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A review by juliezantopoulos
The Bright Lands by John Fram
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I can respect that this is an own voices thriller/horror and appreciate it for that, but this wasn't for me. I understand the commentary on toxic masculinity, especially in sports and in the south. However, the "horror" in this book was not actually scary. I really thought I was getting a horror book and instead I got a murder mystery. I know this is an own voices book with a gay main character, but the use of queer slurs and homophobia was too rampant for me. Which is not to say it's not a reality, but I didn't want to read it....especially with the direction the book went!
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, and Gaslighting