A review by lulustjames
The Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenni Fagan

3.0

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A global environmental disaster sets the backdrop for The Sunlight Pilgrims by Jennie Fagan, yet for all that the synopsis emphasizes these apocalyptic times, the story focuses more on family connections and growing up/living in a small town. The main part of the story that drew me in and kept me interested was Stella and seeing her try to cope with life in a tiny, bigoted crowd.

Character development was the driving point of this Sunlight Pilgrims. Readers see Stella evolve from extremely insecure, depressed, and self-conscious, to realizing the boys and kids around her aren’t worth her attention, depression. She learns this the hard way after an alluded to hospital stay. Why is Stella having such a hard time? Because she is a transgirl living in a tiny, religious town. Stella was the high point for me and I was extremely eager to read her chapters, to see more of her evolution. Meanwhile, we also have Londoner Dylan befriending Stella and trying to woo her mother. His arc started with emotion and steam, but fizzled out almost immediately. The only time his arc picked up interest was when he discovered his dark family secret, which I would have loved to have seen more fully explored.

While this reminds me a bit of A Sudden Light by Garth Stein mixed with The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber, it doesn’t seem to come close to being as great as either. Still, The Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenni Faber is a solidly written book, but does falter at living up to the synopsis. I would have preferred the apocalyptic nature of the extreme cold and snow had been shown as something extremely serious (like it was in “The Book of Strange New Things“) and/or that there be a greater focus on Stella’s development and maturing, as well as a more in-depth look at Dylan’s family secret and its impact.

// I received this title for free in exchange for an honest review //