Wild Light: A printmaker’s day and night

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Here we are, survivors of quiet wars. Like trees that have weathered a brutal storm, but with broken branches and fallen blossoms littering the ground around us." Delaney is a genius, she has discovered a mold in a cave and it has huge potential as a pharmaceutical, she's been offered a full scholarship in one of the most successful colleges around. She says she will only take it if her best friend Cash can come too on an equivalent scholarship. But leaving his grandparents, the life he thought he was going to have, but, which is unfulfilling is a huge step for Cash. He is torn and tortured by his decision to go. You know when you can sense a book is going to be 5 stars from reading the first chapters, well I knew from chapter 11.

A novel with the soul of a poem.JeffZentnerproves yet again that he’s one of the most luminous voices writing for young people today.”— RandyRibay,author of National Book Award finalist Patron Saints of Nothing I initially intended to read this book over several days, and I even put it down a couple of times intending to call it a night. But the book kept calling me and so here I sit after midnight just soaking in this book. Sometimes a book just speaks to you and for me, this was one of those. A moving and rich novel about friendship, loss, kind strangers, the blindness so often present in the pursuit of love, and love itself. His protagonists have their eyes raised to the sky.”— Daniel Woodrell for The New York Times Book Review In the Wild Light is anchored by its co-leads, Cash & Delaney, specifically through their chemistry and dialogue. We don’t see an excess of authentic boy/girl friendships in YA, at least operating at this level, so that is an achievement in and of itself. The dialogue is also great, occupying that tiny sliver in the venn diagram where “realistic chit-chat and conversational quirks” overlaps with “witty, engaging banter which makes you want to be friends with them too.” This is one of those YA books that more adults than "YA's" will embrace. Why? Not much on plot, the lifeblood of popular YA fare. It's aces on writing style and characterization, though, and it's what they call "sweet" in that the characters are so nice you want to believe they exist. And although it walks the property line of Hallmark Channel Lit., it never quite crosses it, for which we are grateful.

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But lots of parts of it were unrealistic. They just didn't sit well with me. While reciting poetry, the author somehow made the characters other-worldy but not in a good way. They felt so distant. I just couldn't touch them, couldn't care about them. The emotional scenes also felt aloft. I couldn't connect with the characters despite trying hard. I started feeling so frustrated at a point that I literally skimmed through some parts..... In the dim of the porch light I see his eyes, ardent with furious love. It burns through the darkness in me. It pulls me from the maelstrom and drops me, dripping and shivering on the shore. Cash lives in the tiny rural town of Sawyer, Tennessee, raised by his beloved grandparents since his mother died from opioid addiction. He’s content for his life to consist simply of going canoeing on the river, mowing people’s lawns, and spending time with his best friend, Delaney. There are days when your heart is so filled with this world’s beauty, it feels like holding too much of something in your hand. Days that taste like wild honey. This was just excellent! Zentner is one of my absolute favorite YA authors, and this book was another reminder why.

Jeff Zentner's latest YA novel is a powerful, poignant story about family, friendship, heritage, love, and finding yourself.Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. Please listen to the full review at: https://bookclubbed.buzzsprout.com/15... Truly, one of the best books for young people, for any people in recent times. This book, which I read slowly because it was so incredibly moving and I didn't want it to finish, really got to me. I dreamed about it. And this might be because I have elderly parents who have failing health, and I found the Cash's grandparents a little too close to my folk, but I dare you to read this book and not be completely caught up in Chase and his best friend Delaney, their challenges and struggles and their love for each other and for Chase's Papaw and Mamaw. One thing I particularly love about all of Jeff’s books is the message that you don’t have to do overly impressive things to live a life full of love and dignity. While the circumstances that lead to Cash and Delaney ending up at a boarding school are indeed extraordinary, this book goes to show that sometimes our most memorable and important moments can be lunches at McDonald’s, quiet canoe rides on the river, and even doing laundry with a good friend. I’ve seen that life is filled with unimaginable horror. But it’s also threaded through with unimaginable wonder."