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A review by jackiespider
All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Let me start by saying this: I think I misunderstood what this book was about, OR, it was marketed wrong.
I picked this up expecting to dive into a character led, mystery thriller, that might tug on my heart strings here and there.
I would not have picked this up if I’d have known it leaned more towards a literary fiction novel, that is almost a coming of age story.
What I liked:
The premise. The story started off incredibly strong, I was totally drawn in and hooked from the get go.
The writing was strong.
Saints character.
The narrator was brilliant.
The beautifully crafted inclusive way Patch’s disability was written, making it an interesting part of his character, not a hindrance.
The rest:
The pacing was off, the middle section dragged and lost me, the chapters were horrifically short and there were times I had no idea whose POV I was reading.
I spent the whole 2nd half of this wanting to DNF, but it’s quite long and I’d made the effort to get half way, so I was praying for a good pay off. I mean, I’m not afraid to DNF a book so something must have been gripping my attention somewhere, I just couldn’t tell you what it was.
I was unable to connect to the characters properly, which could be a me thing, but third person multi POV combined with the shorter chapters definitely didn’t help.
The ending was ok. I do have an issue with the reveal subject matter, and call me woke or whatever, but I truly believe there should have potentially been a trigger warning? I’m still not sure on my feelings regarding the subject matter (IYKYK) but I can only imagine the fact that it came out of nowhere towards the end being uncomfortable for readers who have experienced said topic. Im not sure how this could have been done without it being a spoiler though… which is where I struggle a bit with it.
The book was fine, I imagine it might play out much better on screen!
I picked this up expecting to dive into a character led, mystery thriller, that might tug on my heart strings here and there.
I would not have picked this up if I’d have known it leaned more towards a literary fiction novel, that is almost a coming of age story.
What I liked:
The premise. The story started off incredibly strong, I was totally drawn in and hooked from the get go.
The writing was strong.
Saints character.
The narrator was brilliant.
The beautifully crafted inclusive way Patch’s disability was written, making it an interesting part of his character, not a hindrance.
The rest:
The pacing was off, the middle section dragged and lost me, the chapters were horrifically short and there were times I had no idea whose POV I was reading.
I spent the whole 2nd half of this wanting to DNF, but it’s quite long and I’d made the effort to get half way, so I was praying for a good pay off. I mean, I’m not afraid to DNF a book so something must have been gripping my attention somewhere, I just couldn’t tell you what it was.
I was unable to connect to the characters properly, which could be a me thing, but third person multi POV combined with the shorter chapters definitely didn’t help.
The ending was ok. I do have an issue with the reveal subject matter, and call me woke or whatever, but I truly believe there should have potentially been a trigger warning? I’m still not sure on my feelings regarding the subject matter (IYKYK) but I can only imagine the fact that it came out of nowhere towards the end being uncomfortable for readers who have experienced said topic. Im not sure how this could have been done without it being a spoiler though… which is where I struggle a bit with it.
The book was fine, I imagine it might play out much better on screen!