maddibw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, War, Cursing, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Chronic illness, Vomit, Sexual content, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Bullying, Animal cruelty, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Murder, Stalking, Alcohol, Medical content, Animal death, Grief, Gore, Confinement, Drug use, Body horror, and War
Minor: Vomit, Rape, and Self harm
beccaand's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Bullying, Animal cruelty, and Death
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Self harm
disniq's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Minor: Self harm and Suicidal thoughts
deedireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
TL;DR REVIEW:
All the Birds in the Sky is a whimsical, super creative novel with some really lovable characters. I loved how it blended fantasy and sci-fi. A new favorite!
For you if: You love a great storyteller voice.
FULL REVIEW:
“A society that has to burn witches to hold itself together is a society that has already failed, and just doesn't know it yet.”
I read All the Birds in the Sky because I got it in my Page 1 Books subscription — their booksellers chose it just for me, based on my reading history. I’d also previously read The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders and wanted to read more of her novels. So voila, here was the answer. And y’all — it was literally so good.
I love a whimsical, creative book, and this had just the right touch of both. It combines low fantasy and soft sci-fi in a recognizable world, coming together as a funny, moving, engaging, and just plain fun book to read. It’s about two main characters: Patricia, who is apparently a witch (or so a giant tree told her one time), and Laurence (never Larry), who is a boy computer genius. They’re bullied throughout middle school, but have each other — until they don’t. Then they reconnect later, as adults, when the world seems to be ending. But their respective groups of people have competing ideas about what to do in response.
The pacing was a little slow in the middle (honestly, that’s true for most books), but I loved Patricia and Laurence so much that I was more than willing to spend the time with them. Neither of them is perfect, but I loved them together and their beautiful, tested, gritty friendship. Can we please have more magic + science books??
All in all, I really just loved it. I definitely want to read it again someday. And Charlie Jane Anders has become an auto-read author for me.
Graphic: Bullying and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Confinement and Child abuse
dokushoka's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, and Cursing
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug use, and Violence
Minor: Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Self harm, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture
aasplund's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, and Sexual content
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
vel16's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
1. Its so interesting to read a book about the protagonists failing. Both Patricia and Laurence fail a lot, from the very first chapter - I like this. They are both flawed, very flawed, and whilst I usually don't get on with books with unlikeable protagonists, they're interesting enough for me to want to keep reading about them.
2. Switching perspectives is another thing I don't usually like in books, however it Works here - mainly because whichever perspective we see it from, its still mostly about both characters.
3. It is set in 3 different times - the protagonists as children, teenagers, and adults. This can be done in ways I dont like (such as Song of Achilles) however here I really liked it - the pacing was good, it didnt drag, what was needed to be told was and then the story moved on.
The reason this is 3 stars is mainly because of some weird bits towards the end. I loved loved loved the parts of the book with them as children/teens, but the adult lart of the story just didn' do much for me. I can't quite put my finger on exactly what the problem was, but it seemed like the story jumped forwards with no context or explanation. I may well have missed something, and I am looking forward to rereading the book in a few years.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Gore, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts