Soon the Light Will Be Perfect by Dave Patterson is a poignant coming of age novel set in rural Vermont in the late 1980s.

The twelve year old narrator, his fifteen year old brother and his parents have achieved enough financial security to move out of a trailer park and into a house. His father escaped a round of layoffs at a plant that manufactures weapons. His mom does not work outside the home but she is involved with local charities. His family is staunchly Catholic and they are very involved with their local parish. However, when his mother is diagnosed with cancer, he and his brother are left to care for themselves as she undergoes debilitating chemotherapy. During the course of her treatment, America enters the Gulf War but his father is worried when a situation at work jeopardizes his job.

As our narrator tries to make sense of his life, a growing divide between him and his brother leaves him to fend for himself. Entering into puberty, he is confused and conflicted about his sudden awareness of girls. He is briefly befriended by Taylor, a teenage girl who lives with her mom and a constant parade of boyfriends. With the family's strict religious background, the twelve year old does not understand why his prayers for his mother and their family are going unanswered.

Despite the somewhat bleak storyline, Soon the Light Will Be Perfect is a compelling novel about a family in crisis. This realistic depiction of the narrator's struggles with puberty, faith, his mother's illness, and economic uncertainly is heartbreaking. The novel has slightly ominous overtones due to the uncertainty of the mom's health, the dad's precarious job situation and the boys rebellious behavior. This engaging story concludes on a bit of a positive note that will leave readers hoping the family's troubles are behind them. I truly enjoyed and highly recommend this excellent debut by Dave Patterson. ( )