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saucy_bookdragon 's review for:
Rise to the Sun
by Leah Johnson
Thank U, Next is Ariana Grande's fifth studio album. It had three singles Thank U, Next which is an upbeat song where Ari forgives and appreciates her exes, 7 Rings which is about the benefits of being rich, and Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored which is a playful song about wanting a guy to dump his girlfriend so he can be with Ari.
These are by far the worst single choices I have ever seen for an album because they do not match TUN's themes at all. The actual album deals with some heavy themes of trauma and grief and was written by Ari as a means of coping with her own trauma. It's even a bit difficult to listen to, especially the song ghostin which Ari initially didn't want to include but was pressured by her manager and world class asshole who I would fight in a Denny's parking lot at 3 a.m. Scooter Braun (yes the same Scooter Braun who stole Taylor Swift's masters).
I bring up TUN because reading this book felt a lot like listening to that album. I expected something lighter than I got based on previous content (in Ari's case her singles and in Leah Johnson's her previous book, You Should Me In A Crown) and was a little caught off guard. I was expecting something a little more fluffy.
Which is not to say this or TUN are bad! TUN is a great and raw album and this is a pretty good book! TUN is an extreme example, this book never reaches that level of dark and vulnerable, but it deals quite a bit with some heavier topics such as gun violence and grief.
Now the darker content isn't why I rated this three stars, and really it's my fault for not reading the synopsis well enough where it literally mentions grief being something this explores. I gave this three stars because I feel the characters were a bit bland to the point it was difficult to distinguish POV's. The pacing is also a bit wonky.
But it really isn't a bad book. Three stars is a good rating! I liked that the characters were allowed to be imperfect and this story's emphasis on how relationships need work and the love for live music throughout. I also do always appreciate a good Midwestern setting, being from the Midwest myself. It's also great that Leah Johnson is writing books with queer Black girls and I hope she is thriving!
Trigger warnings: death of a loved one, gun violence, revenge porn.
These are by far the worst single choices I have ever seen for an album because they do not match TUN's themes at all. The actual album deals with some heavy themes of trauma and grief and was written by Ari as a means of coping with her own trauma. It's even a bit difficult to listen to, especially the song ghostin which Ari initially didn't want to include but was pressured by her manager and world class asshole who I would fight in a Denny's parking lot at 3 a.m. Scooter Braun (yes the same Scooter Braun who stole Taylor Swift's masters).
I bring up TUN because reading this book felt a lot like listening to that album. I expected something lighter than I got based on previous content (in Ari's case her singles and in Leah Johnson's her previous book, You Should Me In A Crown) and was a little caught off guard. I was expecting something a little more fluffy.
Which is not to say this or TUN are bad! TUN is a great and raw album and this is a pretty good book! TUN is an extreme example, this book never reaches that level of dark and vulnerable, but it deals quite a bit with some heavier topics such as gun violence and grief.
Now the darker content isn't why I rated this three stars, and really it's my fault for not reading the synopsis well enough where it literally mentions grief being something this explores. I gave this three stars because I feel the characters were a bit bland to the point it was difficult to distinguish POV's. The pacing is also a bit wonky.
But it really isn't a bad book. Three stars is a good rating! I liked that the characters were allowed to be imperfect and this story's emphasis on how relationships need work and the love for live music throughout. I also do always appreciate a good Midwestern setting, being from the Midwest myself. It's also great that Leah Johnson is writing books with queer Black girls and I hope she is thriving!
Trigger warnings: death of a loved one, gun violence, revenge porn.