chelle22's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, and Murder
bobbyheddy's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, and Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Suicide
emeryboyd's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
2.0
For a short audiobook it felt really slow to start. I didn’t get drawn in until chapter 14 (of 18). It had a good and emotional ending but was pretty easy to predict
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
brynstonehouse's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
As a therapist myself, this book was initially a struggle to read. Especially as it reminded me of some of my previous highly codependent clients. But the last 50ish pages really turn it around and redeemed that aspect of the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Murder
shyleek's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-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
5.0
I have to admit that the writing style threw me for a loop and I didn't know how I was going to feel about it. The more I read though, the more I wanted to read.
This book deals with some deep concepts including loss, grief, healing, and family trauma just to name a few. It will take you on an emotional roller coaster but it is worth the read.
There are some big triggers including murder and gun violence.
This book deals with some deep concepts including loss, grief, healing, and family trauma just to name a few. It will take you on an emotional roller coaster but it is worth the read.
There are some big triggers including murder and gun violence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Murder
cassidy's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
</3 this book was so sad -- also I like that we were fully taken along with Lucas and could be with him in his journey. and although the trope of "healing isn't linear" is cheesy the way that it was portrayed wasn't. also loved the theme of that we all have monsters inside of us (as opposed to labeling people as either good or bad). made me want to learn more about Jungian analysis.
Also, I kind of liked the portrayal of the politician character not as being villainous but as not being what the town needed to heal. I'm not trying to be all "thoughts and prayers" and obviously gun control is needed, but that does seem separate from a healing process and i like the perspective of "yes we need gun control, but i can't put my pain on a pedestal for political gain" idk I guess survivors of any sort are often expected to be political voices that call for change/ that is the only acceptable option presented to deal with trauma and that feels a little unfair to them. so anyways i liked the perspective that this book took in respect to that.
I'm not sure how I feel about the conclusion that the idea that Darcy was with him as an angel was fully him dissociating or a hallucination -- but I guess still this is the perspective of Lucas as he is an unreliable narrator and I guess I'm okay with finding my own truth somewhere in between
Also, I kind of liked the portrayal of the politician character not as being villainous but as not being what the town needed to heal. I'm not trying to be all "thoughts and prayers" and obviously gun control is needed, but that does seem separate from a healing process and i like the perspective of "yes we need gun control, but i can't put my pain on a pedestal for political gain" idk I guess survivors of any sort are often expected to be political voices that call for change/ that is the only acceptable option presented to deal with trauma and that feels a little unfair to them. so anyways i liked the perspective that this book took in respect to that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Violence, and Mass/school shootings
cc_shelflove's review
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I feel so bad giving this book three stars because the subject matter is so important and heartbreaking, but i just don’t think this author is for me. After Lucas and his Jungian analyst’s wives were killed in the tragic Majestic Theater shooting, he receives a letter that Karl is no longer practicing. How can he continue healing without his analyst? Enter Eli, the younger brother of the Majestic Theater shooter. Lucas and Eli have both lost their way. Can they lean on each other in an attempt to move forward?
This book seemed to ramble on and on and on. The chapters were way too long. Hell, the last one was 47 pages! The religious and spiritual aspects of Lucas’s letters bored me a bit, but this may partially be my own fault for choosing to go into most of my reads completely blind. 😇 While the story was thought-provoking at times, the language was not. It honestly took me way too long to get through these 240 pages, because I simply was not engaged. Reviews for this one will probably be all over the board.
This book seemed to ramble on and on and on. The chapters were way too long. Hell, the last one was 47 pages! The religious and spiritual aspects of Lucas’s letters bored me a bit, but this may partially be my own fault for choosing to go into most of my reads completely blind. 😇 While the story was thought-provoking at times, the language was not. It honestly took me way too long to get through these 240 pages, because I simply was not engaged. Reviews for this one will probably be all over the board.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Bullying and Emotional abuse