When Light Left Us by Leah Thomas - NO

Thomas, Leah. When Light Left Us, 390 pages. Bloomsbury, 2018. $17.99. Language: R (122 swears, 46 “f”), Mature Content: R (homosexuality, self-harm), Violence: PG

Teenagers Hank and Ana, and their little brother Milo have never been the same since their father left with no explanation. Then, inexplicably, several years later, an entity enters the body of each sibling for two months. They refer to him as Luz which is Spanish for light. While it is there, it fills the void left by their father, but when it leaves it takes something from each of them, leaving them handicapped. From Hank, he takes the use of his hands so that he can no longer play basketball. From Ana he takes the use of her eyes so that she sees only emotional darkness. From Milo he takes the use of his ears, so he has selective deafness. Each of them begins to overcome their emotional deficits by the end of the story

There is no other way to say it. This is a strange story. There is deep meaning if you care enough to analyze it, but it is very confusing. I never fully understood the Luz entity. I didn’t understand what it was, how it entered people, why it entered them, or whether it was good or bad. Everyone who reads this book will have a different interpretation of what it all means. I don’t think this book will have much appeal with teenagers. The most likely audience would be teens who are intellectual, artsy, and love books.

HS – NOT RECOMMENDED. Reviewer: Valerie McEnroe, Media Specialist