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A review by eesh25
The Sunny Side by Lily Morton
4.0
This is a book that I didn’t think would happen. And I don’t think I really wanted it to happen. Dean, one of the protagonists, is not the brightest tool in the shed. Like really, previous appearances of Dean in Morton’s books have all been comedic, and often at Dean’s expense. He’s always been kind-hearted and genuine, but also someone who fits many of the stereotypes about models. And it wasn’t until Morton’s newsletter shorts that we started to see that there was more to Dean.
The series of shorts are about a podcast hosted by Mal (from Spring Strings), Dean and Pip. Each month’s newsletter has a new episode of the podcast and features the characters trying to be helpful by answering a question from a listener.
The shorts are pretty important to this book because much of what the book is doing is first established in them. It’s where we get to know more of Dean and where we meet the other protagonist, Jonas, the head of the model agency. Jonas and Dean share a years long history and the shorts hint at their feelings and act as pretty good build-up for this book. I tried to see if I could find the shorts on Lily’s website because I really think they should be read before the book, but they’re not there.
Back to the book itself, it’s a sweet story. Dean is the sweetest person and always so well-meaning. There’s no deceit or negativity to him. And I liked that the book explores his layers, his abuse of weed for several years, his past, and how people tend to treat him.
I liked the romance between him and Jonas. Dean’s admiration and trust of Jonas is heart-warming. And while Jonas has always known how good a person Dean is and has been protective of him, I liked seeing him getting to really know Dean, a bit like we were. Because this book is mostly from Jonas’s perspective. Dean gets a few scenes here and there, but we generally see him from the eyes of Jonas. But this is still Dean’s book. His development and relationships are what we focus on more. His friendship with Mal might be my favourite thing.
One thing I want to mention, I thought Morton did a great job of not changing Dean from the guy we know from previous books and shorts… at first. I understand the temptation to make Dean more clever or wise, but that’s not who he is. Him stopping his abuse of weed can explain some changes, and it made sense. But as the book went on, Dean was changed more and more. I found that kinda disappointing.
Also, Dean’s dyslexia is a big part of the book. I thought it was handled okay enough, but what’s with the obsession with reading books? Dean is so fixated on how he doesn’t read books and I don’t get where that fixation comes from. The author? And how the fuck did no one mention audiobooks? They’re huge these days and I kept waiting for someone to bring them up, but nothing. It was genuinely frustrating to me and I was this close to yelling at the screen.
Overall, this was a very good read. Having not enjoyed the last two Morton books I read, I’m glad we’re connecting again. And I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.
The series of shorts are about a podcast hosted by Mal (from Spring Strings), Dean and Pip. Each month’s newsletter has a new episode of the podcast and features the characters trying to be helpful by answering a question from a listener.
The shorts are pretty important to this book because much of what the book is doing is first established in them. It’s where we get to know more of Dean and where we meet the other protagonist, Jonas, the head of the model agency. Jonas and Dean share a years long history and the shorts hint at their feelings and act as pretty good build-up for this book. I tried to see if I could find the shorts on Lily’s website because I really think they should be read before the book, but they’re not there.
Back to the book itself, it’s a sweet story. Dean is the sweetest person and always so well-meaning. There’s no deceit or negativity to him. And I liked that the book explores his layers, his abuse of weed for several years, his past, and how people tend to treat him.
I liked the romance between him and Jonas. Dean’s admiration and trust of Jonas is heart-warming. And while Jonas has always known how good a person Dean is and has been protective of him, I liked seeing him getting to really know Dean, a bit like we were. Because this book is mostly from Jonas’s perspective. Dean gets a few scenes here and there, but we generally see him from the eyes of Jonas. But this is still Dean’s book. His development and relationships are what we focus on more. His friendship with Mal might be my favourite thing.
One thing I want to mention, I thought Morton did a great job of not changing Dean from the guy we know from previous books and shorts… at first. I understand the temptation to make Dean more clever or wise, but that’s not who he is. Him stopping his abuse of weed can explain some changes, and it made sense. But as the book went on, Dean was changed more and more. I found that kinda disappointing.
Also, Dean’s dyslexia is a big part of the book. I thought it was handled okay enough, but what’s with the obsession with reading books? Dean is so fixated on how he doesn’t read books and I don’t get where that fixation comes from. The author? And how the fuck did no one mention audiobooks? They’re huge these days and I kept waiting for someone to bring them up, but nothing. It was genuinely frustrating to me and I was this close to yelling at the screen.
Overall, this was a very good read. Having not enjoyed the last two Morton books I read, I’m glad we’re connecting again. And I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.