Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - A Scatter of Light

I was so excited for this book. I read Last Night at the Telegraph Club earlier this year and was absolutely blown away by Lo’s writing, the history, and the characters she created. As a companion novel to Telegraph, I expected the same magical experience with A Scatter of Light. Sadly, I didn’t feel it.

The two main characters, Aria & Steph, felt so overly dramatic - especially considering they are older than the characters in Telegraph. I physically cringed multiple times at some of the things they said/ did. I didn’t find either of them very likable, and I couldn’t root for them.

Part of what made Telegraph so magical was the history. A Scatter of Light is also set in the past, but a much more recent past - 2013, right when Prop 8 was overturned, making gay marriage legal in California. This is mentioned a few times in the book, but I wish more attention had been given to everything going on at the time, rather than focusing so heavily (almost entirely) on the “relationship” between Aria and Steph.

There is also one scene in which Steph implies that she is struggling with her gender, but it is completely brushed over and never explored. It felt like a last-minute throw in for some additional diversity as there was no other trans/non-binary/gender queer rep in the book.

The best part of the book was the (very brief) glimpse we get into the lives of Lily and Kath (the main characters from Telegraph) in 2013. No spoilers, but I was glad to see where they had ended up, nearly 60 years later.

Maybe my expectations were too high, but overall I was just really disappointed with this book. Telegraph has a permanent home on my shelves, but A Scatter of Light is probably going to be one of those getting unhauled at the end of the year.

Content Warnings

space_pancake's review against another edition

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reflective fast-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? N/A

3.75

Content Warnings

cosmicsapphic's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

melliedm's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring sad fast-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

5.0

It's settled: I absolutely adore Malinda Lo.

A Scatter of Light follows Aria, a young woman in her year between high school and college, spending it with her grandmother instead of her friends because lewd photos taken without her consent were leaked by a boy. Yeah. I know. But stick with me. At her grandmother's in California, Aria meets the gardener taking care of the old property, a butch named Steph, who not only gives Aria a support network in California, but who (along with her queer friend group) act as a gateway for Aria to discover herself outside of the definitions placed on her by the society she came from.

Scatter of Light is a beautiful, poignant coming of age and coming out more than a romance (though Aria does explore a romance). It's got mistakes, grief, confusion—hope. Aria's coming out experience resonated with me so clearly, making this a ride to the stratosphere and back. I cannot recommend it enough. I was a puddle of tears by the end (some sad, some happy) I cannot wait to see what Lo does next.

Content Warnings

emfass's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

3.0

Content Warnings

marigoldgem's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad 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

3.5

* CONTAINS SPOILERS *
I love the way Malinda Lo writes even though it started off VERY slow for me, the way it’s written just keeps me interested. Though I will say the age gap and the cheating made me super uncomfortable. Especially the way they used Joan’s hospital visit for their alone time. Or using her grandma’s memorial as her “last card”. Just didn’t sit well with me. Also it felt like there was a lot going on but it never going anywhere.

Content Warnings

_addiii03's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

kappafrog's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

Big disappointment after how much I liked Last Night at the Telegraph Club. Boring characters, pretty predictable plot, and the infidelity made the main character very unsympathetic. I only kept reading for the promised update on Lily and Kath but it was very anticlimactic and felt shoehorned in.

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