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reidob 's review for:
The Light Pirate
by Lily Brooks-Dalton
The story of a family trying to navigate the end stages of the climate crisis, when Florida is rapidly becoming uninhabitable in any but the narrowest sense of the word. Survivalists survive and others flee to parts of the country not yet destroyed, but which are also devolving into chaos.
Our protagonist is Wanda, a girl who becomes a woman in this disintegrating world. She loses most of those close to her in one way or another, beginning with her mother, who dies giving birth to Wanda during the storm from which her name is derived, leaving her with a lasting legacy of despair. Wanda also has a special talent which gives the book its title.
It is easy to see where Brooks-Dalton was trying to go, telling the story of a young woman coming of age in dreadful times and finding a way to go on, providing her with a touch of magic to spice up a rather grim tale. Oddly, though the book is competently written, the reader is never able to fully engage with Wanda and her cohorts; it's as if the author is holding us at arm's distance and isn't able to make Wanda a fully real character who can engage our hearts as well as our minds. It is difficult to put my finger on where exactly this disconnect lies, but it was distinct and pervasive. It's a shame, really, since she had a beautiful premise to write from. We are no doubt going to see many, many more such novels as our environmental future continues to look increasingly grim, but this novel, lovely as it is in many ways, is not destined for the top shelf on that growing list.
Our protagonist is Wanda, a girl who becomes a woman in this disintegrating world. She loses most of those close to her in one way or another, beginning with her mother, who dies giving birth to Wanda during the storm from which her name is derived, leaving her with a lasting legacy of despair. Wanda also has a special talent which gives the book its title.
It is easy to see where Brooks-Dalton was trying to go, telling the story of a young woman coming of age in dreadful times and finding a way to go on, providing her with a touch of magic to spice up a rather grim tale. Oddly, though the book is competently written, the reader is never able to fully engage with Wanda and her cohorts; it's as if the author is holding us at arm's distance and isn't able to make Wanda a fully real character who can engage our hearts as well as our minds. It is difficult to put my finger on where exactly this disconnect lies, but it was distinct and pervasive. It's a shame, really, since she had a beautiful premise to write from. We are no doubt going to see many, many more such novels as our environmental future continues to look increasingly grim, but this novel, lovely as it is in many ways, is not destined for the top shelf on that growing list.