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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
I loved this book! Got completely obsessed by it. Perfect mix of crime fiction, horror, suspense with deft poetic touches. And how refreshing to not only have a gay character in the story but gay is front and center in the story. It could even be seen as an allegory of the (literally) monstrous consequences of systemic homophobia and self-loathing in small town American. I loved loved loved it. Please Ryan Murphy - make a series out of this!
it’s so hard to rate this book because i can’t tell if i loved it or hated it. i feel like the ending both was rushed, and dragged on for too long. maybe i just didn’t pay attention enough, but all of the character names got confusing, and i don’t completely understand what happened. the book held my attention, though, and i feel like it was a very cool concept.
medium-paced
Umm ok this book took me to places I was not expecting at all!! Fave character was Clark, of course, and Kimbra, two strong women. I was sad to see how some story lines ended but also I am left with questions about the ending. This book was an easy read and kept my attention.
I keep seeing reviews drawing comparisons between The Bright Lands and Stephen King novels. Having never read a single chapter of anything Stephen King has written leaves me at a loss to add to that discussion. What I have read plenty of are mysteries and thrillers, this qualifies as one of the best I have encountered from a new author.
Joel Whitley left Texas behind a decade ago and with good reason, he was outed in the most publicly humiliating way. He has made a life for himself in New York and avoids his hometown as much as possible. While he may have physically left Texas, mentally he is still affected by the small-town experience as evidenced by his substance abuse which he alludes to throughout. After a night of partying he receives a cryptic text from his only sibling, a brother almost 10 years his junior. Dylan is the superstar football quarterback of Joel’s former high school. In the text he vaguely hints at how unhappy his life is, that he wants to quit the team and hopes for more out of life than Texas can give him. Feeling an overwhelming twinge of guilt for abandoning his brother, Joel books a flight home for the following weekend.
Upon arriving back in Bentley, TX Joel is immediately reminded of the heartaches he survived in his youth. Its Friday night and in Texas that means one thing, football. He heads on over to the high school stadium to catch up with his mom and see his brother play. No sooner than he parks his rental does he encounter his high school love who is now a sheriff’s deputy, Starsha Clark. Rife with anticipation for how this reunion will play out because she was just as humiliated by his outing as he was.
The game was won and much to Joel’s dismay his brother was not planning to stay home and visit over the weekend. As the weekend unfolds it becomes evident to Joel that something just isn’t right with his brother’s impromptu weekend getaway or hell with the entire town of Bentley for that matter. By Sunday it is apparent that Dylan is missing, and Joel is racked with guilt that he has mostly ignored his brother since he left Bentley. Joel forms an unlikely alliance with the one girlfriend he ever had, Clark, and they embark on a mission to find Dylan. Each day uncovers new revelations about the struggles that Dylan was facing and that everyone in Bentley has secrets that they would rather kill than have uncovered. Something sinister has been brewing for decades and lying just beneath the Texas dirt. Joel and Clark are in the fight of their lives to find out just what it is and who knows what. Along the way the pair will reconcile old wounds that will heal in light of new information and Joel will find out that maybe in one sense he and Dylan were more alike than he ever imagined while the rest of Bentley is the furthest thing from the perception of normal they are killing to keep promoting.
There is so much to unpack in this debut novel from John Fram. Substance abuse, homophobia, the teenage experience, small town life, family ties, and local celebrity. Being from a small southern town I can identify with several of these themes and as I progressed towards the end, I kept being drawn back to my own high school days. I was reminded of my recent 20-year class reunion, how much everyone had changed. The former celebrities of our class are no more famous now than they were then, the difference is not in their reality or circumstance but in the perception of their peers. When we all step back and look to those in our past, I think we can all say, ‘if I knew then what I know now’. And for Joel Whitley, knowing then what he has learned now may have changed his entire existence then.
I am eager to see what John Fram has for the literary world next!
Joel Whitley left Texas behind a decade ago and with good reason, he was outed in the most publicly humiliating way. He has made a life for himself in New York and avoids his hometown as much as possible. While he may have physically left Texas, mentally he is still affected by the small-town experience as evidenced by his substance abuse which he alludes to throughout. After a night of partying he receives a cryptic text from his only sibling, a brother almost 10 years his junior. Dylan is the superstar football quarterback of Joel’s former high school. In the text he vaguely hints at how unhappy his life is, that he wants to quit the team and hopes for more out of life than Texas can give him. Feeling an overwhelming twinge of guilt for abandoning his brother, Joel books a flight home for the following weekend.
