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darlingsterns's review
4.0
4 ★ seventeen-year-old manny and his sister, elena, have never had a family or a place to call home. all their lives, they’ve been shuffling between different foster homes and families without fitting in. that is until elena is joins a religious group called christ’s dominion. Eeena convinces manny that christ's dominion will heal them, but manny is skeptical. while the other teenagers seem to overlook the odd behavior of the group, manny can’t help but believe that something isn’t quite right.
things take a turn for the worse, and manny is isolated from the group and separated from elena, the only family he ever had. now, homeless on the streets of california, manny must navigate life on his own. eventually, manny meets the kindhearted valera family, who shelter him. unsettling news is revealed, and manny learns that a body from christ’s cominion was found. this news leaves manny distraught, and he can’t help but think the body belongs to his sister, as they have not been in contact since he left the group. determined to figure out who the body belongs to—and if his sister is alive—manny and the valera family set off to find the truth.
a heartwarming tale of resilience, hope, and strength, into the light will certainly make a profound mark on its readers. ohiro’s masterful storytelling and emotional themes are a stand-out. manny is relatable, and readers will resonate with him on a strong level. his journey with trauma is portrayed with authenticity and sensitivity, and the way he overcomes his struggles is sincere. the novel’s message is essential, reminding us that no matter how difficult our circumstances may be, there is always hope and light at the end of the tunnel.
trigger warnings: racism, homophobia, child abuse, death, abortion (mention), incest (mention), sexual assault (past + detailed), religious trauma, neglect, homelessness
things take a turn for the worse, and manny is isolated from the group and separated from elena, the only family he ever had. now, homeless on the streets of california, manny must navigate life on his own. eventually, manny meets the kindhearted valera family, who shelter him. unsettling news is revealed, and manny learns that a body from christ’s cominion was found. this news leaves manny distraught, and he can’t help but think the body belongs to his sister, as they have not been in contact since he left the group. determined to figure out who the body belongs to—and if his sister is alive—manny and the valera family set off to find the truth.
a heartwarming tale of resilience, hope, and strength, into the light will certainly make a profound mark on its readers. ohiro’s masterful storytelling and emotional themes are a stand-out. manny is relatable, and readers will resonate with him on a strong level. his journey with trauma is portrayed with authenticity and sensitivity, and the way he overcomes his struggles is sincere. the novel’s message is essential, reminding us that no matter how difficult our circumstances may be, there is always hope and light at the end of the tunnel.
trigger warnings: racism, homophobia, child abuse, death, abortion (mention), incest (mention), sexual assault (past + detailed), religious trauma, neglect, homelessness
zpitts's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual harassment
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
sandraeh's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
jsncnrd's review against another edition
4.0
I truly enjoyed the time I spent with this book. It was a quick read, but it covered a lot.
Part road-trip / journey, part coming-of-age, and part mystery, this was a fantastic book that explored incredibly important topics. Identity, violence, abuse, gaslighting, religion, and trauma -- and how all of those topics frequently intersect. Throw in the broken foster-care system, and that intersection became even more complicated.
The writing was outstanding, and Manny was an excellent protagonist. My heart ached for him throughout the course of the book and I wanted better for him. In many ways, he is a symbol of the pain that queer adolescents experience, and a testament to what happens in the absence of love and support. Watching his growth -- developing from a self-loathing and lonely kid into a survivor who believes he may deserve to be loved after all -- was beautiful.
My main criticism -- The ending lost me a bit when it turned supernatural. For much of the book, I was under the impression of there being amnesia, repression, etc. at work -- and I think that would've been so great to explore further.
When the reality turned out to be supernatural -- a near-clone created from Manny -- I was a bit let down. It took away from the reality of what appeared to be a completely plausible story. Cults exist in the world. People can be brainwashed into believing absolutely insane things. And trauma can push people towards believing those narratives. So, this revelation, once I understood it, felt a bit disappointing.
