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A review by ranniewhitlock
In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner
3.0
I really liked aspects of this book, and I think the aspects that I loved made me rate it more harshly because it made the disappointments bigger. Unfortunately, my biggest complaint with the book was Delaney, who is obviously a massive part of the book.
What I liked:
- I loved Cash and Alex's friendship. I think Jeff Zentner writes friendships better than most authors (part of what made Rayne and Delilah so good), and this was the highlight of the book for me.
- I usually hate when poetry/songs/etc. written by the characters are featured in the book because it's usually cringe-inducing, but it was well-done here.
- Pep was a great character.
- Vi and Cash were really cute, and I liked how their situation was handled.
- Huge shoutout to East Tennessee, which I typically don't see
- An actually positive portrayal of faith/doubt/hope that was really beautiful.
My gripes about Delaney:
First of all, I loved Rayne and Delilah’s Midnite Matinee. What made that book so good was the quirkiness of the story, the characters, and the fast-paced banter. It was just plain fun to read. And while there’s still some banter here, the characters (mostly Delaney) aren't as charming, and a lot of the banter between her and Cash just comes off as harsh and condescending instead of endearing.
Her and Cash's relationship seems rather codependent and unhealthy (She guilts him into going to a school that he doesn’t want to go to because she “needs” him there and says she won’t go if he doesn’t…even though it’s her dream, not his. When they get there, the first thing she does is pick a huge fight with him in public because he’s acting like he doesn’t deserve to be there.) Also, I think there's only ONE conversation in the whole book where Delaney doesn't try to pick a fight with Cash, or call him a name, or be super condescending. They (mostly she) seemed pretty volatile, and it was hard to see what they liked about each other.
Furthermore, the fights between Delaney and Cash didn’t have the tension build-up to affect me - probably because there were so many of them. They just kind of happened, escalated REALLY fast, ended with cussing each other out, and then making up chapters later. I think more than one fight Cash has the “this is our worst fight yet; can we come back from this?"
All of that could have been okay if that unhealthy tension was a plot point and not just portrayed as romantic or quirky or friendship, but that wasn't the case.
It was hard enough for me to see why Cash and Delaney had a romantic subplot, but it was even harder because Cash himself doesn't realize he likes Delaney. In fact, he spends half the book falling for another girl and repeatedly denies that he likes Delaney. Obviously, denial can be a romantic trope, but it felt like genuine denial to me. It's only after being told by several people that he's obviously in love with Delaney and her confessing to him that he is suddenly all about being with her. People telling you you're in love with someone doesn't make you in love with them. And it doesn't make readers suddenly root for the characters, either. I much preferred Vi and Cash together.
I also didn’t understand why Cash went to the school in the first place. It didn’t seem like he was torn - it seemed like he just didn’t want to go at all, and was kind of pressured into doing it (thanks again, Delaney.)
This won't be the last Jeff Zentner book I read, but it's also not my favorite.
What I liked:
- I loved Cash and Alex's friendship. I think Jeff Zentner writes friendships better than most authors (part of what made Rayne and Delilah so good), and this was the highlight of the book for me.
- I usually hate when poetry/songs/etc. written by the characters are featured in the book because it's usually cringe-inducing, but it was well-done here.
- Pep was a great character.
- Vi and Cash were really cute, and I liked how their situation was handled.
- Huge shoutout to East Tennessee, which I typically don't see
- An actually positive portrayal of faith/doubt/hope that was really beautiful.
My gripes about Delaney:
First of all, I loved Rayne and Delilah’s Midnite Matinee. What made that book so good was the quirkiness of the story, the characters, and the fast-paced banter. It was just plain fun to read. And while there’s still some banter here, the characters (mostly Delaney) aren't as charming, and a lot of the banter between her and Cash just comes off as harsh and condescending instead of endearing.
Her and Cash's relationship seems rather codependent and unhealthy (She guilts him into going to a school that he doesn’t want to go to because she “needs” him there and says she won’t go if he doesn’t…even though it’s her dream, not his. When they get there, the first thing she does is pick a huge fight with him in public because he’s acting like he doesn’t deserve to be there.) Also, I think there's only ONE conversation in the whole book where Delaney doesn't try to pick a fight with Cash, or call him a name, or be super condescending. They (mostly she) seemed pretty volatile, and it was hard to see what they liked about each other.
Furthermore, the fights between Delaney and Cash didn’t have the tension build-up to affect me - probably because there were so many of them. They just kind of happened, escalated REALLY fast, ended with cussing each other out, and then making up chapters later. I think more than one fight Cash has the “this is our worst fight yet; can we come back from this?"
All of that could have been okay if that unhealthy tension was a plot point and not just portrayed as romantic or quirky or friendship, but that wasn't the case.
It was hard enough for me to see why Cash and Delaney had a romantic subplot, but it was even harder because Cash himself doesn't realize he likes Delaney. In fact, he spends half the book falling for another girl and repeatedly denies that he likes Delaney. Obviously, denial can be a romantic trope, but it felt like genuine denial to me. It's only after being told by several people that he's obviously in love with Delaney and her confessing to him that he is suddenly all about being with her. People telling you you're in love with someone doesn't make you in love with them. And it doesn't make readers suddenly root for the characters, either. I much preferred Vi and Cash together.
I also didn’t understand why Cash went to the school in the first place. It didn’t seem like he was torn - it seemed like he just didn’t want to go at all, and was kind of pressured into doing it (thanks again, Delaney.)
This won't be the last Jeff Zentner book I read, but it's also not my favorite.