Upon arriving back in Bentley, TX Joel is immediately reminded of the heartaches he survived in his youth. Its Friday night and in Texas that means one thing, football. He heads on over to the high school stadium to catch up with his mom and see his brother play. No sooner than he parks his rental does he encounter his high school love who is now a sheriff’s deputy, Starsha Clark. Rife with anticipation for how this reunion will play out because she was just as humiliated by his outing as he was.
The game was won and much to Joel’s dismay his brother was not planning to stay home and visit over the weekend. As the weekend unfolds it becomes evident to Joel that something just isn’t right with his brother’s impromptu weekend getaway or hell with the entire town of Bentley for that matter. By Sunday it is apparent that Dylan is missing, and Joel is racked with guilt that he has mostly ignored his brother since he left Bentley. Joel forms an unlikely alliance with the one girlfriend he ever had, Clark, and they embark on a mission to find Dylan. Each day uncovers new revelations about the struggles that Dylan was facing and that everyone in Bentley has secrets that they would rather kill than have uncovered. Something sinister has been brewing for decades and lying just beneath the Texas dirt. Joel and Clark are in the fight of their lives to find out just what it is and who knows what. Along the way the pair will reconcile old wounds that will heal in light of new information and Joel will find out that maybe in one sense he and Dylan were more alike than he ever imagined while the rest of Bentley is the furthest thing from the perception of normal they are killing to keep promoting.
There is so much to unpack in this debut novel from John Fram. Substance abuse, homophobia, the teenage experience, small town life, family ties, and local celebrity. Being from a small southern town I can identify with several of these themes and as I progressed towards the end, I kept being drawn back to my own high school days. I was reminded of my recent 20-year class reunion, how much everyone had changed. The former celebrities of our class are no more famous now than they were then, the difference is not in their reality or circumstance but in the perception of their peers. When we all step back and look to those in our past, I think we can all say, ‘if I knew then what I know now’. And for Joel Whitley, knowing then what he has learned now may have changed his entire existence then.
I am eager to see what John Fram has for the literary world next!
Summary: Joel Whitley is instantly reminded of his difficult past when he returns to Bentley, a small closed-minded town he fled from years prior after being shamed for his sexuality. Shortly thereafter, his brother Dylan, the local star quarterback goes missing and Joel is determined to find out the truth. The town and the powerful men living in it will stop at nothing to keep the secrets of this town undercover.
My take: I had high hopes for this story, but to me I was so distracted by the graphic and disturbing descriptions of the hate crimes to come close to enjoying this book. I read a lot of true crime, so I'm "used to" descriptive crime, but this one just seemed unnecessarily intense.
I listened on audiobook, and maybe a print version would have been better. For some reason I just never felt connected to the characters and the characters different twists that were thrown in seemed random/a stretch. Overall I gave this book 3 stars - I didn't hate or love it, it fell somewhere between hence the average stars.
My take: I had high hopes for this story, but to me I was so distracted by the graphic and disturbing descriptions of the hate crimes to come close to enjoying this book. I read a lot of true crime, so I'm "used to" descriptive crime, but this one just seemed unnecessarily intense.
I listened on audiobook, and maybe a print version would have been better. For some reason I just never felt connected to the characters and the characters different twists that were thrown in seemed random/a stretch. Overall I gave this book 3 stars - I didn't hate or love it, it fell somewhere between hence the average stars.
This book was certainly entertaining! I wasn't entirely sure what was going on with it when I read the premise, but it sounded interesting enough so I gave it a try. I was honestly pleasantly surprised!
I really enjoyed Joel's perspective on things, as well as Clark's. The only thing I wish is that we had gotten to know Dylan better. He seemed like a great character, but for *reasons* didn't really get too much time to really shine.
I like what John Fram did here, even if the "horror" elements could have been left out. The story would have been great if it had just been about actual social issues that people are facing. Despite that though, I liked it would read it again!
I really enjoyed Joel's perspective on things, as well as Clark's. The only thing I wish is that we had gotten to know Dylan better. He seemed like a great character, but for *reasons* didn't really get too much time to really shine.
I like what John Fram did here, even if the "horror" elements could have been left out. The story would have been great if it had just been about actual social issues that people are facing. Despite that though, I liked it would read it again!
This might be the oddest thing I've ever read. I am not sure what to make of it. I expected Friday Night Lights and what I ended up with was Stranger Things. I am a fan of Stranger Things, but this was too strange for me. I wanted to stop reading, but I kept at it because it is so highly rated, especial among reviewers that I follow. I should have trusted my gut and DNF.