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A review by the_escapist
The Brightsiders by Jen Wilde
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I feel like if I read this in my early to mid-teens I would have loved it, and that awareness (repeated thoughts of 'am I too old for this?') kept pulling me out of the story. The characters believably behave like teenagers in this, and, as such, there's plenty of teen drama. There were also some lines that made me cringe, but to be fair, that's bound to happen with the characters being the ages they are.
The positives: it pulled me in quickly and kept maintaining my interest throughout, the characters talked and behaved like real teenagers, the friend group was very wholesome, very positive depiction of a variety of LGBT+ characters, the main character learns a lot of important lessons and becomes someone who would actually make a really good role model to teens and kids, and even though I found it kind of mediocre, I don't regret reading it.
The main reason for my star reading being so in the middle is that this book isn't what I wanted it to be. I wanted it to really feel like the protagonist was a musician and get all the knowledge and habits that come with it, which didn't happen. The depiction of her being a drummer could have been substituted for any other instrument. I also wanted to feel the awe and terror that comes with a character becoming famous so young and feel the adrenaline of the band playing huge live shows, to really feel the process of songwriting and recording and the collaborative process. This was touched on a little, but I didn't feel it on a visceral level. And I kept getting thrown out of the story because the band is supposed to be a punk band and yet none of the lyrics and descriptions of the music we were shown made them feel like a punk band – they felt more like a pop group or a pop-punk band at the heaviest. I know, I know, it's very pedantic of me, but it was a thing that kept popping up and throwing me out of the story/irritating me.
I wanted more subtlety and nuance. The morality and behaviour of the antagonists felt very black and white. I'm not sure if this was a problem with this author or if it's more due to the age of the target audience for this book – I don't often read Young Adult books so I'm sure which it is. Sometimes I felt like sometimes the author would be speaking through the characters on things like queer issues and sexism, things that felt paraphrased from online spaces rather than being that character's own individual take on it.
I did finish this and enjoyed reading (well, listening to) it, I was just disappointed that the story wasn't what I wanted from the premise, which maybe means my review isn't all that fair, but these are just my honest thoughts.
The positives: it pulled me in quickly and kept maintaining my interest throughout, the characters talked and behaved like real teenagers, the friend group was very wholesome, very positive depiction of a variety of LGBT+ characters, the main character learns a lot of important lessons and becomes someone who would actually make a really good role model to teens and kids, and even though I found it kind of mediocre, I don't regret reading it.
The main reason for my star reading being so in the middle is that this book isn't what I wanted it to be. I wanted it to really feel like the protagonist was a musician and get all the knowledge and habits that come with it, which didn't happen. The depiction of her being a drummer could have been substituted for any other instrument. I also wanted to feel the awe and terror that comes with a character becoming famous so young and feel the adrenaline of the band playing huge live shows, to really feel the process of songwriting and recording and the collaborative process. This was touched on a little, but I didn't feel it on a visceral level. And I kept getting thrown out of the story because the band is supposed to be a punk band and yet none of the lyrics and descriptions of the music we were shown made them feel like a punk band – they felt more like a pop group or a pop-punk band at the heaviest. I know, I know, it's very pedantic of me, but it was a thing that kept popping up and throwing me out of the story/irritating me.
I wanted more subtlety and nuance. The morality and behaviour of the antagonists felt very black and white. I'm not sure if this was a problem with this author or if it's more due to the age of the target audience for this book – I don't often read Young Adult books so I'm sure which it is. Sometimes I felt like sometimes the author would be speaking through the characters on things like queer issues and sexism, things that felt paraphrased from online spaces rather than being that character's own individual take on it.
I did finish this and enjoyed reading (well, listening to) it, I was just disappointed that the story wasn't what I wanted from the premise, which maybe means my review isn't all that fair, but these are just my honest thoughts.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, and Car accident
Minor: Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, and Transphobia