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k_lenn's review against another edition
2.0
I was really, really disappointed with this book.
The writing was fine for YA, but the characters weren't there for me and the ending was overly predictable. The "God" character was unstable, sometimes trying too hard to be funny or relevant to young people.
I didn't enjoy the use of the 'schizo' slur and downplaying suicide attempts- all very big things that negatively affect people with mental illnesses. Indigo also implies that her parents *made* her brother get diagnosed with ADHD, dyslexia, and dyscalculia, as if he didn't get diagnosed just because... he has those? Because they affect him and their parents want to help him thrive, so they brought him to a doctor? However, I do understand that the character was meant to be a young, immature teenager, so, despite being an insensitive addition by the author, I didn't allow this to affect my rating at all. (I do wish she'd been corrected at some point, though.)
All that aside, I would be interested in reading other books by Dana L. Davis.
The writing was fine for YA, but the characters weren't there for me and the ending was overly predictable. The "God" character was unstable, sometimes trying too hard to be funny or relevant to young people.
I didn't enjoy the use of the 'schizo' slur and downplaying suicide attempts- all very big things that negatively affect people with mental illnesses. Indigo also implies that her parents *made* her brother get diagnosed with ADHD, dyslexia, and dyscalculia, as if he didn't get diagnosed just because... he has those? Because they affect him and their parents want to help him thrive, so they brought him to a doctor? However, I do understand that the character was meant to be a young, immature teenager, so, despite being an insensitive addition by the author, I didn't allow this to affect my rating at all. (I do wish she'd been corrected at some point, though.)
All that aside, I would be interested in reading other books by Dana L. Davis.
herskullinabook's review against another edition
5.0
I want to start off by saying I received an ARC version of the book for winning a twitter contest.
I recently had read Dana’s first book Tiffany Sly lives here now and I was beyond excited to read her next book.
And let me tell you this book did not disappoint. At first I didn’t know how to feel about God talking to Indigo but after reading this book I think it was more of herself then a God. I think it was done very tastefully.
I loved the family dynamic of the story. Even though Michelle was getting on my nerves a little bit lol. I feel as though each character added to story in their own special way.
The end of the story took me for a loop I didn’t expect that to happen but I’m glad it did end the way it did I think it was a perfect way to end the story.
Great job Dana
I recently had read Dana’s first book Tiffany Sly lives here now and I was beyond excited to read her next book.
And let me tell you this book did not disappoint. At first I didn’t know how to feel about God talking to Indigo but after reading this book I think it was more of herself then a God. I think it was done very tastefully.
I loved the family dynamic of the story. Even though Michelle was getting on my nerves a little bit lol. I feel as though each character added to story in their own special way.
The end of the story took me for a loop I didn’t expect that to happen but I’m glad it did end the way it did I think it was a perfect way to end the story.
Great job Dana
morganpoptart's review against another edition
4.0
Was a little apprehensive about the focus on God in this novel. However, the true center of this book lies within family and love. It sucked me in within the first 50 pages and the rest was easy reading from there. Davis had me crying and audibly laughing so many times throughout this piece. It was truly a pleasure.
z_brarian's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, just wow. Amazing book about family and learning to want to live. Learning to move on when someone has to leave for good. Powerful story. Hits close to home...
ipomoea's review against another edition
4.0
I received an ARC from the publisher at ALA Midwinter.
CW: terminal illness, assisted suicide, suicide attempts, suicidal ideation
This book starts out heavy, and doesn't get much lighter, but Davis manages to make it work. It opens on Indigo Phillips, climbing as high as she can, wishing she was the one with the terminal illness instead of her perfect sister and other half, Violet. Violet is the twin everyone loves-- kind, patient, smart, easygoing, while Indigo is stubborn, prickly, and often feels like the black sheep of the family (a situation not helped by her older sister Michelle, who constantly rides Indigo for the tiniest of infractions). Violet's dying of pulmonary fibrosis, and it's throwing Indigo's entire life into a tailspin. When she falls from the building she climbed (suicide attempt? Accident?) she hears a voice. A voice that sounds like Dave Chappelle. The voice of... God?
The Voice (as they perfer to be called) comes to Indigo in the hospital, telling her that her sister will live if the whole family goes to the Wave, a landmark in Arizona, and if Indi and Violet can make it to the Wave. Indi is desperate for anything now, and when she comes home to see that her sister has acquired the drugs needed to end her life on her terms, Indi does something rash-- she dumps them out the window into the yard. In the middle of the uproar, she explains her vision, and surprisingly, the family (Mom, Dad, older sister Michelle, her husband and two kids, younger brother Alfred, and the twins) as well as their pastor (a white guy named Jedediah Barnabas) agree to it. The next morning, the motley crew sets out in the pastor's church bus, covered in psychedelic paintings, hauling themselves from Seattle to Arizona. As they drive, they're racing Violet's body, their family traumas, and the pastor's kidney stones. But when Indigo ignores The Voice in order to meet their goal, The Voice goes silent, leaving her to navigate an unthinkable situation on her own.
I have to point out that I was extremely disturbed by Indigo dumping out Violet's AS medicine-- others have no right to try to control what people take to ease their pain or suffering. it's not done out of some religious moralizing on Indigo's part, it's purely selfish. While I understand that being a teenager means your brain isn't fully formed yet, I can see this being a triggering issue for readers. Beyond that, the suicide attempt and Indigo's suicidal ideation may be issues for readers, but they're very clearly presented as her thinking about herself, and her family reflects back their pain and horror that she might do such a thing.
