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જ Years of Red over Blue જ ☾Cel☽

Book Name: Years of Red over Blue
Author: DoNotLookAtTheSun

Reviewer: rinaXhazurina

GENERAL QUALITIES: 45/50

Title: 5/5

A very captivating title with a lot of interpretation to allude it to. The meaning of the color overlapping another with its many alluded symbols hints at the war as the main conflict of the story and the inner dissonance of the characters who once had peaceful lives. There are many meanings to deduce from its beautiful articulation.

Book Cover: 5/5

It aligns perfectly with the title. The shade of the sun coloring the sky and the blood splats was so cool and intricate with how the design is laid out. The fact that the sun is also the symbol of the Japanese who were terrorizing the Philippines in the story's timeline to shine over the silhouettes of the soldiers and light up Liway's silhouette red instead of black says so much about the multiple interpretations and theme the story is going for. I'd definitely give it more than a perfect score.

Blurb: 5/5

The blurb sets the protagonist with details giving enough readers to identify who they are and what role they're going to partake in the story. It also introduces the main conflict that touches on history. There is a presence of a unique storytelling trait focusing on the main character as a musical prodigy and her journey in a world where war has taken place. It makes readers curious to want to read the story as it kindles the questions like how will she fight against or cope with the war when she's just a musician instead of the occasional soldier or any powerful figure involved in similar conflicts? Will her talents guarantee her survival? It's these wonders that captivate readers into wanting to know more about the story and what distinguishes it from other similar books under the same genre. An excellent blurb that introduces a unique story.

Characters: 9/10

All the characters are lovable with restrained goals under the Japanese occupation and logical fears and misbelief. I like that Liway has an active grudge against the Japanese and other foreign people who also occupied the country and doesn't hide it with how she openly insults them as they enter the shop in a scene that is executed to be humorous. 

Liway has a lot of depth with how she was raised to be pampered because she is the youngest child and was a child prodigy in music. This results in her impulsiveness, stubbornness, and immaturity, for when she almost threw a rock at the Japanese general, which are reasonable given how she was raised and she was shielded from stern consequences and was only showered with affection. 

She is self-aware that she despises them, including the foreign people who didn't have active participation in the war and just happen to be Japanese, Spanish, or American. With Park calling her out and her actively taking steps to help her family by taking physical labor and resisting the urge to rebel against the Japanese on the spot when they entered their house shows that the story is actively pushing her to develop those character flaws. Her family truly resembles the customary Filipino family too which makes it believable with how Liway is usually idle and the other family members are responsible in the house and they shield her from the dangers of the world.