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A review by keishasliterarylabyrinth
We Light Up the Sky by Lilliam Rivera
2.0
*SPOILER ALERT*
This book had the potential to be great but unfortunately it took several wrong turns.
1. It seems like the COVID pandemic was added as an afterthought to the story rather than being integral to the plot. I’m sure I could have changed Covid with another terminal illness with no impact to the rest of the plot. The character motivations, actions, etc. didn’t seem impacted by the pandemic in any way.
2. Luna was…a lot for me. I admit I don’t deal with grief in the was neurotypical people do so please take this with a grain of salt. Luna was a lot. She refused to listen to any of the people who were trying to save her/keep her safe. To the point where she put herself in terrible situations and it drove me up a wall to see a character actively run to their own destruction.
3. It felt like the book wanted to densely pack as many messages within its pages and instead it lightly tapped on all of the elements without making much of a point. Police brutality, dysfunctional families, homophobia, grief/death, homelessness, alien invasion. It felt like too much and not enough at the same time. It would have been amazing to see any of these fleshed out more.
I will say Pedro and Rafa saved a lot of the book for me. Pedro is someone we all need in our lives. His boldness is what is needed in the world. And Rafa must be protected at all times.
This book had the potential to be great but unfortunately it took several wrong turns.
1. It seems like the COVID pandemic was added as an afterthought to the story rather than being integral to the plot. I’m sure I could have changed Covid with another terminal illness with no impact to the rest of the plot. The character motivations, actions, etc. didn’t seem impacted by the pandemic in any way.
2. Luna was…a lot for me. I admit I don’t deal with grief in the was neurotypical people do so please take this with a grain of salt. Luna was a lot. She refused to listen to any of the people who were trying to save her/keep her safe. To the point where she put herself in terrible situations and it drove me up a wall to see a character actively run to their own destruction.
3. It felt like the book wanted to densely pack as many messages within its pages and instead it lightly tapped on all of the elements without making much of a point. Police brutality, dysfunctional families, homophobia, grief/death, homelessness, alien invasion. It felt like too much and not enough at the same time. It would have been amazing to see any of these fleshed out more.
I will say Pedro and Rafa saved a lot of the book for me. Pedro is someone we all need in our lives. His boldness is what is needed in the world. And Rafa must be protected at all times.