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A review by happiestwhenreading
Blue Light Hours by Bruna Dantas Lobato
3.5
When a young woman leaves home (Brazil) to travel to the US (Vermont) for college, her connection with her mother is reduced to the "blue light hours" - the time they share through Skype on their computers. During this time, they talk about what's going on in their lives - how it's changed, yet also remained the same. There is loneliness as they both yearn to be back together. There is support as the mother knows this is what is good for her daughter. There is hardship as the daughter navigates a new language, culture, and world.
While I can't relate to being an international student, I felt this book as a child who left for college, and more recently, as a mom whose son left for college this year. It's that feeling of letting your child go - letting them figure things out for themselves. The intense sense of loneliness and missing that one feels when their child no longer lives below their own roof. Last semester, I remember waiting for him to call - our own "blue light hours" - just to simply catch up, but also to be able to put physical eyes on him to reassure me that he was doing ok.
This book is simple, short, and profound. Lobato has paired the story down to the bare minimum, and in doing so, she has conveyed that loneliness and isolation so well. While a lot of the book felt melancholic, there is also a lot of hope. Ultimately, anyone with children will face the day when their child becomes independent, and this book captures those feelings so well.
While I can't relate to being an international student, I felt this book as a child who left for college, and more recently, as a mom whose son left for college this year. It's that feeling of letting your child go - letting them figure things out for themselves. The intense sense of loneliness and missing that one feels when their child no longer lives below their own roof. Last semester, I remember waiting for him to call - our own "blue light hours" - just to simply catch up, but also to be able to put physical eyes on him to reassure me that he was doing ok.
This book is simple, short, and profound. Lobato has paired the story down to the bare minimum, and in doing so, she has conveyed that loneliness and isolation so well. While a lot of the book felt melancholic, there is also a lot of hope. Ultimately, anyone with children will face the day when their child becomes independent, and this book captures those feelings so well.