““Get yourself something that no one can take from you; it’s yours. You’d die for it just as violently as you live for it. Everyone needs something like that.”
For me, it’s music. The things I write, they’re my cause. I live and breathe lyrics and melodies because it’s all I know to do and it’s the only thing that keeps me free.”
[Every Bright and Broken Thing by Brian McBride, Liam, Page 98]
Synopsis(taken from Goodreads):
Haunted by the last question their mother ever asked them before she passed away, the Greyson brothers struggle to cope with their grief and adjust to life after tragedy.
Semi-popular sixteen-year-old Liam spends his nights performing as the lead singer of his high school indie pop/rock band, Liam and the Landmarks. But something happened to Liam two years ago at his friend’s house – a secret Liam will take to his grave. But in small towns like Summit, Colorado, secrets always seem to find their way out.
Twenty-four-year-old Ezra thought that he could cure his grief when he left Summit behind for a prestigious art school in Chicago, but things only got worse. Now a college dropout working at a gas station mini mart, he turns to alcohol, prescription painkillers, and meaningless one-night stands. But Ezra can’t run forever – life always catches up with you.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review:
Every Bright and Broken Thing is a beautiful story that shows grief and how it can hold onto you in a real and relatable way. It shows how it can drag you down, but it also shows how you can pull yourself out and find hope again.
It took me a little while to get into the story, but once I did I became attached to the characters and their struggles, wanting to know how things were going to work out for them.
With both storylines, especially both characters being brothers, you think things would get confusing at times. But they didn’t, Brian did a good job at keeping the storylines separate.
At times it felt like the characters were a bit repetitive with some of their thinking, but I suppose it really drove home the point of what they were worrying about/struggling with.
EBABT shows two types of love that can help you through hard times, romantic love and friendship love. Both are important, but I feel like friendship love gets pushed to the side in books sometimes, especially when it’s between two guys. I loved Liam and Theo’s friendship and how it grew in the book.
The writing was beautiful, and it helped draw me into the story. As you can see from the quote below, the writing does an amazing job of showing how the characters feel. in an imaginative and fun way. Both Liam and Ezra have their own ways of seeing things like this, from either a music, or an art perspective, and I loved reading it.
“The music thrumming in my gut, the words on my lips, the sweat in my eyes; it all burns inside of me. And I feel like I’m a star, exploding and expanding and collapsing all at the same time. Like a supernova, ripping through time, tearing apart constellations and forming galaxies.”
[Every Bright and Broken Thing by Brian McBride, Liam, Page 57]
My one complaint is I thought the ending wrapped up a tad to quickly. Like the story was a little rushed to get to the end. It was a nice ending, it just felt rushed to get there and like it was missing something.
All in all, it’s a beautiful story of learning how to handle your pain, and to grow and as Ezra put it, wake up from the pain.
(I received an ARC in return for an honest review.)
“Life isn’t one way or the other. It’s not all good and it’s not all bad. Life is every bright and broken thing, working together to create something beautiful – something that reminds us who we are and where we’re going.”
[Every Bright and Broken Thing by Brian McBride, Mama Gracie, Page 161]
~keep reading & keep exploring galaxies~
Galaxy Adventuter 