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adammm 's review for:
Rise to the Sun
by Leah Johnson
2.5 stars rounded up.
Oof. That's my reaction to this book. Just oof.
After the extremely strong You Should See Me in a Crown (which I consider one of the best books I read in 2021), I was really looking forward to Rise to the Sun. But, unfortunately, it let me down on a number of fronts. I keep trying to figure out where this book went wrong, but I think it all comes down to "the book is uneven." Let me explain.
First, this book features dual narrators, Toni and Olivia. Toni is recovering after her father was shot and killed; Olivia is trying to turn over a new leaf after a revenge photo fiasco occurs. This is all fine, but the book takes place over what, three days? They are somehow supposed to meet, fall in love, and overcome their issues in that time. One of them does, but the other definitely, 100% does not - which we see in the last ten pages of the freaking book when the writer pulls the miscommunication trope again. Ten pages to the end is WAY too late for a massive miscommunication! Seriously. Omg.
Moreover, the time period covered by the book doesn't show the fallout of what happened for this specific character. We don't reach that point of catharsis where not only is she validated, but she manages to understand herself better. It just... doesn't happen. The author tries, but is ultimately unsuccessful on this front.
There was some not-exactly gun violence that occurred halfway through this book which really, really didn't need to be there. Either go big or go home, honestly. Also, this book tells waaaay more than it ever shows. Like, I get it, YA fiction is all about the ~feelings~ or whatever, but focusing so much on the characters' interiority gets tiring before long.
Finally, I absolutely despise a good number of the characters in this book. Like, I'm sorry, but Olivia, Toni (for about 50% of the book), Peter, and the thoroughly unpleasant Imani are all just annoying, make stupid choices that real people would never make, and never really get better. Well, let me clarify: Toni is pretty great by the end of the book, but the others are just... ugh. Both Toni and Olivia need therapy. A lot of it. Especially Olivia.
I dunno. This book has some good points - Toni is a pretty good character; it's POC f/f romance so that's great; and the location at a music festival is solid. But besides that... nah. I'll read more by this author based on the strength of her previous book, but I reaaally hope that she gets a better editor because Rise to the Sun needed someone to sit the author down and tell her to rewrite 50% of the book.
Oof. That's my reaction to this book. Just oof.
After the extremely strong You Should See Me in a Crown (which I consider one of the best books I read in 2021), I was really looking forward to Rise to the Sun. But, unfortunately, it let me down on a number of fronts. I keep trying to figure out where this book went wrong, but I think it all comes down to "the book is uneven." Let me explain.
First, this book features dual narrators, Toni and Olivia. Toni is recovering after her father was shot and killed; Olivia is trying to turn over a new leaf after a revenge photo fiasco occurs. This is all fine, but the book takes place over what, three days? They are somehow supposed to meet, fall in love, and overcome their issues in that time. One of them does, but the other definitely, 100% does not - which we see in the last ten pages of the freaking book when the writer pulls the miscommunication trope again. Ten pages to the end is WAY too late for a massive miscommunication! Seriously. Omg.
Moreover, the time period covered by the book doesn't show the fallout of what happened for this specific character. We don't reach that point of catharsis where not only is she validated, but she manages to understand herself better. It just... doesn't happen. The author tries, but is ultimately unsuccessful on this front.
There was some not-exactly gun violence that occurred halfway through this book which really, really didn't need to be there. Either go big or go home, honestly. Also, this book tells waaaay more than it ever shows. Like, I get it, YA fiction is all about the ~feelings~ or whatever, but focusing so much on the characters' interiority gets tiring before long.
Finally, I absolutely despise a good number of the characters in this book. Like, I'm sorry, but Olivia, Toni (for about 50% of the book), Peter, and the thoroughly unpleasant Imani are all just annoying, make stupid choices that real people would never make, and never really get better. Well, let me clarify: Toni is pretty great by the end of the book, but the others are just... ugh. Both Toni and Olivia need therapy. A lot of it. Especially Olivia.
I dunno. This book has some good points - Toni is a pretty good character; it's POC f/f romance so that's great; and the location at a music festival is solid. But besides that... nah. I'll read more by this author based on the strength of her previous book, but I reaaally hope that she gets a better editor because Rise to the Sun needed someone to sit the author down and tell her to rewrite 50% of the book.