Take a photo of a barcode or cover
jbonifant 's review for:
The Bright Lands
by John Fram
A very impressive debut novel! The plot is certainly unique, even if the characters are mostly cliches, with the jock-ish football players all blurring together. Despite this, the large cast and multiple POV style works well up until the revelation of the Bright Lands. That final 1/4 however, is incredibly messy and there are many needlessly short chapters from the abundance of characters involved. Tightening/clarifying up the last portion (and shortening it) would've greatly improved the story, since the best part of a mystery-thriller is all the clues coming together to form the truth and instead it was jumbled up. Although there are supernatural elements that take you out from the realistic lens of the story, there were also sprinkled in some poignant truths about gay masculinity/shame and the veneer of normalcy in small towns.