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yvo_about_books's review against another edition
2.0
“We’ll exist at the extremes because the middle is where the healthy pass their time.”
WARNING: a VERY unexpected unpopular opinion review!!
Oh yes, this rating is not a mistake. I still can't believe it myself, but one of my most anticipated releases of 2024 and one I had already pencilled in as a 5 star read ended up being a VERY unexpected dud for me. I was SO excited to be buddy reading All The Colors Of The Dark with Nicki, and we both had high expectations for this book. To our surprise, both of us ended up struggling considerably with this story that so many people seem to love... It almost felt like we were reading a completely different story than everyone else, and I have to be honest here and say that I don't think I would have finished it if I had read it alone. Why did I struggle so much with All The Colors In The Dark then? I'll try to keep it brief, because I don't want to turn this shorties review in a full blown rant. Yes, it was THAT bad for me. Please don't shoot the messenger!
So, All The Colors In The Dark. I'm not sure if it was Fickle Freida ruining the day for me, but the fact is that both of us struggled considerably from the very beginning. I know that most people seem to love the writing, but for me personally it was just too flowery and it was hard to make proper sense of the sentences at times. This story is definitely more literary fiction than crime thriller; not something I expected and not a genre I usually enjoy. I know this reaction is very personal and I did become a bit more used to the writing style after a while, but I never warmed up to it and especially dialogues could be very frustrating. Why does everything have to be so incredibly vague?! I like surprises and twists in my stories, but in this case it felt like the author kept the reader in the dark until the very end, and even then things weren't cleared up in a proper way. And then I'm not even talking about the fact that you have to be able to suspend your disbelief a LOT, because there are so many situations that just don't make sense...
What more? Well, definitely the fact that All The Colors In The Dark is just so incredibly SLOW. I know that this is a character-driven story and those tend to be slower, but this was just glacial pace almost throughout. Directly linked to this is the fact that this story is just extremely overlong; it could have been cut in half and it would still be overlong for me. I think I would have enjoyed this story so much more as a crime thriller... But then again, literary fiction doesn't usually work for me in the first place. I wasn't a fan of the short chapters either, and to make things worse they jumped all over the place. Add a boatload of characters that I was never able to warm up to, probably partly due to the writing style and wonky dialogues, and it was a struggle to keep reading. Sure, I'll say that I did like Saint and Patch initially, but only before Patch was kidnapped. Afterwards, their behavior started to frustrate me more and more, and I wasn't a fan of how everyone seems to be enabling Patch's behavior. And then I haven't even mentioned the focus on religion in part of the plot... And the fact that the ending itself was mainly confusing and utterly not worth the time we invested to finish it despite our struggles. I'm so glad we buddy read it with Nicki though, because we could compare and talk through our frustrations on Twitter. It took us ages to get through this story, but mostly because we couldn't really stomach more than a dozen or so chapters each day... And it is honestly a miracle we even finished it.
Yikes, this review ended up being a rant after all... As you might have already guessed, All The Colors Of The Dark and me REALLY didn't get along. I'm still shocked myself, because I absolutely loved his previous book We Begin At The End... But this story most definitely wasn't my cup of tea.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
stenaphierose'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
4.0
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Abortion
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Cancer
kimveach's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
tabookish's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
juanat77's review
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
shesflippinpages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
soobooksalot's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
jess_d84's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, Pregnancy, and War
astoriareader's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
- We get to follow the lives of Patch & Saint over a 25 year span, namely from 1976-2001.
- We start in the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri. Patch & Saint are young & friends, and they only have each other. They are outsiders & don’t really fit in with everyone else at school. One day, Patch saves a girl, Misty, from being taken by a man in the woods. In the process of saving Misty, Patch is taken himself.
- I don’t want to spoil more, so I will leave it at the story follows Patch & Saint for 25 years and how they intertwine.
- At 608 pages, this book may be intimidating to some, but the chapters are all short & digestible. It’s a slow burn, but a big payoff. Worth the read. Very satisfying ending.
- The book is a mix of genres and topics - mystery, literary fiction, love story/romance, thriller, missing girls, coming of age, & even some mentions of historical events.
- The characters are so deep, complex, & vividly captured. One of the best character studies I have ever read.
- Loved the exploration of loyalty, trauma, courage, vulnerability, family (ones you are born into & ones you make along the way), friendship, hope, grief, guilt, the different kinds of love, & more that I am missing.
- A masterpiece. The plot & characters are expertly woven together. Whitaker is clearly an expert storyteller. It all flows so well. Excellent pacing.
- Gorgeous, poetic prose. Not sure how I haven’t read any of Whitaker’s books before, but can’t wait to get his other ones.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Terminal illness, and Grief
Minor: Incest, Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Abortion
cmklaft's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Abortion, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Gun violence, and Death of parent