Reviews with content warning for Death - Remarkably Bright Creatures

Reviews tagging 'Death'

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

568 reviews

kotletka_polina's review against another edition

4.0

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Wholesome and cheesy, just how I like it. However, at times the cheesiness was a bit too much in a way that’s not self aware. The book seems to take itself very seriously even though it’s actually quite silly: a lot of plot points and plot twist were unrealistically good so it felt not like a natural progression of the story but like it was specifically written for that particular scene to work out the way it needed to. In the first half of the book we were introduced to a bunch of characters and it was kinda tacky to read because why we need so many story lines wasn’t yet explained; in the second half all lose strings were tied together but a lot of characters were left off without proper closure. Also sometimes I wished the author had told less and shown more, because some of the connections can be made by readers themselves, we’re not dummies that need everything explained to like a 5 year olds.
But I still had a good time reading this book (especially the second half, the first not so much), I enjoyed the writing style and the overall vibe of the story; the descriptions were picturesque and really made the town feel alive.

Content Warnings

jill_holly's review against another edition

5.0

funny hopeful reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I'm so glad my IRL book club got me to read this! It's such a heartwarming story.

Interwoven stories told from multiple POVs, my favourite being Marcellus, the curmudgeonly octopus. He's sarcastic and wry and he makes hilarious observations about humans. I read the last 200 pages in one sitting, it was such a joy to read. If you need a comfort book, try this one.

Content Warnings

lily_sutton's review against another edition

4.0

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

memeraryfiction's review against another edition

4.5

emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is a sweet story that manages to avoid being cheesy. The characters are very well realized: each one feels unique, fully developed, and believable (yes, including the octopus). Even the more minor characters who we don't meet often are very well developed.

The one drawback for me was that there are at times almost sitcom-levels of miscommunication or characters knowing important information and not sharing it with others. This detracted from character believability and story likeability at times. Aside from this, though, Remarkably Bright Creatures is a wonderful book that I very much enjoyed reading.

Content Warnings

kali_bb's review against another edition

4.75

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

ripfrank's review against another edition

funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

cosycatgirl27's review against another edition

2.5

funny hopeful lighthearted slow-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

I found the pace of this book quite slow and not hugely gripping. The voice of the main character, Tova, is quite detached and emotionless which made it difficult to connect with the book. The mix of characters is good and the POV of the octopus is really interesting and very humorous. It’s an enjoyable read with touching moments. I wouldn’t read it again but I’d reccomend to someone looking for something unique and uplifting.

Content Warnings

fischmama4's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-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

Tova and Cameron are both searching for something. Marcellus, the genius Pacific octopus at the aquarium where they work knows exactl what they both are searching for. Through his wild after hours antics, he brings you along on a journey of humans looking for purpose, belonging, redemption, and peace after tragedy. He is the narrator you never knew you needed! Simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming, this is a story that will stay with you for a long time.

Content Warnings