Reviews

Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman

orionoconnell's review against another edition

4.0

Firstly, I'm not crying, you're crying.
This book is not for the faint of heart. Anyone who's ever experienced grief is going to find this both healing and incredibly relatable, and thereby painful- I know I did.
I felt that the author's words resonated with grief so utterly that she must also have experienced loss in order to write like this.
I'm a huge fan of Akemi Dawn Bowman's poetic writing style. It strikes a chord in me, and it makes me relate, it makes me feel.
At it's worst, this book was a three, but throughout, definitely a 4-star read for me. Why not five like 'Starfish'? I didn't enjoy the setting as much, though it was beautifully written and made sense. I struggled that the writer wrote words as they were spoken, which made reading the Hawaiian difficult at times. Some of the worse aspects of the main character (spoilers: she wasn't perfect) reminded me of myself, and that's a hard pill to swallow too.
One of the things I loved most about this book was the focus on friendship and healing and grief. I love that ace/aro was explored, it's a bold way to go with a book, and after the setup, I would have been disappointed if it had gone any other way.
Bowman writes these beautiful characters, surrounded by pain but that are whole, and it's just wholesome and healthy beautiful writing that HEALS.
Definitely worth a read. This author is easily becoming a favorite for me.

bookishly_bi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

mo_bookshelves's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

keato's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

I think this is a beautiful book, but it didn’t hit home for me in the way it may have for someone who’s had a close family member die. I just felt a bit distanced from the MC in that way. I loved the ace rep and how it was talked about, and I loved the friendships the MC forms. Great rage/grief book! Would love to come back to it in the future. 

vanamonkukka's review against another edition

3.0

mr. watanabe

blueskyreview's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

bargainbinkazbrekker's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This book means so much to me. I can feel my younger self healing every time I read this. An Ace aro-spec main character who is full of rage, grief, and confusion? A story that explores familial and platonic relationships and how much they can mean to a person? Showcasing love being something other than romantic and/or sexual? Shit had me crying at 2 am. This is exactly the book I needed when I was 12. 
Probably my favourite a-spec book ever.

lauraxxpaige's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

sunshinelace's review against another edition

emotional

4.25

scrollsofdragons's review against another edition

3.0

3.5