Reviews with content warning for Addiction - In the Wild Light

This book was so good. I love books that make me feel. The ones that have characters that I will remember for years to come. This book has so much heart, love and depth. I love books with a strong sense of place, found family, finding oneself and this book has it in spades. I will pick up this author’s back list because I love his style of writing. This was a winner.

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kaitlinlovesbooks's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

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serendipitysbooks's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

In the Wild Light is the story of Cash who has grown up in small town Tennessee with his grandparents after his mother died of a drug overdose. His best friend Delaney, whom he met at a Narateen meeting, has just won a scholarship to an exclusive Connecticut boarding school and manages to arrange one for Cash as well. This story traverses their school year.

There was so much to love about this YA novel.

1. Characters having the courage to step outside their comfort zone, and grow and develop as a result.
2. Cash’s relationship with his grandparents, especially the bond between him and Papaw.
3. The way grief was acknowledged and seeking help normalised.
4. The power of poetry and of teachers like Dr Bree Adkins.
5. Gorgeous writing - especially the depiction of the Tennessee landscape, the poignant way the characters emotions were portrayed and so much more.
6. The inclusion of lots of positive diverse representation among the characters, virtually all of whom I loved. And what a powerful minor storyline involving the one exception!

All in all a beautiful story that tackles hard subjects - addiction, death, grief- but ends in a realistically hopeful way. Loved this one.

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arabesque_'s review

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

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readingbetweenthenotes's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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regal_leaves's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

Content Warnings

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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challenging reflective sad slow-paced

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

Listened to the audiobook now that this book is out in the world and it's just as good the second time around. Plus, the narrator they chose was perfect for Cash!
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Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an advance copy of this to review! This is one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I'm happy to say that it lived up to the hype. Like, I already want to read this again if I knew it wasn't going to emotionally devastate me. I'm going to do my best to put my feelings into words!

Jeff Zentner has a way of writing grief that just melts from the page. That's something that connects each book that he's written, all of which I highly recommend. This book is no different. At its core, this is a book about grief; about how we work through it, how we move forward. How we let friends and family help us through it. And how we take hold of opportunities handed to us.

One of the things that Zentner added to this book was poetry. Cash is on a journey learning how poetry and art is important in life (and his teacher is the best. She's one of my favorite characters). The poetry included in the book fits so well with the characters and the story. It feels effortless. Zentner's prose feels like poetry at times, and it really just shines in this book.

And the characters! You'll fall in love with Cash right from the beginning. Delaney, too. The friends they meet at school, Alex and Vi, are also so well-rounded. Their little squad is beautiful and ever teenager deserves a squad like that. Cash might be a little oblivious at times, but you'll be rooting for him throughout the whole book.

Like always, there are nods to Zentner's other books in here, too. I won't spoil them, but I love these little nods. You have all summer to catch up before this book comes out, so do it now!

All in all, this book will put you through an emotional ringer, but it is so worth it. I can't wait to do a quote round up for it when it comes out in August!

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Who gave Jeff Zentner the right to play with our emotions like this? I am truly blown away by this book, I honestly think it's some of his best work. And seriously, be prepared to cry. I mean, why wouldn't you be, it's a Jeff Zentner book. Stay tuned for a full review later this week while I pull together my emotions!

Content Warnings

anunande's review

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

"You are not a creature of grief. You are not a congregation of wounds. You are not the sum of your losses. Your skin is not your scars. Your life is yours, and it can be new and wondrous."

Jeff Zentner's teen protagonists should, by all accounts, be broken, shattered long before we meet them. Instead, these "survivors of quiet wars" search for beauty and carry its fierce hope even in their most overwhelming despair and grief. Despite the spidery cracks threading their existence, they have the ability to let in moments of light and love.

Cash Pruitt has already lost his mother to an opioid addiction; now his dear Papaw is battling emphysema. When his genius best friend and town misfit Delaney Doyle makes a scientific discovery that lands both of them scholarships to the prestigious Middleford Academy in Connecticut, there are no easy decisions.

Do you trade a small and simple life, one better than you ever thought you would have, for a vague promise of the unknown? How do you leave beloved grandparents who raised you at a time when you feel like you need to be there the most? What will you regret more?

As in The Serpent King, Jeff's stellar debut, these teens embody what it means to open yourselves up to the magic and risks of the universe for a chance at discovering your place in it. These brave folk walk into your hearts intentional in their pronouncements and make you hope they're living happy lives somewhere there off the edge of the pages.

In the Wild Light (out August 2021) feels messier than TSK, whether in its more meandering plot or character arcs. But it has the same pulsing heart that I've come to associate with Jeff's work. The same dignity, respect, and sincerity of character, emotions, ideas. The same unexpected grace and gentleness amid the harsh ruins.

A story deeply grounded in the reality and duality of the landscape of Tennessee that embraces the "electric space of possibility" while cherishing the smaller, quieter moments of beauty, wonder, and love, stealing them from a hungry world, sheltering them in cupped hands even if for a moment.

Put this on your 2021 TBR. That's all I can say 💜

#AnuReadsandReviews2021 #AnuRecommends2021

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