Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Ich gebe dir die Sonne

I was quite pleasantly surprised by this book! I wasn’t expecting much, but it was full of beauty and hope and art and grief. It does feel very YA, so mentally prepare yourself if you’re an adult to be a little frustrated with the characters. Then remind yourself “damn, they’re only 13 or 16.”

I loved how this author wrote about art. Everything jumped off the page so vividly, from Jude’s sand sculptures to Noah’s murals. Just beautiful. And I loved the characters, like Guillermo and Oscar.

It was beautiful to see the twins work through their grief and unravel the truth eventually so they could be their truest selves. I wish my family could’ve healed and told the truth as much 2 years post our mom’s death as the family in this book did, damn!

It does feel melodramatic at times, which I somewhat expect of YA. Also, someone desperately need to tell this author it’s not okay to say “surftard” 100x in your novel.

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jody_deijlen's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring 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

4.5

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niteskyi's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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tinie_frogie's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced

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

5.0

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beth_s98's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

While I feel like the story thinks it’s trying to tell a deeper message than it is, I really respect the amount of planning that went into the plotting. There’s so many twists and turns and weaving of things together. While it’s definitely not a bad read (I devoured it in less than three and a half hours on this second read, many years after the first) I’m not sure I’ll want to read it again.

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aliandjupiter14's review against another edition

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Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

This is absolutely my favorite book ever. Nelson’s writing style is so interesting and unique. I fell in love with the characters and found myself wanting more. The beginning of Jude’s story didn’t really interest me but it got really good. It’s told from both twins perspectives, and both are very lovable. I could read this book over and over again!

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jeanne05's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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