A review by jennog
The Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenni Fagan

1.0

I tried. I really, really tried to finish this book. I got to page 135 and I just couldn't do it. I took notes on some chapters, I tried to relax and just enjoy the book. I tried everything and I still do not have the desire to finish it.

So as far as I got, I can see why some reviewers are comparing it to Station Eleven. It's like a more vulgar, random Station Eleven. In an apocalyptic Ice Age, there are caravans/neighborhoods of people trying to survive. There's Dylan, a giant man who has just lost his mother and grandmother. There's Stella, a transgender pre-pubescent trying to figure out life (as if the teenage years aren't hard enough already). And there's Constance, Stella's mom, who has her own single mom issues. I really didn't understand the randomness of the secondary characters and why I was supposed to just jump in and care about what was happening. (Like the wolf costume in Chapter 15...what?? why??)

I really enjoyed some quotes/paragraphs that Fagan wrote about "freedom" and identity. I will eventually finish this book, probably, but definitely not in the timeframe First To Read gave me.

Thanks to the Penguin First to Read program for this book.