Reviews with content warning for Death - A Scatter of Light

I really enjoyed this! It definitely has the same coming-of-age energy that Last Night at the Telegraph Club has, but I liked the focus on art and also on friendships! Platonic bonds can really make a book so much better to me.
The familial bonds in this book were BEAUTIFUL!!!! I did enjoy the romance plots as well, just slightly less.
And the ending felt a little rushed but overall high quality book.
Malinda Lo could write anything and I would read it, her writing style makes my brain happy.

I wish that Lily and Kath had come up sooner in the book, I think it would have made for a very cool addition to when Aria is just figuring things out.
Also, the last part of the book was sadder than I was expecting! But it still came together nicely.
Can’t believe the epilogue didn’t tell us who Tasha got engaged to, I want to knowwww :)

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kari0208's review

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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victoriousbookworm's review

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emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

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ari_dykery's review

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fast-paced

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

1.75

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olivia_piepmeier's review

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hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This is the fourth book by Lo I’ve read. I’m not sure what it is exactly about her writing that keeps me coming back - perhaps I know she can deliver a story and characters that feel real. At any rate, I enjoyed Last Night… and was curious about what a follow up could be like. For awhile I was reading to find the connection, but I quickly became invested in the story. Aria’s snafu felt relatable, in that 18-year-old way. Who wouldn’t want an artsy grandma with a little house on the California coast to spend the summer at? How the hell would you make friends in that situation? Oh. I see. How will this play out? How is this related to Lily? And then I couldn’t turn away. I definitely have a lot of questions but I respect leaving some stuff out. A sweet coming out story with bits of family issues mixed in.

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al3xa's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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maddiereadswords's review

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4.5

So here's the thing: this book is really heavy and messy and there's very little about it that was actively pleasant to read, but it was so beautifully written and so palpably real that I kind of can't help but love it anyway. I think it also helps that most of this book is set in 2013 and while I'm a little younger than Aria, the descriptions of some of the outfits and the songs and the atmosphere of it really took me back to that era of finding myself as a teenager in the early 2010s. Maybe Aria's not really an aspirational protagonist, and maybe some of her choices (and those of the adults around her!!) aren't always the best, but it felt so raw and real that I fell like it's going to stick with me for a while. (Also there's really not much of Lily and Kath in here, but what is there is so sweet and it did have me a little emotional, I can't lie.)

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