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A review by jessread_s
Letters From The Light by Shel Calopa
4.0
Review: I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, Inspired Quill, in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Shel Calopa, and Brigid Kapuvari, a member of Inspired Quill’s publishing team, for this opportunity.
What Worked:
01. The world-building. I really enjoyed the idea of a futuristic Australia, especially since the majority of the novel truly does take place “down under.” It wasn’t hard for me to come up with an image in my head of Calopa's futuristic world. I had fun following Sam and Harper through the tunnels underground and sat on the edge of my seat as I lay witness to Aggy nearly drowning. Though I have never been to Australia myself, I felt almost as if I was transported there as I followed the characters on their journey towards the light.
02. The story that unfolded. I was very intrigued by the usage of Light as a luxury. In Calopa’s futuristic world, Light is a resource utilized exclusively by the wealthy. The poorer cities resort to living in the darkness, fumbling around as they try to make a living. To ensure that the wealthy and the wealthy only are granted the light, the poor children are blinded. I never truly thought about the importance of actual light until I read about Sam’s experiences as a poor individual in the novel. By the time I had found my way at the end, I couldn’t help but appreciate the little things in life.
03. The diversity. I applaud Calopa for creating such diverse characters. Characters of all different religious backgrounds, ethnicities, social class, and genders make an appearance. To take a step further, characters like Sam have disabilities. I greatly appreciated Calopa’s efforts to incorporate diverse characters into the storyline.
04. The perspectives. One aspect of the novel that I enjoyed immensely was the number of perspectives that were given. We got an inside look at how the main characters viewed their familial situations and how the social class system effected them.
What Didn’t Work:
01. The number of characters. The main thing I took issue with was the sheer number of characters I had to keep track of as the novel progressed. We got to know the main characters pretty well through their respective chapters, but I had a hard time keeping track of all of the Brothers, the different Cities, as well as Aggy’s crew. Just as soon as I got to know one character, another would pop up and I would have to workout what role they played in the story.
02. The pacing. I was faced with minor difficulties when I started this novel because the beginning was so slow. It was hard to break through the first couple of chapters and required a lot of patience. I am here to report though that I am glad I kept with it because things did pick up as the novel progressed.
03. The time jump. There were several areas in Calopa’s book that had me upside down because I had no sense of time. For instance, I was shocked by how quickly Calopa made the jump from Sam being initiated into the Brotherhood to his acceptance in the group. It was funky the way the story started out with him as a young boy only for him to have aged abnormally within the next chapter. It took me a while to reorder pieces of the story based upon what was thrown at me in the beginning. Other than the few time skips at the beginning, the rest was smooth sailing.
04. The ending. I was very confused by how the novel ended. Perhaps I’m missing something, but it was odd how quickly everyone went back to their normal way of life. I still feel like there are some loose ends that haven’t been taken care of yet. This may make way for a second book, but for the time being, I do believe that the novel ended abruptly.
Jess Approved?: ✓
Review originally posted to yabookaddiction
What Worked:
01. The world-building. I really enjoyed the idea of a futuristic Australia, especially since the majority of the novel truly does take place “down under.” It wasn’t hard for me to come up with an image in my head of Calopa's futuristic world. I had fun following Sam and Harper through the tunnels underground and sat on the edge of my seat as I lay witness to Aggy nearly drowning. Though I have never been to Australia myself, I felt almost as if I was transported there as I followed the characters on their journey towards the light.
02. The story that unfolded. I was very intrigued by the usage of Light as a luxury. In Calopa’s futuristic world, Light is a resource utilized exclusively by the wealthy. The poorer cities resort to living in the darkness, fumbling around as they try to make a living. To ensure that the wealthy and the wealthy only are granted the light, the poor children are blinded. I never truly thought about the importance of actual light until I read about Sam’s experiences as a poor individual in the novel. By the time I had found my way at the end, I couldn’t help but appreciate the little things in life.
03. The diversity. I applaud Calopa for creating such diverse characters. Characters of all different religious backgrounds, ethnicities, social class, and genders make an appearance. To take a step further, characters like Sam have disabilities. I greatly appreciated Calopa’s efforts to incorporate diverse characters into the storyline.
04. The perspectives. One aspect of the novel that I enjoyed immensely was the number of perspectives that were given. We got an inside look at how the main characters viewed their familial situations and how the social class system effected them.
What Didn’t Work:
01. The number of characters. The main thing I took issue with was the sheer number of characters I had to keep track of as the novel progressed. We got to know the main characters pretty well through their respective chapters, but I had a hard time keeping track of all of the Brothers, the different Cities, as well as Aggy’s crew. Just as soon as I got to know one character, another would pop up and I would have to workout what role they played in the story.
02. The pacing. I was faced with minor difficulties when I started this novel because the beginning was so slow. It was hard to break through the first couple of chapters and required a lot of patience. I am here to report though that I am glad I kept with it because things did pick up as the novel progressed.
03. The time jump. There were several areas in Calopa’s book that had me upside down because I had no sense of time. For instance, I was shocked by how quickly Calopa made the jump from Sam being initiated into the Brotherhood to his acceptance in the group. It was funky the way the story started out with him as a young boy only for him to have aged abnormally within the next chapter. It took me a while to reorder pieces of the story based upon what was thrown at me in the beginning. Other than the few time skips at the beginning, the rest was smooth sailing.
04. The ending. I was very confused by how the novel ended. Perhaps I’m missing something, but it was odd how quickly everyone went back to their normal way of life. I still feel like there are some loose ends that haven’t been taken care of yet. This may make way for a second book, but for the time being, I do believe that the novel ended abruptly.
Jess Approved?: ✓
Review originally posted to yabookaddiction