Brightly Shining by Ingvild H. Rishøi

4.0 AVERAGE

translator_monkey's review against another edition

4.0
Beautifully written, marvelously translated. The publisher of the book has neglected the translator by not including her name on the cover. Nothing new, but it's more than a little silly to keep running into these days.

25-word review: Two Norwegian kids with amazing friends and neighbors but low expectations struggle to have a first normal Christmas after Dad falls spectacularly off the wagon.

Be careful who you buy this for. That goes for you, yourself. If you struggle with feelings of depression this time of year, or are in your own world of anxiety and anguish over a family member in the throes of dependency challenges, give this one a hard pass. Even though the finale is open-ended, and can be interpreted in a number of ways, I think we owe it to ourselves and others who might be triggered to give this a bit of a wide berth. For myself, in spite of the open ending, my mind traveled into deep, dark places.

darkacademicweapon's review against another edition

4.0
emotional reflective sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

acuriousidea's review against another edition

4.0
dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced
timelord10's profile picture

timelord10's review against another edition

3.0
challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
Despite the beautiful cover and title, this novella is actually very sad. You follow two sisters who make their own way to survive since their father is an alcoholic who can't hold a job. It's written from the perspective of Ronja, the ten year old, who is always hoping their dad will stop drinking and things will be like they have been before. And her sister, Melissa, has kind of given up on hoping their dad will get better. Despite her lack of hope, she does what she can to take care of Ronja. The ending is very confusing and open ended. Ronja gets sick, and at that point, I couldn't tell if she was really delirious and dreaming or if it was actually happening. And then in the end, they both end up at their cabin in the woods that they talk about throughout the book, and I couldn't tell if they had died or if Ronja was in a delirious state still or if it was real. 

What I liked about the story was Ronja's character and especially the parts with her and Aronsen. I love how he saw Ronja and helped to take care of her. The scene when he comes to watch her sing at the Lucia Day concert thing her school had so that she wouldn't feel left out was really heartfelt. What I didn't like about the story was the open endedness of it all. I'm definitely a person who likes when a story's ending isn't up for interpretation. Although, I appreciate what the author was trying to do. I'd recommend this book if you like sadder stories, stories about sisters, and stories about hope even in dark times.
 
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17jw_aggie's profile picture

17jw_aggie's review against another edition

3.5
challenging emotional sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

jamiethearcher's review

3.0
Not quite a hopeful Christmas story, but a real one.  There was a foreboding feeling throughout the story, and I felt like it was trying to do what Claire Keegan does, but she is unmatchable.  

bluegremlin's review against another edition

5.0
emotional 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: No

andieevalee's review

4.0
challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

emilypdall's review against another edition

4.0
dark emotional hopeful reflective 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: Yes
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krystowska's profile picture

krystowska's review against another edition

4.0
Boken er velskrevet og har mange lag. Jeg likte hvordan noen ting kommer igjen gjennom hele fortellingen og driver den fremover, som julegranene og fortellingen om jenten med svovelstikkerne. Jeg likte også sterkt hvordan den er helt fra barnets ståsted, og hvordan den skildrer hva det gjør med et barn å vokse opp under slike forhold, for eksempel når Ronja begynte å utvikle tvangstanker. Noe som også legger igjen en kuslig følelse er hvordan fortellingen er full av snille, velmente voksne, men som faktisk ikke gjør noe. Liksom, de bryr seg, men sviker barnene allikevel hele tiden i sin håndfallenhet av å gripe inn og få til en forandring. 

Men en sak, som helt og holdent har med smak å gjøre, er at jeg ikke er glad i sagaer. Jeg vet ikke hvorfor, men jeg bare liker ikke formatet. Jeg finner det, for eksempel, utroverdig at søsknene ikke krangler en eneste gang. Selv om boken tar opp alvolige temaer og er brutal så er den også søt på en måte, og sånt er jeg ikke så glad i.