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emilylind's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Grief, Drug abuse, and Death
Minor: Self harm
sjanke2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Sexual assault, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, Chronic illness, Classism, Death of parent, Addiction, Bullying, Death, Deportation, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Panic attacks/disorders
hellosarahpham's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent and Death
Moderate: Drug abuse
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
5.0
“Life often won't freely give you moments of joy. Sometimes you have to wrench them away and cup them in your hands to protect them from the wind and rain.”
I tend to love Jeff Zentner's writing, so I'm still not sure why it took me this long to finally pick up In The Wild Light other than the fact that I just don't read a lot of YA anymore. Big mistake, I would say, because I absolutely loved every single minute I spent with it. This book deserves the full 5 stars for the writing alone, which is a true work of art. There is just something about the way this author waves his words together that is simply glorious, and I soaked up every single page like a bear starving after a long winter. There is so much more to love though. In The Wild Light is partly set in Tennessee, and the Southern vibe truly shines through in its characters. I fell in love with both Cash and Delaney almost straight away, and my heart ached for Papaw. There are so many fantastic characters in general, and I loved what especially Alex, Vi and Bree added to the plot. This story gives us a realistic and heartbreaking take on grief as well as the power of friendship and healing. There are so many quotes and hidden messages along the way, and the development of the topic is beautifully done. I'm usually not that big of a fan of a school setting, but in this case I loved how it was incorporated into the plot, and especially how the private school setting affected the main characters. There is so much growth and learning going on, and you cannot help but root for them and hope that everything will work out in the end. Of course there is also that feeling of dread of what you already know is about to come... Make sure to keep your tissues at hand, because it will be VERY hard to keep it dry! In The Wild Light is without doubt a masterpiece and I cannot recommend it enough if you enjoy a well written, emotional, gritty and character-driven YA contemporary that is both heartbreaking and extremely beautiful at the same time.
Graphic: Terminal illness, Car accident, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Chronic illness, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Death, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Racism, Animal death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, and Violence
thebeesknees79's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault
tmcphetridge4's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual assault
katievallin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Terminal illness, Cursing, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Drug abuse, Medical content, Addiction, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia, Racism, and Sexual assault
library_kb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Sexual assault
greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Racism, Addiction, Bullying, Chronic illness, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Abandonment
hdcamp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This was fantastic, ok? I get the sense that this book will work best for specific people/at a specific time. The reasons I loved this are very particular to this place and time in my life. This isn't a disclaimer though - the writing, story, and characters are beautifully and empathetically executed, and I firmly believe that just about anyone could see that and relate to it in some way. BUT the things I loved about this are because of who I am, which means this is probably going to be a pretty worthless, me-centric review. Yay! Strap in!
1. Home
Sawyer, Tennessee is a character in this book. This thing lives and breathes Appalachia, and I felt like I was there sitting on the porch next to Cash and Pep. One of my favorite things as a reader and a writer is the successful evocation of a place; if you can see it, smell it, hear it, and feel like you've been there, the author has done all the right things. I had a less vivid picture of Middleford, but that feels right too - Cash would be reminded more of his home when he's seeing the campus, so even though seasons and landscapes in Connecticut (is that even where they were?) were described to us, I feel like we spent all our time in Sawyer.
2. Family
Family is super complicated my dudes. Everything about this was so real - Cash's hesitancy to open up about it, the closeness of his relationship with Delaney, the ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING about Mamaw and Papaw and his mom. Beautifully done.
3. Income insecurity
Just this you guys. Normalizing the little struggles Cash and Delaney experienced was so important to me. I think what made it great was that they were never really embarrassed by it, just acknowledged the inconvenience of it, AND their friends never talked down or condescended to them, despite the fact that they likely deduced they didn't have much money.
4. Mental hekkin Health
Cash's struggles with depression were so real and so good. The way his grief was depicted was true and accurate and so needed. I admire the pain Zentner was able to bring out on the page, for both Cash and Delaney. *applause applause*
5. Poetry - writing as a process of healing
Gosh darnit if this isn't incredibly true. Writing (for me) allows me to condense big thoughts and feelings down into manageable words. There's something truly good about the challenge of trying to let the ideas and feelings be big, and find the right words to describe something that is beyond us. It's the opposite of escapist. It's getting right in the middle of ourselves and pulling things out and shining some light on them. I think the world would be a better place if we did more of this, however we need.
I can't even explain to you how great this book was. I'm writing all these ideas and they're not big enough somehow, but I'm sleepy and hungry and I finished this book like a month ago so at the same time a lot of my feelings have faded which means I'm struggling to adequately express myself. It hurt, and it was hopeful, and I was crying all over my lunch like a real professional (apparently, since that's what I am). Highly recommend. Bring tissues.
Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, Rape, and Drug abuse