aa2q7 's review for:

The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton

3.0

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This started a bit slow for me but I got more interested and it went on and then was certainly surprised by the magical realism.. (probably could've done without it tbh!)

Spoiler

Wanda is born during Hurricane Wanda; her mom and one brother die during this time. She grows up with her father, a lineman. The story, which takes place in Florida, is split into four parts IIRC, and turns dystopian as Florida increasingly becomes a lost cause and then is literally abandoned by the government. A survivalist neighbor winds up taking her in as a teen, after her father dies. Eventually everything is bad and she lives and finds community among the mangroves. The magical realism bit is that when she touches water, the whole thing lights up? Wasn't really explained.