A review by chichisode
If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang

emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

this is one of the most unique YA books i have read. i loved it. i was intrigued by dialogue snippets on instagram and i just had to read it. a correct decision, an amazing decision. i loved the setting, how different their school is from the environment that alice moves in whenever she's not IN school. i fell in love with all the characters, i feel interested in and intrigued by them which makes me wish the book was longer because i wanted to know all of them. it's one of the greatest and most frustrating feelings in the world. i think what makes a book a good read is when you finish it and you ask, "is there more of this?" i wish alice's relationships with her peers were explored more but it was understandable considering her character. and i really get her, i get her more than i do henry. i loved the dialogue, the casual references, the writing style. the characters felt like they could be actual students from an elite international school, they were on page behaving like actual teenagers.
the specific detail i appreciated in the way alice was written was her obsession and guilt about her mother's hands. i just loved how it was a recurring thing for her because the incident that caused it was one of the clear memories she had from america (she does mention that america isn't all that clear to her, that they're flashes so i assumed this)
 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings