Every Bright and Broken Thing by Brian McBride is one of those books that stays with you. I’ve read this book twice now, and both times, I was left staring at the last page in complete awe of what I’d just encountered. It’s the kind of book that grips you by the heartstrings the second you open it and doesn’t let you go until long after you’ve closed it.
Warning: Mild spoilers ahead!
Perhaps my favorite thing about this book are the characters. Ezra and Liam are so dynamic and realistic that I felt for them consistently throughout the book. Whenever they hurt, I hurt in response. I found myself internally yelling at McBride a lot to give these poor boys a break. (Of course, I subsequently internally thanked him for giving me a story in which I could become so heavily engrossed.) Both characters were defined by how they dealt with their trauma, not by the sheer fact that they were broken, which is something I often find in books of this nature. The things that Ezra and Liam went though weren’t who they were, just parts of them, which is something that, as both a reader and a writer, I found extremely refreshing.
Though this is the second review I’ve written of McBride’s work (the first being for Love and the Sea and Everything in Between) and I fear this section might sound redundant as a result, everything needs to be said again. He has an extraordinary talent for masking his prose with vibrant, elaborate poetry. EBABT is practically an epic, with crests and troughs akin to Homer and John Green alike. He never shies from metaphor, and his motifs are stellar (quite literally).
However, as with Love and the Sea, this beautiful poetry in some segments does kind of read as a romanticization of mental illness or suicidal thoughts. But I don’t think there is any intent behind this—McBride just uses wonderful, striking language. It’s just something of which to be cognizant as both readers and writers. (I should also point out that this did not hinder my enjoyment of the book at all.)
As always, McBride handles trauma head-on—he doesn’t sugarcoat anything. Yet he has a certain gentleness towards his chosen topics. Without sacrificing any of the severity of addiction, abuse, or anxiety, he presents the subjects as approachable, not inappropriate or taboo. While never reaching a level of comfort with the topics—as one never should—a reader is left with a better understanding of these hardships, and perhaps another tool in their belt.
Brian McBride is one of those authors you need to keep an eye on because every move he makes is a big one. EBABT is the epitome of his work thus far, but it is by no means his apex. I can’t wait to see what he does next.
*Disclaimer: I was a beta reader and street team member for Brian McBride and EBABT, but these affiliations were in no way reflected in my review.
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