Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

There is a balance to social commentary and a really good narrative story. and Lillian accomplishes both. The characters in this story have a very unique experience based on their heritage an where they live. This is reflected in their responses to the action in the story. i liked the relationships and the finale of the story.

Set amidst the COVID pandemic a diverse cast struggles against the crap the world throws at you, as well as other worldly crap.
I liked the characters but they felt very one dimensional. Luna is overcome by the grief of losing her cousin to covid, Rafa and his family struggle with no jobs or a house to live, and Pedro is dealing with an overbearing toxic masculine uncle and a mother that won't defend him. All of this during high school and riots, and shitty police.
Then a strange visitor shows up from outer space and chaos reigns.
I think this could be a great book for teens, but I also felt that it was slapping me over the head with the cry for activism. Which is needed, and is important, I just didn't end with a feeling of call to arms but rather confusion with the ending.

A solid 3.5 stars. I will definitely be reaching for that sequel! That ending? omg NOT cool!

We Light Up The Sky by Lilliam Rivera is a YA sci-fi novel that follows three young adults who take on defending Los Angeles, CA from an invading extraterrestrial. The odds are against them as the bunch barely know each other and are facing an e.t. that can morph itself to look human and sound like anyone it interacts with. It has turned LA into an overgrown jungle filled with obedient poisonous subspecies of mountain lions and coyotes and the gang need to find it’s weakness to stop it from taking over the planet.

The story takes place after COVID-19 and uses this as a theme throughout the book, creating a parallel between the virus and the alien. It is a timely novel that I was very excited for, but I did not fall in love with it like I had hoped. The story did not grab my heart due to the lack of connection between the reader and the protagonists. The writing was good, but it felt choppy with each new character narration, it felt like I was left wanting more with each chapter. Also the romance was poorly executed and felt forced. HOWEVER I did enjoy: being able to see the city that I know so well reflected on the page, the latinx representation, and the main message of the story.

"A radical change is about to be imposed on this planet, and to hide from it is to be complicit. She won't be complicit again. She must do something" (Rivera 188).

Let's talk about the positives: Pedro, Rafa and Luna are amazing! I loved them all… separately. Not so sure if they work well as a group? Pedro: an influencer who would never be caught dead wearing the same outfit as the day before; he is loud and talks before thinking, he’s lovable and hilarious. I’ll admit, I loved Pedro instantly from page one and he is my favorite. I connected to him the most from his desire to always look cute and his tendency to rely too much on horoscopes/astrology. I also empathized with Pedro as we’ve both had to deal with racist people at work/life (on one too many occasions). Rafa: is quiet and keeps to himself; an introvert not by choice, but due to the immense responsibility he feels to take care of his family and keep up with family expectations. I related to Rafa as he struggled to uphold family expectations and respected his need to protect his little sister. Luna: who has chosen to close herself off from those who love her and hide behind a mask of superficial friends. She grieves the loss of her cousin in silence. She is also smart and independent; she doesn’t listen to what the guys have to say, instead she goes with what her mind tells her is the right thing to do. Her ability to brave everything the crazy alien storm throws at her was admirable. They’re all amazing individuals and relatable, but they did not ever click in my opinion as a group and it was a bit disappointing.

Though our cast of heroes did not click, I loved the representation and the fact that the main characters represented real Latinx young adults and their struggles! I loved that, it’s something so rare ro read and seeing it was amazing! As I mentioned, I empathize with Pedro as he had to deal with racist people at work. The scene features Pedro working the In-n-Out drive thru line. A car rolls up with two obnoxious teens asking for burritos. Pedro keeps his cool and says they must be confused, but these customers push him further. Pedro easily makes a witty comeback which I applauded and revealed in his ability to shut them up. So many times I have wished I could’ve said the right thing to the same type of people, but most of the time you gotta just stay quiet. There are other scenes like this pointing out how unfair it is that we are quickly pointed out and misjudged due to our ethnicity or race. Having these scenes and this book gives me a sense of relief, like “hey I see you and maybe one day this won't happen again, but until then your struggle is heard.”

I also appreciated how the author practically yelled out through her book that police brutality will not be left unchecked. Most of racist moments depicted featured cops, bringing to light how often skin color is all that is seen by the police force. How quickly can a cop forget that he is pointing a gun at a young teenager with his whole life ahead of him? Very quickly. Moments like this are depicted multiple times and there are allusions made to a specific shooting: on March 29th 2021 13-year old Adam Toledo was shot and killed by Chicago Police. It is never stated specifically but I’m pretty sure this is what the author was referencing.

This book was also a lot of fun. As I read it I felt transported to my city of angels. I vividly read about the observatory by Griffith park, the Beverly Center, and the Eggslut restaurant! Ultimately, I did not like the characters as a group as I felt there wasn’t a strong connection between them. This was due in part to the ominous tone and also in part to the multiple pov narration. Also the romance aspect of the book felt like it was too rushed. I love the idea of it and hope that if there is a sequel that this is more developed. If anything though this book would be a great conversation starter in school!