On the surface, this is a road trip novel-- characters forced by proximity to examine themselves and their relationships to those around them. What I'd like to see this used as is a jumping-off point as a discussion about assisted suicide, grief, and hope.
(Note: as a Seattle resident, Columbia City is like two neighborhoods away from Skyway, and Skyway Water and Power is not a thing. Retired black working-class parents who have a home in Columbia City is entirely possible, one that may not be up to the maintenance standards of others on the block, but one that is owned and that the residents take pride in. But Skyway? That's not even in Seattle city limits, it's a majority-minority neighborhood south of Seattle limits. Stg we need geography readers in fiction, starting with some retroactive looks at 50SOG.)
Overall, 3.5 stars, rounding up to 4.
CW: terminal illness, assisted suicide, suicide attempts, suicidal ideation
This book starts out heavy, and doesn't get much lighter, but Davis manages to make it work. It opens on Indigo Phillips, climbing as high as she can, wishing she was the one with the terminal illness instead of her perfect sister and other half, Violet. Violet is the twin everyone loves-- kind, patient, smart, easygoing, while Indigo is stubborn, prickly, and often feels like the black sheep of the family (a situation not helped by her older sister Michelle, who constantly rides Indigo for the tiniest of infractions). Violet's dying of pulmonary fibrosis, and it's throwing Indigo's entire life into a tailspin. When she falls from the building she climbed (suicide attempt? Accident?) she hears a voice. A voice that sounds like Dave Chappelle. The voice of... God?
The Voice (as they perfer to be called) comes to Indigo in the hospital, telling her that her sister will live if the whole family goes to the Wave, a landmark in Arizona, and if Indi and Violet can make it to the Wave. Indi is desperate for anything now, and when she comes home to see that her sister has acquired the drugs needed to end her life on her terms, Indi does something rash-- she dumps them out the window into the yard. In the middle of the uproar, she explains her vision, and surprisingly, the family (Mom, Dad, older sister Michelle, her husband and two kids, younger brother Alfred, and the twins) as well as their pastor (a white guy named Jedediah Barnabas) agree to it. The next morning, the motley crew sets out in the pastor's church bus, covered in psychedelic paintings, hauling themselves from Seattle to Arizona. As they drive, they're racing Violet's body, their family traumas, and the pastor's kidney stones. But when Indigo ignores The Voice in order to meet their goal, The Voice goes silent, leaving her to navigate an unthinkable situation on her own.
I have to point out that I was extremely disturbed by Indigo dumping out Violet's AS medicine-- others have no right to try to control what people take to ease their pain or suffering. it's not done out of some religious moralizing on Indigo's part, it's purely selfish. While I understand that being a teenager means your brain isn't fully formed yet, I can see this being a triggering issue for readers. Beyond that, the suicide attempt and Indigo's suicidal ideation may be issues for readers, but they're very clearly presented as her thinking about herself, and her family reflects back their pain and horror that she might do such a thing.
On the surface, this is a road trip novel-- characters forced by proximity to examine themselves and their relationships to those around them. What I'd like to see this used as is a jumping-off point as a discussion about assisted suicide, grief, and hope.
(Note: as a Seattle resident, Columbia City is like two neighborhoods away from Skyway, and Skyway Water and Power is not a thing. Retired black working-class parents who have a home in Columbia City is entirely possible, one that may not be up to the maintenance standards of others on the block, but one that is owned and that the residents take pride in. But Skyway? That's not even in Seattle city limits, it's a majority-minority neighborhood south of Seattle limits. Stg we need geography readers in fiction, starting with some retroactive looks at 50SOG.)
Overall, 3.5 stars, rounding up to 4.
zbrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, just wow. Amazing book about family and learning to want to live. Learning to move on when someone has to leave for good. Powerful story. Hits close to home...
rstafeil's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed listening to this book, but it wasn't anything life shattering. I was a bit nervous at the beginning that it would be religious. However, while the main character hears "the voice of God", neither the book itself nor most of the characters were really religious. I read a decent amount of YA literature and this one wasn't earth shattering or near the top of my list of favorites.
niquechiquereads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Grief, Death, Terminal illness, Cancer, and Drug use
Moderate: Mass/school shootings and Medical trauma
booksandladders's review against another edition
2.0
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Content Warning: Suicide, attempted suicide & suicidal ideation (theme), Terminal illness
DNF @ 25%
This was just not the book for me about this topic. It wanted to look at how to live with and without someone, coping with terminal illness, and suicide but it missed the mark for me with the few opening chapters that I read.
I just could not stand this at all - the writing, the characterization, and the easy way that the characters thought this journey would solve their problems was not for me.
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Content Warning: Suicide, attempted suicide & suicidal ideation (theme), Terminal illness
DNF @ 25%
This was just not the book for me about this topic. It wanted to look at how to live with and without someone, coping with terminal illness, and suicide but it missed the mark for me with the few opening chapters that I read.
I just could not stand this at all - the writing, the characterization, and the easy way that the characters thought this journey would solve their problems was not for me.
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positivelybooked's review against another edition
4.0
How am I supposed to recover from that ending?