A review by readabookorfive
The Brightsiders by Jen Wilde
3.0
The Brightsiders is a book that I was so determined to have on my N.E.W.Ts tbr because I wanted to read it so badly and was absolutely convinced that it would be a 5* read for me but unfortunately, I wasn't so impressed with this book but, saying that, I did enjoy it and there were some things that I really liked about it!
One of my absolute favourite things about this book was the sheer amount of representation we had! Our main character was bi, we had a love interest who is pan and transitioned from being a female to being genderqueer who uses he/him pronouns, another character called Chloe (what a GREAT name) who is black, bi and uses they/them/their pronouns, an Asian character who comes out as bi, another bi female character and two lesbians. And, it all felt so natural and authentic within the story. As well as there being no assumption of gender. In one scene, the band are playing at a queer prom and a character is described as a person in a yellow dress rather than using pronouns and I just loved it so much. Jen Wilde is so good at making sure her books have so much representation and a character that everyone who picks it up can relate to.
There were some characters in the book that I just really liked. Especially Will who was just an absolute sunshine who lit up every single scene he was in, I also loved the cameos from the characters in Queens of Geek who I loved so much. And, for the most part, apart from one scene, I really loved Alfie, he was a highlight of the book for me.
I also really liked, although I don't think that's the right word, that Wilde wasn't scared to show an emotionally abusive relationship within this book and really show the effects that the abuser had on our main character. Also, she didn't romanticise the relationship AT ALL which, for some reasons, a lot of authors seem to do.
Unfortunately, there were some things I didn't like about this book.
One of the big things I really didn't enjoy was that some of the things that happened, I was just like really though? Like, I just thought some things that happened within the book were a little bit unrealistic and just pulled me out of the story completely.
Another thing that I noticed was that, I've read books about musicians that had a lot more of a musical focus which this one was really lacking and I've enjoyed a LOT more. For example the The Songs About trilogy by Chris Russell which is about a band and focuses a lot more on the music and the dynamic of the band. I wanted to see more of the band aspects of the book and not the stupid, sometimes petty, drama of the characters.
One of my absolute favourite things about this book was the sheer amount of representation we had! Our main character was bi, we had a love interest who is pan and transitioned from being a female to being genderqueer who uses he/him pronouns, another character called Chloe (what a GREAT name) who is black, bi and uses they/them/their pronouns, an Asian character who comes out as bi, another bi female character and two lesbians. And, it all felt so natural and authentic within the story. As well as there being no assumption of gender. In one scene, the band are playing at a queer prom and a character is described as a person in a yellow dress rather than using pronouns and I just loved it so much. Jen Wilde is so good at making sure her books have so much representation and a character that everyone who picks it up can relate to.
There were some characters in the book that I just really liked. Especially Will who was just an absolute sunshine who lit up every single scene he was in, I also loved the cameos from the characters in Queens of Geek who I loved so much. And, for the most part, apart from one scene, I really loved Alfie, he was a highlight of the book for me.
I also really liked, although I don't think that's the right word, that Wilde wasn't scared to show an emotionally abusive relationship within this book and really show the effects that the abuser had on our main character. Also, she didn't romanticise the relationship AT ALL which, for some reasons, a lot of authors seem to do.
Unfortunately, there were some things I didn't like about this book.
One of the big things I really didn't enjoy was that some of the things that happened, I was just like really though? Like, I just thought some things that happened within the book were a little bit unrealistic and just pulled me out of the story completely.
Another thing that I noticed was that, I've read books about musicians that had a lot more of a musical focus which this one was really lacking and I've enjoyed a LOT more. For example the The Songs About trilogy by Chris Russell which is about a band and focuses a lot more on the music and the dynamic of the band. I wanted to see more of the band aspects of the book and not the stupid, sometimes petty, drama of the characters.