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A review by jsncnrd
Into the Light by Mark Oshiro
4.0
I truly enjoyed the time I spent with this book. It was a quick read, but it covered a lot.
Part road-trip / journey, part coming-of-age, and part mystery, this was a fantastic book that explored incredibly important topics. Identity, violence, abuse, gaslighting, religion, and trauma -- and how all of those topics frequently intersect. Throw in the broken foster-care system, and that intersection became even more complicated.
The writing was outstanding, and Manny was an excellent protagonist. My heart ached for him throughout the course of the book and I wanted better for him. In many ways, he is a symbol of the pain that queer adolescents experience, and a testament to what happens in the absence of love and support. Watching his growth -- developing from a self-loathing and lonely kid into a survivor who believes he may deserve to be loved after all -- was beautiful.
My main criticism -- The ending lost me a bit when it turned supernatural. For much of the book, I was under the impression of there being amnesia, repression, etc. at work -- and I think that would've been so great to explore further.
When the reality turned out to be supernatural -- a near-clone created from Manny -- I was a bit let down. It took away from the reality of what appeared to be a completely plausible story. Cults exist in the world. People can be brainwashed into believing absolutely insane things. And trauma can push people towards believing those narratives. So, this revelation, once I understood it, felt a bit disappointing.
The ending felt abrupt in the sense that I thought we'd get a bit more closure as to the aftermath of their visit to Reconciliation rather than leaving off right there. That's not to say the ending wasn't impactful, because it was.
But overall, this book was a triumph. It succeeded in making the statements that it set out to make. It did so through beautiful writing / prose, and through the perspective of a character that you were rooting for from page 1. Would highly recommend for those seeking a fast-paced mystery that tackles issues that need to be highlighted in our current climate.
Big thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
P.S. -- can we talk about this cover?! Absolutely beautiful and such a great portrayal of the plot itself.
Part road-trip / journey, part coming-of-age, and part mystery, this was a fantastic book that explored incredibly important topics. Identity, violence, abuse, gaslighting, religion, and trauma -- and how all of those topics frequently intersect. Throw in the broken foster-care system, and that intersection became even more complicated.
The writing was outstanding, and Manny was an excellent protagonist. My heart ached for him throughout the course of the book and I wanted better for him. In many ways, he is a symbol of the pain that queer adolescents experience, and a testament to what happens in the absence of love and support. Watching his growth -- developing from a self-loathing and lonely kid into a survivor who believes he may deserve to be loved after all -- was beautiful.
My main criticism -- The ending lost me a bit when it turned supernatural. For much of the book, I was under the impression of there being amnesia, repression, etc. at work -- and I think that would've been so great to explore further.
When the reality turned out to be supernatural -- a near-clone created from Manny -- I was a bit let down. It took away from the reality of what appeared to be a completely plausible story. Cults exist in the world. People can be brainwashed into believing absolutely insane things. And trauma can push people towards believing those narratives. So, this revelation, once I understood it, felt a bit disappointing.
The ending felt abrupt in the sense that I thought we'd get a bit more closure as to the aftermath of their visit to Reconciliation rather than leaving off right there. That's not to say the ending wasn't impactful, because it was.
But overall, this book was a triumph. It succeeded in making the statements that it set out to make. It did so through beautiful writing / prose, and through the perspective of a character that you were rooting for from page 1. Would highly recommend for those seeking a fast-paced mystery that tackles issues that need to be highlighted in our current climate.
Big thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
P.S. -- can we talk about this cover?! Absolutely beautiful and such a great portrayal of the plot itself.