Reviews

We Light Up the Sky by Lilliam Rivera

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heykellyjensen's review against another edition

The three Latinx LA high schoolers in this story are as different as you can imagine. But what unites them is they're together when the aliens begin to arrive and realize they need to work together to stave off the invasion.

This is a clever take on colonization, racism, and, of course, the alien story. Woven into the book is the contemporary COVID-19 crisis, which plays a big part in how the aliens begin to arrive

Spoiler

though I never quite got the WHY of Tasha here -- what made her body the target other than the photo in the museum?

All of the teens are truly teens, and we're able to experience a social media influencer with social clout, a well-off teen girl dealing with immense grief, and a teen boy who experiences homelessness and the reality of that life.

The ending on this one worked for me quite well, though I know a lot of readers will be less than pleased. But it serves the story, and because this is a tightly-told story, anything else wouldn't make narrative sense nor leave readers feeling satisfied at the conclusion.

Rivera is impressive in range, that's for sure. I'm not entirely sure how I feel yet about COVID as part of novels. It has to be there to be a contemporary novel, since it IS our reality and it shapes every single moment of our lives -- has for 19 months -- but it's also supremely uncomfortable and unsettling in so much that reading can't be an escape from it, either. It's a weird line on which to sit.

Pair this one with [b:Bent Heavens|44281013|Bent Heavens|Daniel Kraus|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1558488993l/44281013._SY75_.jpg|52030645] for two very different takes on what it means to be human and what it means to be alien.

sr_toliver's review against another edition

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3.0

I waited a few days to see if my review would change, but it didn’t . This book was ok. I was a little lost at first with the multiple POVs, but I got used to them as the story continued. I think the plot was interesting enough to continue reading, but the ending felt abrupt with no real conclusion, and I’m uncertain about whether or not a sequel is in the works. I’m not sure if I’ll read the sequel if there is one. I love scifi and alien invasion stories. I love weird speculative fiction. I just couldn’t really get into this one the way I hoped I would.

bdzimmerman15's review against another edition

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4.0

Thank you Bloomsbury YA for the ARC of this book! All opinions are my own.

This was a really cool book! I loved the concept and how well it was executed. The idea being what an alien invasion would be like was so interesting. I also like the way Lilliam was able to encompass so many different ways of life and how each would've reacted to what was happened. I loved the diversity in the cast, but I also loved how they all gave each other a chance and still tried to believe each other, no matter what.

I thought the prose in this was great. The pacing was quick, the characters were well thought out and planned. I thought this was really good!

elizaunderlined's review against another edition

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1.0

This book features some of the stupidest, most unrealistically behaving characters I've ever read, stilted dialogue, a rushed romance, coronavirus, acab vs not all cops arguments, boring antagonists who don't get fleshed out, juvenile writing, and a lackluster ending to wrap it all up. Hard pass on the sequel I assume is to come.

Characters: 1/5

Plot Concept: 1/5

Plot Execution: 1/5

Pacing: 2/5

Writing: 0/5

Romance: 1/5

Overall Enjoyability: 0/5

ladygetslit's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

This new take on a familiar alien invasion story has a lot of potential and touches on so many important topics: queer identity, emotional abuse, homelessness, grief, the pandemic…. Unfortunately, the writing style made everything fall flat for me. It felt like the story was trying to do so much in too small of a space. We’re told a lot about characters, even secondary characters, without it being truly shown to us. On top of that, the ending felt really abrupt, even if it is supposed to be a setup for another story. Overall, I wanted more from this story, despite being fascinated by the concept and appreciate the diverse characters.

Content Warnings