Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the eARC.

Chris Whitaker's "We Begin at the End" was the first book I read in 2022 and my favorite book of 2022. When I was approved for his new novel I was overjoyed. All the Colors of the Dark is a sweeping, heart breaking story that I really could not look away from. The length was intimidating at first, but I should have known how Whitaker's writing would draw me in and captivate me. This story is full of tragedy and friendships and keeps you hooked thanks to the short chapters.

All the stars.

Amazing! This will be one of my top books of the year. While the story is dark, the writing sings with short chapters that kept me hooked. It also grapples with the complexity of life and being a human. The dark is not with out the light. The wide characters were deep and multi-dimensional. I enjoyed the unexpected theme of art throughout. Highly recommend this one!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an advanced copy of this novel.

I had high hopes for this one as a few of my "book twins" raved about it. I was super excited to get into it.

Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. I had a hard time deciphering what the author was trying to portray. I think I am going to pick up a hard copy and see if that is any different. I honestly believe this is a right book, wrong time situation.

3.5-4⭐️
I couldn’t put this down, but I kept having a nagging feeling of feeling underwhelmed. The characters and heart are big, but plot felt like it didn’t rise to meet the characters’ potential. I felt like some thing would be building, and then a plot twist would happen that didn’t really seem to fit. And then we would jump to the next section of the book. I still maintain that Chris Whitaker is an all-time favorite author, but this wouldn’t be the first book by him I suggested to new readers.

Having read Chris' previous book, We Begin at The End, I was aware of his writing style and looking forward to this one! His writing is kind of poetic, and has sentence fragments. Maybe I'm growing up but I really enjoyed the way he writes in his newest book, All the Colors of The Dark! Short synopsis is a young boy named Patch, who considers himself a pirate of sorts and somewhat of an outsider, saves a girls life which then changes his future and the future of those around him. Along with his Best Friend, Saint they embark on a story that spans decades.
I personally love any kind of saga, I love books that cover decades, and we see how these characters develop. I became very invested in Patch and Saint. This book has been hailed as one of the best books of 2024 for good reason! There is suspense, and literary elements as well as some romance.
Pros- spans decades
short chapters
likeable characters

Cons-
writing style could be off putting to those that don't like a more poetic style.
600 pages

Thank you to netgalley and Crown publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Two friends who keep love alive throughout years of trauma. A story that bends genres, and will remind you that, in the midst of pain, there are people who make life worthwhile. This will be a favorite book of the year for me.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I enjoyed about 80 percent of it..the beginning totally had me hooked in, unfortunately I felt a bit heavy with it in the middle but the end definitely redeemed itself. The storytelling in this book was excellent, and I loved and was concerned about the characters, Patch especially. I think I personally just struggle with longer books but it was a beautiful book overall.

Hands down this is going to be my favorite book of 2024! Thank you Netgalley and Crown Publisher AND Chris Whitaker. I didn’t think he could top We Begin at the End,, which I also read this year and will also be in my top 5 books for 2024. I won’r rehash the plot, but this is a gorgeous fictional thriller bordering on literary set in 1970s and feels like a Martin Scorsese movie from that time period. That’s the best way I can describe the writing. You just simply feel each word down to its core.
Loved loved loved

I will not love the horrible book hangover this book is sure to cause.

Whoa. This story lingers long after the last page. All the Colors of the Dark covers more than twenty-five years from 1975 to 2021 in the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri where Saint and Patch are drawn together as outcasts. Saint, raised by her no-nonsense bus driving grandmother whom everyone thinks is a lesbian, has an obsession with bees. Patch has one eye and not only takes care of himself, but also his drug addict mother who cannot get over the loss of her husband in the Vietnam War. The two awkward kids have only each other courtesy of their abnormal family dynamics.

This small town is much like any other, until young girls start going missing. Patch, an unlikely hero, makes a choice that will permanently alter his life, and Saint who would do anything for her best friend relentlessly proves her loyalty as their lives diverge and converge across the years. Their childhood bond is pushed to the limits as obsession overtakes both Saint and Patch as they find ways to overcome their past traumas.

This novel reads like a psychological thriller at times and an unrequited love story at times. Ultimately this is character-driven novel and Whitaker’s cast is not only diverse, but incredibly intriguing, sometimes inspiring, and occasionally disturbing. The short chapters make this genre-bending novel very hard to put down. Though some characters’ motives had me questioning their direction, and I knew a twist was coming, I was still shocked by a few plot lines (and that rarely happens).

Thank you to NetGalley, Crown Publishing, and of course the author Chris Whitaker for the advanced copy of the book. All the Colors of the Dark is out now and should definitely be added to your reading pile! All opinions are my own.

One of the best books I'll read this year!

I was intimidated to start this book because of the length, but the short chapters quickly moved the story along.

In All the Colors of the Dark, Patch the local "weird" kid, missing an eye, wears an eye patch, and is obsessed with pirate. Saint, raised by her grandmother is Patch's only friend. When Patch goes missing, Saint seems to be the only person determined to find out what happened to him.

