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A review by _readwithash
The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Edited in 2024: I reread this book, and I loved it just as much this time as I did last time. Seriously, this book is phenomenal.
I read this in January and I might already be calling it "the best book I read in 2023."
This book starts by throwing us right into the action, but it never felt rushed. There is devastation within the first few pages, followed by the smallest joys sprinkled throughout the rest of the novel.
Brooks-Dalton weaves us through Wanda's narrative, often with large time jumps and flashbacks, using them to control the pacing expertly. There is always just a little bit of magic, maybe, if that's what we would call it, but it always felt more like hope. No matter how dire things get for Wanda, and no matter how often awful things happen to her, you still have it in you to cling to the hope for a better tomorrow.
Living in Florida right now also helps me love this book. Brooks-Dalton is from Vermont, but she writes about Florida as someone who truly loves this place, and she was able to capture the beauty that is so often ignored.
I don't often include trigger warnings, but if you are already feeling the weight of climate change, this book is hard to read. Not impossible, but it does offer an image of a very bleak future.
I read this in January and I might already be calling it "the best book I read in 2023."
This book starts by throwing us right into the action, but it never felt rushed. There is devastation within the first few pages, followed by the smallest joys sprinkled throughout the rest of the novel.
Brooks-Dalton weaves us through Wanda's narrative, often with large time jumps and flashbacks, using them to control the pacing expertly. There is always just a little bit of magic, maybe, if that's what we would call it, but it always felt more like hope. No matter how dire things get for Wanda, and no matter how often awful things happen to her, you still have it in you to cling to the hope for a better tomorrow.
Living in Florida right now also helps me love this book. Brooks-Dalton is from Vermont, but she writes about Florida as someone who truly loves this place, and she was able to capture the beauty that is so often ignored.
I don't often include trigger warnings, but if you are already feeling the weight of climate change, this book is hard to read. Not impossible, but it does offer an image of a very bleak future.