Reviews with content warning for Grief - In the Wild Light

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.

Content Warnings

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

Content Warnings

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

Content Warnings

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

bookcrushin's review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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

My eyes hurt from tears … and from the beauty & vulnerability that exists in this book. Jeff’s poetic and lyrical words cut through you deep to your core. Hauntingly gorgeous glimpse of life and pain and becoming whom you truly are which embraces all whom you love, where you’re from, and the truths you’ve lived.

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!

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