The ending felt abrupt in the sense that I thought we'd get a bit more closure as to the aftermath of their visit to Reconciliation rather than leaving off right there. That's not to say the ending wasn't impactful, because it was.
But overall, this book was a triumph. It succeeded in making the statements that it set out to make. It did so through beautiful writing / prose, and through the perspective of a character that you were rooting for from page 1. Would highly recommend for those seeking a fast-paced mystery that tackles issues that need to be highlighted in our current climate.
Big thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
P.S. -- can we talk about this cover?! Absolutely beautiful and such a great portrayal of the plot itself.
Part road-trip / journey, part coming-of-age, and part mystery, this was a fantastic book that explored incredibly important topics. Identity, violence, abuse, gaslighting, religion, and trauma -- and how all of those topics frequently intersect. Throw in the broken foster-care system, and that intersection became even more complicated.
The writing was outstanding, and Manny was an excellent protagonist. My heart ached for him throughout the course of the book and I wanted better for him. In many ways, he is a symbol of the pain that queer adolescents experience, and a testament to what happens in the absence of love and support. Watching his growth -- developing from a self-loathing and lonely kid into a survivor who believes he may deserve to be loved after all -- was beautiful.
My main criticism -- The ending lost me a bit when it turned supernatural. For much of the book, I was under the impression of there being amnesia, repression, etc. at work -- and I think that would've been so great to explore further.
When the reality turned out to be supernatural -- a near-clone created from Manny -- I was a bit let down. It took away from the reality of what appeared to be a completely plausible story. Cults exist in the world. People can be brainwashed into believing absolutely insane things. And trauma can push people towards believing those narratives. So, this revelation, once I understood it, felt a bit disappointing.
The ending felt abrupt in the sense that I thought we'd get a bit more closure as to the aftermath of their visit to Reconciliation rather than leaving off right there. That's not to say the ending wasn't impactful, because it was.
But overall, this book was a triumph. It succeeded in making the statements that it set out to make. It did so through beautiful writing / prose, and through the perspective of a character that you were rooting for from page 1. Would highly recommend for those seeking a fast-paced mystery that tackles issues that need to be highlighted in our current climate.
Big thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
P.S. -- can we talk about this cover?! Absolutely beautiful and such a great portrayal of the plot itself.
nyeran's review
1.0
"Lie lie lie lie lie."
♠ Quanto mi sono cagata il cazzo. Nel senso più brutto e becero della frase. Niente è riuscito ad interessarmi, mai, nemmeno per sbaglio. Ho skippato selvaggiamente i flashback senza ritegno e senza sentirmi minimamente in colpa. La causa principale è che queste situazioni alla scientology e ultracattoliche sono così americane che io rimango alienata. Non ci credo e mi danno fastidio. E trovo difficile capire come qualcuno possa rimanere così coinvolto nell'anno del signore 2023. Come trovo incomprensibile essere così attaccati alla religione al giorno d'oggi. Quindi non me ne fregava nulla, non sono stata coinvolta e basta. É la classica storia che può esistere solo perchè ambientata in 'merica.
♠ Quanto mi sono cagata il cazzo. Nel senso più brutto e becero della frase. Niente è riuscito ad interessarmi, mai, nemmeno per sbaglio. Ho skippato selvaggiamente i flashback senza ritegno e senza sentirmi minimamente in colpa. La causa principale è che queste situazioni alla scientology e ultracattoliche sono così americane che io rimango alienata. Non ci credo e mi danno fastidio. E trovo difficile capire come qualcuno possa rimanere così coinvolto nell'anno del signore 2023. Come trovo incomprensibile essere così attaccati alla religione al giorno d'oggi. Quindi non me ne fregava nulla, non sono stata coinvolta e basta. É la classica storia che può esistere solo perchè ambientata in 'merica.
grace_schriedel's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
janetteh's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
cmaldonado's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
amypt46's review
4.0
This book was extremely hard to read. It is a mostly autobiographical look at the authors life in the foster system and going through a conversion camp and then being abandoned. And while it was really hard to read, I was still routing for manny and wanted to know the outcome.