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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
I liked the premise of the book and a few of the characters although I felt like there were far far too many characters to try and keep straight in my head. Although the book was thriller with a hint of horror, I felt like the ending fell a bit short. I really wanted to like this book and I liked the base storyline of it but I guess it just didn't it for me.
I’m a gay man living in NYC who grew up in a small, methy, football obsessed town in TX so it would have been hard to not have a good time with this. SO MUCH FUN! Friday Night Lights by way of Twin Peaks with a little Lovecraft and a lotta queer content. What’s not to like?!?
3.5 maybe? I liked it, but ugh I really really wanted to love this based on the blurb and reviews I read! This book was so weird. It starts off well but the horror aspect felt really unnecessary and disjointed from the rest of the story.
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for Goodreads
Fram's debut novel resonates on a personal level. My hometown nestled in the Sierra Nevada Foothills had an unhealthy obsession with High School football. Our small-town community rallied around anything and everything having to do with the football team, but little else.
Playing for the team was like a badge of honor; an instant boost into the popular-kids sub-culture at school. All the other extracurricular activities were shadowed by the eclipsing glory of football.
Fram captured the essence of this kind of atmosphere perfectly in his book, THE BRIGHT LANDS.
The main character, Joel Whitley is a former high school quarterback who left his old stomping grounds to pursue a career a little less 'sports-oriented'.
He becomes increasingly concerned about his younger brother who is following in his footsteps back home, after receiving some cryptic text messages.
I struggled with this book in the very beginning. There was a lot going on in a short amount of time. A lot of characters come in and out which is confusing for readers trying to hold on to the important cast members in their minds. I found myself wondering about certain people only to realize they weren't coming back to the story.
There was something about the writing, especially the dialog, that felt like one of those stylized teen drama sitcoms on network television-think PRETTY LITTLE LIARS or something like it, where everything is a little too "on the nose". You know how when you watch those shows and you think to yourself, "Nobody really talks/acts like that in real life."
Yeah, that.
It took a good hundred pages before I settled into the pacing and started investing in main characters.
But once I did, the story became more compelling and interesting. Fram introduces some unexpected elements that lift this book beyond stereotypical, YA genre labeling and into a fresh, contemporary horror novel with thoughtful, social commentary on bullying and homophobia.
Fram's debut novel resonates on a personal level. My hometown nestled in the Sierra Nevada Foothills had an unhealthy obsession with High School football. Our small-town community rallied around anything and everything having to do with the football team, but little else.
Playing for the team was like a badge of honor; an instant boost into the popular-kids sub-culture at school. All the other extracurricular activities were shadowed by the eclipsing glory of football.
Fram captured the essence of this kind of atmosphere perfectly in his book, THE BRIGHT LANDS.
The main character, Joel Whitley is a former high school quarterback who left his old stomping grounds to pursue a career a little less 'sports-oriented'.
He becomes increasingly concerned about his younger brother who is following in his footsteps back home, after receiving some cryptic text messages.
I struggled with this book in the very beginning. There was a lot going on in a short amount of time. A lot of characters come in and out which is confusing for readers trying to hold on to the important cast members in their minds. I found myself wondering about certain people only to realize they weren't coming back to the story.
There was something about the writing, especially the dialog, that felt like one of those stylized teen drama sitcoms on network television-think PRETTY LITTLE LIARS or something like it, where everything is a little too "on the nose". You know how when you watch those shows and you think to yourself, "Nobody really talks/acts like that in real life."
Yeah, that.
It took a good hundred pages before I settled into the pacing and started investing in main characters.
But once I did, the story became more compelling and interesting. Fram introduces some unexpected elements that lift this book beyond stereotypical, YA genre labeling and into a fresh, contemporary horror novel with thoughtful, social commentary on bullying and homophobia.
The mystery at the center of this well-written book is compelling, but the story got too violent and scary for my taste.
This was a hard read, the ending was...lazy writing or a cheap scape goat.
Wow! This is quite the debut novel. So horror isn’t really my thing but I may have to rethink it after this horror/ mystery novel. This was shocking and quite brutal but it really caught and held my attention the whole time. It’s hard to say much more than that because of spoilers but wow.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Was good up until the end just became completely unbelievable. And I don't mean the supernatural monster.