Bright Side by Kim Holden

Narrated by Lidia Dornet, Roger Wayne

What a heart-wrenching story! Bright Side is one of those gems that everyone should listen to help them appreciate what’s truly important in life. It’s so easy to get caught up in everything else and lose perspective. But sometimes, if you’re really lucky, you will come across that once-in-a-lifetime person, your “bright side” who, notwithstanding their own unfathomable plot in life, manages to balance a sense of epic selflessness and optimism that is inspiring and brings out the best in others. Moreover, not only is this a one-of-a-kind story, but the narration, particularly Lidia Dornet’s performance, is first rate, making this a great choice for an audiobook listen.

Kate Sedgwick is only twenty, but in those short years she has already experienced more tragedy than many live through in a lifetime. Nonetheless, she perseveres – in many cases, without even sharing her plight with anyone – and not only gets by, but actually manages to share her effervescent optimism with those who are lucky enough to have her in their lives.

Gus, Kate’s best friend, is one of those lucky few. He grew up next door to Kate, whom, due to her ability to see the “unicorns and rainbows” in life, he affectionately named “Bright Side.” Their friendship blossomed over the years and their mutual gift for music brought them even closer together.

Then a series of events unfold, and both Gus and Kate abruptly leave their hometown of San Diego, California. Gus is on his way to becoming a superstar singer as part of a debut band that is going on tour, and Kate is on her way to the small town of Grant, Minnesota, to go to college. There Kate meets Keller, a man with his own secrets. Neither Keller nor Kate are looking for love, but soon Kate can’t help but feel conflicted between what she knows she must do and what she can’t help but feel.

Both Lidia Dornet and Roger Wayne were new-to-me narrators, and I selected this book for what I had heard was a not-to-be-missed story. Fortunately for me, I ended up generally enjoying the narration too! Ms. Dornet and Mr. Wayne perform the book in the typical new adult style where the chapters are divided based on the gender of the character from whose viewpoint the chapter is written. As most of the book is told from Kate’s perspective, at least three quarters of the book is narrated by Ms. Dornet.

Both narrators produced different inflections for each of the main characters, allowing for easy differentiation in the dialogue. Additionally, Ms. Dornet, especially, displayed talent at reproducing a large number of regional accents, including Californian, Minnesotan, and English accents.

What I loved the most about Ms. Dornet’s performance was that she truly sounded like “Bright Side,” easily conveying Kate’s special personality with just the inflection of her voice. Mr. Wayne also did a great job of bringing to life the personalities of both Gus and Keller. Where I had a little more difficulty was with his enactment of Kate’s scenes. Though clearly distinguishable, his rendition of Kate sounded more like a man making a woman’s voice than a genuine female, which always tends to bring me out of the story for a bit until I can adapt to the style.

All in all, this is a unique listen. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that while inspiring, this story is equally sad and a very difficult one to listen to. It is not a standard romance by any means, and it forces you to think about things that you may prefer not to acknowledge. In fact, I suspect that it may be impossible to listen to this book without crying at some point (for me, I needed a tissue box for practically the entire last quarter of the book). However, while unconventional, for those with the strong fortitude to continue and endure to the end, you will be rewarded with an ultimate message that is so incredibly meaningful and inspiring that I simply can’t recommend Bright Side highly enough. This book will make one of my top ten listens of the year.

Editor’s Note and Spoiler Alert – this book does not have a HEA and deals with terminal illness

BJ

Narration: Dornet A-/ Wayne B

Book Content: A+

Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence: None

Genre: New Adult General Fiction – no HEA

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Bright Side was provided to AudioGals by Tantor Audio for a review.