A review by lara_ayrolla
100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


This is way too close to being perfect but there are still some things that bother me. The forced positivity expected of amputees is toxic, one of the strongest things in the world is admitting that sometimes you can't do everything, that takes a huge amount of courage. I think Weston is strong and brave for the things he's been through and the things he's able to do but not everyone will be like him and that doesn't mean these people are weak or choosing to be unhappy. Everyone has different experiences and feelings and disability is more nuanced than just pushing yourself and magically being able to do all the things in the world. It can be like that, it isn't most of the time. Also, I didn't like the insistence on Tessa's part at the end of the book to see him. Threatening him was very manipulative and distasteful. I get where this comes from, since he started insisting with her from the beginning of the book, but she didn't know what he was hiding or even if he wanted to be around her. I liked that they ended up together, I didn't like what it took for them to reunite after she gained her vision back. But it's okay.

Besides these things, it was an amazing book, a page turner with a great story that made me constantly smile or cry. I love how it's age appropriate as well, it's the bare minimum but it's weirdly rare to find it in romances. Weston's moments of fragility made me emotional in a way that I didn't expect. The senses separation of the book is great, the concept behind it is interesting and very well executed. The romance doesn't feel forced and everything that happens on the book feels coherent and well paced. I like that there's depth besides just the two main characters, Weston's brothers are great and Tessa's connections with both her grandparents are lovely. Family content is my favorite thing and the book did a good job with this part. I really wish I could give it 5 starts because it is beautifully written but the negative points made it a little hard to do so.