Elise reviewed The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World by J. R. Dawson
Read With Friends or Not at All
2 stars
If I had read this alone I would have regretted reading this. Most of the prose is flat, the author is too in love with their own premise to fully flesh it out. I cried a little but it wasn't a deep, cathartic cry. The ending puts larger-than-fridge-logic sized holes in its own premise in terms of trying to keep us on-side with the protagonist. The main characters are in their 20s but act like teenagers. This reads like a YA author trying to write something non YA for the first time.
However, at book club we had a great time discussing this! we laughed, we complained, we argued good-naturedly about this or that plot point or emotional resonance. those 2 hours made the 10 hours I spent reading this worth it- barely.