Check this book out if you’re looking for:
Speculative Fiction
E.T Invasion
A Quick Read
A Powerful Message
Latinx Representation
LGBTQIA+ REP

Thank you to the publishers and to B2weird Book Tours for the free finished copy of this book in exchange for a review and for posting on my instagram!

This book is like a mix of contemporary and science fiction. I think the writing was good and so was the premise but I felt that there too much going on but also not enough details.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this digital arc.

Thank you Netgalley and Bloomsbury Children for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. We Light Up the Sky was a quick sci-fi read by Lilliam Rivera. Pedro, Luna and Rafa are three teens who go to same school, but are from different backgrounds. A strange encounter with an entity from another world draws all three of them together. They must work together to stop the alien that has come to scout what defenses Earth has. The alien has taken on the form of Luna's late cousin and that skews her view of what is real and what isn't. This book was a quick read but the plot fell a little flat and felt a little rushed. The struggles of the main characters and their families translated well on page and you really got a sense of what the characters home and school life were like and how that effected their decisions.

This book didn't really grip me. I think it would have worked better for the intended audience of teens who live in a city. I struggled to be interested in the characters even though I was interested in the plot. I DNF this one.

I found this book to be odd. It was a quick read and it had an interesting premise, but it failed to live up to its potential. The characters were good and the post-covid woprd was a little startling to see but it was the alien aspect that really fell flat for me. I didn't understand so much about the alien or why it looked like Tasha, so the last half of the book was odd.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of We Light Up the Sky!!

I absolutely loved Lilliam Rivera's previous book, Never Look Back, so I was super excited to read this one. One of the things I loved most about Never Look Back was its seamless blend of realistic elements and fantasy elements, and I think We Light Up the Sky was going for the same kind of vibe. We Light Up the Sky is the story of three Latinx teens from different social circles who get thrown together following the arrival of some kind of alien. They have to work together to figure out how to stop the alien on its path of destruction, while also dealing with other challenges in their personal lives.

I really loved the realistic elements in this book. I thought all three main characters were deep and well-developed, and I wanted to know more about each of their stories. I thought the way they interacted with each other and learned to trust each other over time was beautiful, and I would love to see where their relationships go. The sci-fi elements, on the other hand, didn't really work for me. I didn't fully understand the motivations of this alien visitor, and I felt like it caused a lot of trouble with no real purpose. I think the book actually would have been better as straight-up contemporary YA without the sci-fi elements (which is strange for me to say, since usually I'm more into SFF). I think the characters' real struggles with their families and community felt real, while the sci-fi elements mostly felt fake. I loved a lot of the writing style, and I loved the characters, but many aspects of the plot fell short for me.

I still highly recommend Lilliam Rivera's work, and I look forward to reading more of her books in the future!!

We Light Up the Sky is an action packed SF until the very end. In an almost omniscient way, Rivera skips us between Pedro, Luna, and Rafa's perspective. One of my favorite elements had to be Luna's experiences with grief. The way that people think that at some point, one should be over it. Each one of these characters bring something heart wrenching to We Light Up the Sky. Something human and emotional to this SF.

In many ways, We Light Up the Sky is about the things we don't pay attention to, until they crash into us. About the way the world doesn't just stop when our world does. While it's very much about this new invasion, War of the Worlds style, it's also about our ghosts and regrets which come back to haunt us.

I'm happy I read this book! I found the story to be complex, but thoroughly enjoyable. I did find myself trying to stay awake at times, but I think its more so just the content being of serious nature--especially after I just went through a rom-com phase. However, I would definitely encourage you to check this book out. I think it's an important read and the characters are loveable.

High schoolers may enjoy this sci-fi thriller that has many twists and turns and may blow their mind! Follow three latinx characters through high school, bullying, racism and more.

I think I get where this is supposed to be going, but it was just so short! The aliens were super creepy, and the Visitor reminded me a lot of a Twilight Zone episode, which was cool, but just as soon as the book got going it was over?? And there's a romance that gets thrown in literally in the last 10% of the book, that we don't need at all.

This book was good, but did not feel finished when it ended. I am not sure if there are plans for a sequel, but if not I am even more disappointed. It felt very rushed and abrupt. Overall the book was just, okay. It was a book written during COVID, and it tied in aliens, and plants, and it just didn't jive well all together. They also threw in a relationship towards the end that really seemed poorly executed, and thrown in as a last minute "I need this element and my story is wrapping up" thing. I feel like it didn't do justice. I don't think that overall I would recommend this book to anyone really. I was so excited, and the book seemed promising, but it failed to deliver properly on so many fronts.

I just reviewed We Light Up the Sky by Lilliam Rivera with an ARC from NetGalley. #WeLightUptheSky #NetGalley