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foreverinastory's review against another edition
emotional
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
Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Wow I cried so much at the end of this.
A Scatter of Light follows Aria Tang West as she is sent out to live with her grandmother for a summer. Aria expects to be bored the whole summer, but then she meets Steph, her grandmother’s gardener. Steph brings Aria into her friend circle (which happens to be a bunch of lesbians) and shows Aria the queer scenes in Cali. Aria then begins to question her sexuality, especially when she can’t get Steph off her mind.
This book is a journey of questioning. Coming into who you are. Figuring who you are after loss. Navigating toxic friendships and forging new stronger bonds. I loved everything about this book. It had it all for me. The last 20% or so had me sobbing the whole way through. This one has small cameos of characters from LNATTC, but it’s not a full on sequel. Aria’s story is her own and it’s one I’m so happy I’ve read.
Wow I cried so much at the end of this.
A Scatter of Light follows Aria Tang West as she is sent out to live with her grandmother for a summer. Aria expects to be bored the whole summer, but then she meets Steph, her grandmother’s gardener. Steph brings Aria into her friend circle (which happens to be a bunch of lesbians) and shows Aria the queer scenes in Cali. Aria then begins to question her sexuality, especially when she can’t get Steph off her mind.
This book is a journey of questioning. Coming into who you are. Figuring who you are after loss. Navigating toxic friendships and forging new stronger bonds. I loved everything about this book. It had it all for me. The last 20% or so had me sobbing the whole way through. This one has small cameos of characters from LNATTC, but it’s not a full on sequel. Aria’s story is her own and it’s one I’m so happy I’ve read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Infidelity, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, and Medical content
Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Outing, Lesbophobia, Dysphoria, Bullying, and Toxic friendship
displacedcactus's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
A Scatter of Light is a coming of age story which feels simultaneously like a historical and contemporary story. Aside from bookending chapters in 2008 and 2023, the book is set in 2013 in the Bay Area. While this is within the lifetime of pretty much anyone who is going to read the book today, thus feeling contemporary, the story takes place during a historically important period when California's Prop 8 was ruled unconstitutional, allowing gay Californians to finally wed.
Against this backdrop, main character Aria is coming to terms with her own sexuality, crushing hard on her grandmother's gardener, navigating a falling out between her two best friends, and trying not to think too much about the nude photos that a boy posted of her before high school graduation.
When reading this book, it will be important to keep in mind that while a summer crush is at the heart of the story, it is not a Romance Novel, and thus may not necessarily follow the conventions of the romance genre. Set your expectations accordingly.
Readers of Last Night at the Telegraph Club will be happy to know that while this is not a direct sequel, you will eventually get an update on Lily and Kathy.
Against this backdrop, main character Aria is coming to terms with her own sexuality, crushing hard on her grandmother's gardener, navigating a falling out between her two best friends, and trying not to think too much about the nude photos that a boy posted of her before high school graduation.
When reading this book, it will be important to keep in mind that while a summer crush is at the heart of the story, it is not a Romance Novel, and thus may not necessarily follow the conventions of the romance genre. Set your expectations accordingly.
Readers of Last Night at the Telegraph Club will be happy to know that while this is not a direct sequel, you will eventually get an update on Lily and Kathy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Homophobia, Racism, and Death
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