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obscurepages's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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
4.75
Okay, wow wow wow. I don't even know how to explain this book. This was a beautiful and heart wrenching story of being human—of getting lost, making mistakes, trying to make a connection with others, of falling in love, dealing with our problems, and more. I came for some magic, (and there is magic, yes), but I think what made this book so compelling is the way the author gave me a glimpse of the complexity of reality instead. I love that. 🤧
The writing style is just brilliant. I absolutely love how the author isn't afraid to dive deep into the psyche of the characters, and show the readers how unstable/unreliable the characters are, how lonely they are, what drives them to do things or to cope with the things around them.
In a way, I see Some Faraway Place as a character study that's just so heartfelt and complex and raw. If I shed a few tears reading the last few chapters, well, no one saw it okay 🤧😂 (Also, I adored the queer rep + fat rep! And the way I got to meet all the previous characters from the past books, too! I think really missed Caleb and Adam)
This series is so underrated and honestly deserves more love.
The writing style is just brilliant. I absolutely love how the author isn't afraid to dive deep into the psyche of the characters, and show the readers how unstable/unreliable the characters are, how lonely they are, what drives them to do things or to cope with the things around them.
In a way, I see Some Faraway Place as a character study that's just so heartfelt and complex and raw. If I shed a few tears reading the last few chapters, well, no one saw it okay 🤧😂 (Also, I adored the queer rep + fat rep! And the way I got to meet all the previous characters from the past books, too! I think really missed Caleb and Adam)
This series is so underrated and honestly deserves more love.
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Sexual content, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Death, and Murder
bookswritinghappiness's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
I received a digital ARC of this book from Tor Teen via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I had the honor of getting a physical ARC of the first book in the series from Lauren herself back in 2019, and I’m a huge fan of the original The Bright Sessions podcast and its spinoffs, so I was super super excited to read Some Faraway Place early!! This one is extra special to me - there aren’t many queer Jewish characters in YA (let alone plus-sized queer Jewish characters), and they definitely don’t have many opportunities to be on the book cover, so when I heard Rose was getting her own book and then later saw the cover, I was just so happy. Needless to say, I was just as happy (if not more so) when I read it : )
Rose doesn’t get a lot of “screen” time in the original podcast, so getting a more in-depth look into her story and her ability was awesome!! It was especially cool getting to see her gradual discovery of her ability and how her relationship with her family changes as a result. Out of the three TBS novels, this one is definitely the most jam packed - not only does it include Rose, her dreamworlds, and her developing relationship with Emily, but it also includes characters from the previous two novels, some more significantly than others. But, because everything in this universe is connected in more ways than we will ever realize, it all works together well. There is a lot of grey morality in Some Faraway Place, and it definitely got darker at times than I was expecting, but all of those moments were perfectly balanced with the lighter aspects of the book - Rose’s relationship with Emily, her love for her cooking, her humor, her pleasant dreamscapes, etc.
Another aspect I loved was the variety of narration - most of the book is standard prose, but there are also social media posts and letters sprinkled throughout as well. They reveal important pieces of the characters and allow the reader to see some of the novel’s events from other perspectives… and they have so many easter eggs and fandom references, which was super fun for me since I know the podcast so well : ) But do not fear - people will still be able to enjoy and understand everything even without having listened to the podcast.
Lauren Shippen is one of the most incredible writers, and Some Faraway Place is a perfect sendoff and love letter to the TBS universe. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to read it early, and I’m so excited for everyone to get to read it in September : )
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Death, Confinement, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, Medical content, and Violence
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