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A review by vel16
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
So. This book is very interesting for a few different reasons.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Gore, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts