A review by giulianat91
A Brighter Fear by Kerry Drewery

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I enjoyed reading this more than I thought I would. But don't fool yourself—it's not an easy read. Kerry Drewery managed to write a heartbreaking and yet beautiful story set in the 2000s Iraq with the war and the north-american ocupation as backgroud. Even though it was a little hard for me to connect with writing at the beggining, I think the author did such a great job at depicting Lina's feelings. I liked to be in inside her head most of the time and I believe it's due to how genuine and human her thoughts were portrayed. You could feel love and hope growing, and then feel them being shattered to pieces. You could feel her struggles, her indecisiveness and her fears. I felt claustrophobic to an extent sometimes and overwhelmed by all of the tragedy going on. And that's not necessarly a bad thing—the whole scenario of war could make you feel that way and Kerry was a genius for being able to making me feel like that by just reading a book.

The one thing I didn't enjoy much was the few flashbacks telling what had happened to Sacha, Lina's mother. They were also well written and painful to read, but I reckon it broke the linearity of the main story and its flow.

Overall, it was a good read and I really recommend picking up this book if you're interested in expanding your views of the world and diversing your reading list.