In a cycle that follows them throughout their lives, Saint becomes the only person able to track down Patch while he keeps running away to track down the girl Grace who lived alone with him in the dark for the 9 long months he went missing.

Similar to We Begin at the End, Whitaker knows exactly how to draw out how the acts of one person can impact the lives of many multiple times over.

Loved, loved, loved.

Thank you to NetGalley, Crown Publishing, and Chris Whitaker for a copy in exchange for a review.

If any book were perfect, this would be it. Whitaker follows the stories of Saint and Patch from middle school through adulthood. Both only children, Saint is being raised by her grandmother and Patch by his mentally ill mom. There is mystery, romance, murder, and twists. The character development is tremendous. I loved the short chapter format. The tale is wholly original. The story unfolds like pieces of a puzzle that slowly come together. This is probably the best book I will read this year and it’s only July. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Let me start by saying this is a brilliant story. How Whitaker managed to take such heavy content and turn it into a story that felt poetic and wistful, heartfelt and magical, sweet and yet heavy is artistry. It truly is.

It's a story about how one event can change the entire life of not just one person but all the individuals they are connected to. It captures the interconnectedness of humanity in a truly powerful way.

1975. Small town girls are disappearing. Patch, best friend to Saint, a small town girl, is kidnapped while saving a local girl. Saint goes on a mission to save him and, in doing so, they both realize that tragedy and triumph can coexist. The course of their lives are changed permanently by the events and choices made that day.

It's a serial killer thriller, an FBI novel, a family drama and a love story, full of friendship, mystery and redemption, all rolled into one.

I truly adored Whitaker's last book and the way it was written. I was expecting the same style on this one. I would say that my only complaint in this book was the actual writing structure. While the story itself was rich and full and poetry in motion, the structure itself felt short and choppy. To me, it actually broke up the story. I'm sure there are people that loved it because of the style but when I was at 30% and reading chapter 80, to me it broke it up too much. It actually felt like there were times that thoughts were broken up between chapters. That would be my only complaint; the story was beautiful, the structure was not.

Thanks, Crown Publishing, for the early review copy via NetGalley and @PRHAudio for the #gifted audiobook. #PRHAudioPartner #sponsored

You undoubtedly see this on everyone’s “best of 2024” lists, and it’s only July. The story starts in 1975 in a small Missouri town when an unlikely hero (Patch) saves the prettiest girl in town from a kidnapping and disappears. His best friend (Saint) will stop at nothing to save her friend.

Make sure you are in the right headspace before starting this one. Stretch first and hydrate because it’s an epic, multifaceted tale of friendship, family, loss, redemption, and heartbreak. The writing is lovely, the pacing is methodical, and the characters will not just take up residence in your heart but also your thoughts long after you've finished the book. I had a serious book hangover after finishing this, not only because it was a 14-hour audiobook but also because I was wrung out from living this story with Patch and Saint over their decades-long friendship.

This is exceptional storytelling, and Ballerini is the perfect choice for the narrator. His unique blend of gravitas and whimsey suits Whitaker’s heartfelt saga about a pirate and a beekeeper (#IYKYK).

Chris Whitaker writes the most beautiful books about childhood friendships. Saint and Patch have a bond that we follow throughout their lifetime. It’s a mystery meets coming of age story and you’ll finish it and wonder how 600 pages went by so quickly. Chris Whitaker has quickly become one of my favorite authors and this book is a masterpiece. Loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for this ARC.

This was an excellent story, but so many pages long it took me several days to finish. My suggestion would be for a reader to pick up this book to read when they had time to devote to enjoying it without too many interruptions.

This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. The characters and story are unforgettable and will stay with me for a long time. I was hooked from the beginning and devoured the book in 2 days. Highly recommend. There is so much here to think about and discuss. It will be a big book club hit.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc.

Five stars hands down. A truly gripping story with unique characters and you will never guess the outcome. I wish there would be more novels like this. Highly recommended.
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This book is going to be such a big deal when people catch on. It reminds me a bit of The Goldfinch if it had been written by Stephen King. 7 out of 5 stars. This is a must read.

I’m usually quick to DNF but I hung with All the Colors of the Dark even though the first 80 pages or so read slow for me and was scarier than I normally go. After that though, I did not want to put it down, and read the last 500 pages in two days. Patch and Saint are great characters, and I love how Whitaker constantly scaffolds the story, revealing just enough at a time. Patch gave real Andy DuFresne vibes at times and I’m always here for that. Although I generally like knowing an author is going to hand me the ending I want, I could see multiple possible endings here that would make sense and not knowing which way Whitaker would go kept me turning the pages.

If your book club will read chonky books, there’s lots to discuss here. The prison system, the death penalty, domestic abuse, social safety nets, policing over the decades, love, found family, parenting, I could go on.

A serial killer, a mystery, a romance. A little something for everyone!


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Only this author can get me to pick up a 600 page book. As with We Begin at the End, this book is full of characters that you can’t help but love. Written in his unique style, this story was the highlight of my reading year so far.