The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise by Matthew Crow
Synopsis:"A poignant and unexpectedly funny novel about Francis - one of the best and bravest teenage boy narrators since Adrian Mole. This is an emotionally honest story about wanting the very best from life, even when life shows you how very bad things can be.
Francis Wootton's first memory is of Kurt Cobain's death, and there have been other hardships closer to home since then. At fifteen years old he already knows all about loss and rejection - and to top it all off he has a permanently broke big brother, a grandma with selective memory (and very selective social graces) and a mum who's at best an acquired taste. Would-be poet, possible intellectual and definitely wasted in Tyne and Wear, Francis has grown used to figuring life out on his own.Lower Fifth is supposed to be his time, the start of an endless horizon towards whatever-comes-next. But when he is diagnosed with leukaemia that wide-open future suddenly narrows, and a whole new world of worry presents itself.There's the horror of being held back a year at school, the threat of imminent baldness, having to locate his best shirt in case a visiting princess or pop-star fancies him for a photo-op . . . But he hadn't reckoned on meeting Amber - fierce, tough, one-of-a-kind Amber - and finding a reason to tackle it all - the good, the bad and everything in between - head on.In Bloom is a bright, funny, painful and refreshing novel about wanting the very best from life, even when life shows you how very bad it can be. It is a novel about how to live. " Review: Amber Sunrise is an absolutely brilliant, funny, and wonderful girl, but this book was, unfortunately, not up to par for me. This novel follows the stereotypical plot of a cancer ridden teen (aka a similar plot to what most people would know as The Fault in Our Stars). However, don't get me wrong I actually do love a good stereotypical YA novel! I just didn't find this novel to grab my interest as well as others do. After reading so many novels, most readers have that same sense as to when you watch a scary movie and you just want to scream, "DON'T OPEN THE DOOR!", but with romance and life issues instead of bloody murderers delivering pizza. In a sense everything felt too predictable for me. My favorite part of the novel is mainly the character development. Francis is definitely a brave soul, and after facing cancer it's clear he can handle a lot (like his dad!). It is strange however, that even in a first person narrative of Francis I feel like I almost understand Amber better. Amber is a great inspiration for people to have and she just always seems to have this spunk and eternal optimism to her. Francis's family is also such a great group of people. I found it so kind of them to be there for him so much, especially his mother who really worked so hard for him that her own life had to be put on pause until he got better. One more thing I wish was expanded on more was the cancer itself. There was a lot of mentioning of days in bed, but it almost seemed to completely push away the pain of cancer to the side. It was strange to read this novel seeming as if cancer is just a lack of hair and going to the restroom at night to puke. Yes, this is just a YA novel so clearly all the details won't be found in the book, but it was just something I thought could be portrayed more accurately. I could almost see this becoming a better movie than it is a book. The scenes that float in my mind seem to wish to see more detail of what's actually going on than just the words that are in the book. (this is just my opinion however.) Cover: ★★★★☆ Favorite Quote(s): "She was designed for color and movement. She was not a girl born for the click of the camera's lens. No device could capture her, the way she was, the way she was meant to be. She was not born to be still or stationary. WIthout her color she was broken, a faulty image that could never be fixed. Without her voice she was nothing." " 'Do you know the best things about stars?' 'What?' 'They're all dead, but we can still see them. When we look up it's like we're looking up at a million different memories, a million different versions of something that sued to be. That's not romantic either; it's just science.' 'It is a bit romantic,' I tried to argue. 'No, it's not,' she said. 'It's real, and that's what's important.' "
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Stephanie C.A fan of anything fiction, furry, & fun. Archives
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