I’m not sure how to feel about this. This is my first time reading form this author and it just didn’t hit me in the feels like I thought it would, but I liked how he was trying to get back into the things he used to like. Normally I can get into the characters POV and connect, but this was a miss for me. I not sure if it was the way they talked, the plot, or how he was feeling, but I don’t feel like we really got to experience his grief. I feel like depending on the person, they will love this or wont. Grief is different for everyone and I believe that everyone will have a different perspective with this book. The interactions he had with people seemed a little odd and that could be because he was trying to figure out how to feel and deal with everything, but I think I needed a little bit more of dialogue with his dad or a flash back I don’t know. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc.

This book wasn't my favorite of David Almond. I found the plot a little disjointed and weak, but the characters lovely and fascinating, as always.

This was a biiiiiiig miss for me. I didn’t like the writing style, the plot was barely existent, I didn’t connect with the characters, and I didn’t care about anything happening until literally 80% of the way through. There were a couple scenes I enjoyed, which is why i didn’t give this a 1 star.

(3.5 stars) While this book starts off on a dark note and does continue to have some dark and deep undertones, it's really a sweet story that involves a colorful and carefully woven tale. It takes place in one day while Davie wanders the town. He is grieving, as he recently lost his dad. Along the way, he goes on many little adventures, comes into contact with a vast amount of unique characters and it ends with an unexpected resolution, as it comes full circle. I thought this was a very clever story and full of color. It's a big quirky and a bit loving. It's a story full of imagination and wonder and I enjoyed it very much.

Many thanks to the publisher Candlewick Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Color of the Sun is the newest YA story by well-known author David Almond, about a boy trying to find his place in the world after the death of his father. We follow him throughout a single day in his life, as he makes his way through his hometown, talks to a variety of people and tries to find back the beauty in everyday life.
If you know me, you know how deeply up my alley this type of book is, and you can imagine my excitement when I got approved for an ARC. For that reason, I genuinely feel bad for saying: this was a miss for me.
Let me start off by saying: I can imagine (even remember) the feeling of those first weeks after the death of a parent, and all the ways that colors your view of the world around you. Even in ways you wouldn’t necessarily expect... I believed this book was trying to capture just that, and I was rooting the entire time that it would succeed at that. Unfortunately, I just didn’t feel it…. That distinct headspace and vibe was the only thing this book needed to capture for me to potentially love it, but for me personally, it just missed the mark.
The Color of the Sun is quite the ambitious book, that tries to do a lot of things in very little page time. It covers coming of age, captures a small town vibe, tackles the way grief plays with the mind, and encompasses a variety of very expansive topics such as faith, religion, hatred and the difference between truth and interpretation. Although I can appreciate the authors ideas behind all of this, I don’t feel like the topic got the depth they deserved in this barely over 200 page format. Just as we barely start scratching the surface of something interesting, the novel pulls us away and meanders in a different direction again. And for better or for worse, this book sure does like to meander… It meanders from thought to thought in Davie’s head, from person to person and place to place. In the context of the story, I actually liked that style of writing. It gives a feeling of fleetingness to every contact, which makes a lot of sense to be the experience of a boy who’s recently been confronted with death and mortality. It will also make it hard to relate to, or get to know the characters, which I feel might deter young readers from picking up this book.

With stories like this, I always try to take into consideration the intended audience, as well as my personal opinion. In this case, I don’t think this is a book what’ll have a mass appeal: it’s going to be for a specific kind of reader, looking for a very specific thing. If you’re looking for a slow built, slice of life story, that focusses on life after loss and is more about emotional ambience than actual plot points: this might be for you. That being said, I feel that I, in this case, was the target audience, and still personally didn’t find quite what I was looking for.
In the end, I feel there is a lot of good at the heart of this book, but you might need to dig a little deeper to find it. Grief, and the experience after a loss is a very personal one, and this book feels like it matches that. The fact that I didn’t connect with it personally, should not deter you from picking up this book, especially if it feels like something that you’re looking for. Sometimes the most polarizing books on topics like this are the best ones for you as an individual. The Color of the Sun might just be that kind of book, even though it wasn’t the right fit for me.

I feel as though this may be an unpopular opinion, and though this review will probably seem mostly negative, I will be sure to include some aspects I did enjoy, and please remember that this is all subjective. I may not have enjoyed it so much but I have no doubt that others will love it.

The writing was very nicely done, and whimsical, almost stream of conscious style. On that alone, I couldn't fault it. It would be a perfect summer read, especially if you're able to lay out on the grass under the sun and feel like you're there with the characters.

The issues I had with the plot itself were that... well, overall, it just felt like the author didn't fully commit to their story. There was a major plot point which I had expected, or hoped, to play more of a role in shaping the main characters actions and thoughts but it had next to no affect. The ending basically negated the presence of that particular plot point as well. I'm trying to hard to not spoil this.

The characters were a little washed out for my liking, though they had SO much potential. Wilf and Gosh could have been much stronger, as well as Davie. It's as though they let the plot lead them instead of leading themselves which took away a lot of the presence.

Overall it felt quite disconnected. I feel as though something like this may have worked better as a picture story book, a little more condensed and precise with imagery to complement it.

All in all, not a bad read, but not one of my favourites. I understand this is for young readers, but I feel like they could handle a bit more... strength.

I'll start by saying that as I'm not really the target audience for this middle grade/YA book, I didn't connect with Davie or the other residents of the small Tyneside town as much as I wanted to.
The writing style is lyrical and dreamlike, interspersed with grounding dialogue in the locals' dialect, which I enjoyed. As Davie is trying to grapple with grief and growing up, this style of storytelling seems fitting. The story is essentially a coming of age summer walk through the countryside and the small town that Davie has grown up in, and interactions with townspeople, both pleasant and not, along the way.
I believe for the right reader this will be a very special book.

This is definitely a YA book so I feel it is difficult to give an unbiased opinion. I could not relate to the young boy as an adolescent might.
The author is British and very well regarded. I respect his writing skills but the book did not hold my interest. There is a market for this novel but a limited one. Death is difficult to write about at best and young children might empathize with his protagonist better than myself.

An unusual style of writing fit well this unique short read. We follow the day of a boy coming to grips with the death of his father, a death in his town and his own coming of age. Vivid imagery. An interesting and worthwhile read that you can finish in an afternoon.

I love Almond’s novels, but this one doesn’t quite hit the mark. In some ways, however, it’s remarkable. It follows Davies, a boy who has just lost his father, through one day of wandering through his small town after a murder. He talks to priests, little kids, sworn enemies, and even the ghost of his father. There’s a dreamlike, ruminative quality that reminds me of James Joyce’s Ulysses. Davies learns about war, human nature, love, religion, all kinds of great stuff.

The only flaw is ... not much happens. And because this is a YA book, I think something should, a least a bit more. I could see myself getting very frustrated at this book as a teen reader.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc.

I did not find anything compelling to get me beyond my self imposed 30-page look. I would not put in on the shelf of my classroom.