Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton

27 reviews

booksofbells's review against another edition

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inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

a story about survival and resilience of Wanda, a girl born in the midst of a hurricane Wanda, hence the name was given. i picked this up out of the blue and instantly liked the writings. throughout the book i was immensely impressed with the story. the relation between the changes in nature and human's survival was perfectly done. the wordings, the settings, characters, it feels so familiar when i read this book. i can't describe exactly what i felt but all i can say is that i've never read a literary fiction before cause i don't like it but this one is different. it was so good. highly recommend it if you want to read for leisure.
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jessismoore's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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kelseylee123's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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hmatt's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

It's a rarity, at least in the range of speculative fiction that I usually read, to encounter a book that so thoroughly looks at the "in-between times". So often, we're plopped into a near-future where things have mostly transitioned to a "new" way of being post-climate disaster/pandemic/whatever. The Light Pirate doesn't do this: It takes the reader through the before, mid, and after in heart-wrenching detail, and is a much better story for it.

That said, this book is definitely a slower burn. Very, very dramatic things happen but they almost feel muted because of how they're described. I didn't hate this, it's just something to note. We're taken through the entire life of the main character (who is "The Light Pirate") from multiple perspectives.
There are maybe supernatural elements to this story, but I thought the author did a great job of keeping that mostly vague, as though they could also be explained through science.
I've tagged the book as hopeful because it is - despite experiencing incredible loss throughout her life, the main character persists.

I've started and not finished one of the author's other novels multiple times, and my enjoyment of this one may just be the push I need to actually push through it this year

Loved the little romance at the end.
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cc_shelflove's review

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adventurous challenging sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Like any ocean wave, this book, too, had its ups and downs. I was unsure at first, but by about page 60 or so, the hurricane sucked me in. There was so much destruction; does everyone in this book die????? The story continued on to show Wanda’s courage and resourcefulness, but the pacing was SOOOOOOO slow. 🐌 I struggled to pick it up at times, which was unfortunate because the climate crisis is real! One thing this book taught me: boy, am I glad I don’t live in Florida. Despite my mixed emotions overall, I’d love to see this made into a movie.
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nutmegandpumpkin's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring sad slow-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

4.0

It made me anxious about the future of Florida but was beautifully written and sad but not without hope. The way the decline of society / structure is shown in the book feels very realistic. 

Some quick info:
• spans over an entire lifetime
• set in a fictional town in SE Florida
• a little sapphic 
• post apocalyptic? The fall of society? Nature taking back?
• SAD :(
• but brings up important points and ideas
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katiemack's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging hopeful reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This is incredibly depressing, probably because it's not far off from what our world could look like in the coming decades. The apocalyptic, survivalist themes reminded me of The Last of Us but, you know, with fewer fungi. As callous as this sounds, the novel starts off slow but becomes more engaging after a certain character dies and the world starts to deteriorate further.

Despite its terrifying realism, there is a healthy dose of magical realism. While I wish the manifestation of Wanda's "light pirate" ability had been explained more, I do understand its purpose based on the end of the novel. (Speaking of the end of the novel, it's...kind of...a happy ending.) 
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foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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tifftastic87's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

The Light Pirate follows Wanda who is born in a devastating hurricane that changes not only the trajectory of her family but signals the change in the world itself. We follow Wanda as she grows up in a Florida ravaged by climate change. She learns to survive, guided by her mentor and adoptive mother, Phyllis. Phyllis is an ecologist and a bit of a prepper, but she was right. As Florida slips further away, Wanda becomes more isolated and the rest of the country follows. 

This book is beautifully written, it reminds me a lot of Mink River in that it is very much about the environment as much as the characters. Its a love letter to a world slipping away. 

Wanda is such a wonderful character and she suffers so much loss throughout her life. The climate anxiety underlaying the whole story gave it an edge that made it border on post apocalyptic. But the moments of Wanda doing basic survival things, mending nets, drying fish etc gave it a quiet element that most disaster movies and post-apocalyptic stories don't have. It was a quiet survival. In parts it reminded me of Water World. 

The pacing was great and the "chapters" that were just from the perspective of the environment were a wonderful touch. 
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brianna_moye's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective 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? No

4.5

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