Reviews - Others Were Emeralds

168 reviews for:

Others Were Emeralds

Lang Leav

3.88 AVERAGE

yoonreads's review against another edition

4.0

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

rach260's review against another edition

2.5

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

daisyophelia's review against another edition

4.0

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Beautifully written, could have given 5 stars if not for the fact that it wrecked me. I did not expect to be crying, but here we are. An important story. Read once and never again.

Content Warnings

gotravelynne's review against another edition

4.0

emotional 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

rainyamy's review against another edition

4.25

emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

At times, these characters explain emotional and cultural phenomena so candidly and maturely that the passages take me out of the narrative slightly. These kids are ELOQUENT and ENLIGHTENED. Teenagers don’t talk like that. They have a lot of those feelings, but they phrase them differently. This doesn’t make me enjoy the book any less though. If anything, it just alters the genre somewhat and creates something really cool, something that is slightly less realistic and more introspective. The things these children discuss are clear, concise examples of very relatable things, and these conversations are good reminders of how we can lead our own selves astray if we neglect to consider the whole picture. It also does make it a bit easier to read a high school story as an adult when the characters have these more adult conversations, and they are definitely still kids at heart; this plot would not be possible without these characters acting appropriately rash, overconfident, stubborn, emotional, and willful for their age, perfectly so. I really enjoyed this book, for both the cheery and the devastating pieces of the narrative, and for the little lessons mixed in, too. Watching the characters suffer the consequences of both their choices and their luck then work to learn and rebuild together was very satisfying.

I just love the very careful ways Lang Leav words things. This book is great for several reasons, and I even learned some history and culture from it, but my favorite part will always be the lovely way Leav uses language. She takes tiny, ordinary moments and phrases them so beautifully. I recognize these moments and emotions, and I am grateful to her for finding the right words to describe them, the most honest and accurate words. It’s why I love her poetry and it’s why I love this book, too.

Overall, the story is very enjoyable and is a great piece to reflect on, and to help me reflect on my own friendships and memories. Maybe I made the right choices, maybe I didn’t, but regardless, I’m here now and I take my whole past with me. I definitely made the right choice in reading this book.