The Bright Years is an amazing debut depicting addiction, grief and generational trauma while still being hopeful that there is a bright side through it all.

This book is intense, honest and real and Sarah Damoff does not shy away from showing a raw perspective into this family’s life, how their choices affect themselves and everyone around them, how people deal with trauma in different ways, how hard it is to heal from that. But you also get to understand these characters, why they made these choices, and how important it is to communicate your pain and seek comfort in people that love you.

The writing and the tone of narration pair extremely well with what the characters are going through in their lives. During darker times the writing is a lot heavier and emotionally harder to read, and during happier, lighter moments, the prose equals those emotions, making it easy to empathize with these characters.

Alongside the writing, the pacing of the story also reflects the different stages of the characters’ lives and how that influences how they think and deal with what’s happening around them.

Family comes in so many different forms and The Bright Years explores that perfectly. Family isn’t just the people of the same blood, it’s the people that are there for you, the friends that support you, the neighbors that care for you and the characters in this book experience all those types of love in their own way.

I cried and laughed, felt anger and relief, understood the characters’ pain and got mad at their decisions. The Bright Years brings out so many emotions that while it’s a relatively shorter read, it’s still so beautifully complex.

This is a book that will stay with me forever and I just can’t recommend it enough.

My first T. Kingfisher book, and while I can’t say that I loved it, it was still really cute. The murder mystery kept me invested in the story trying to figure out, along with the main characters, the what, how, when and why, while also evolving into a more complex plot that would make the story more captivating.

I loved Mona as the main character, even as a 14 year old, she’s incredibly smart, just, kind, understanding and independent. The writing is immersive in a way that it feels like you’re inside Mona’s head, living her live with her and understanding every one of her thoughts, actions and feelings.

The characters around Mona were equally interesting and each would bring a different dynamic to the story (shout out to the gingerbread man, loved the little guy).

The tone of the story is extremely light and funny. Not necessarily a cozy fantasy, as there were quite a lot of heavy moments, but something easy and enjoyable to read.