Reviewed by Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen for TeensReadToo.com

Peter Solemn will be leaving his life behind as he accompanies his family to Greenland. His father is a glaciologist and is going to research the ice caps and the effects of global warming.

Thea already lives in Greenland - although not freely. The people in the society she lives with, Gracehope, all fled Europe because of persecution, hiding underneath the ice, unable to go above to see what this new world has to offer.

Curious as she is, Thea has always wondered what it's like above all of the ice. Even though her grandma, who just so happens to be the leader of the society, does not allow it, Thea is going to do all she can to see what exactly is happening on top of her world.

With the help of a map, Peter and Thea discover one another. Two people from two completely different worlds...and yet somehow both are connected to each other.

Without wanting to give away too much, Peter and Thea's world collide, sometimes for the best, most of the times for the worse.

Odd and captivating, FIRST LIGHT is one of those books that you just have to read in order to understand the brilliance and imagination. Another plus is the mentioning of global warming, which some may believe in while others do not. However, regardless of beliefs, FIRST LIGHT is one novel you want to experience. ( )

It took me a while to get into this book. This is the author's first book and at first I thought that she had bit off more than she could chew, but ultimately it came together.

One main character is Peter, whose father, a scientist studying global warming, announces that he will be working in Greenland for six weeks and he'd like to bring his wife and son with him. Another character is Thea, a girl living in a secret community under the ice in Greenland. This is the part that was a little sketchy -- the author never resolved all of the questions that I had about how this community could survive, as they had for several generations. Nevertheless, it is a pretty cool concept and the images of the community gliding on skates through a massive underground series of ice tunnels is fun to imagine and they even have an underground lake where they can fish. The connection between Peter and Thea occurs about halfway or more through the book. There is some mention of global warming and how it will threaten the underground community, but it is not presented as an immediate concern. Some of the people underground have special abilities, like the ability to communicate with their dogs. These abilities had caused them to be feared by others years before when they lived in England, which is how they came to hide in Greenland. ( )

Nifty and imaginative fantasy (or rather science fiction) about a hidden community underground. It reminded me slightly of The City of Ember, with the similar idea of a community surviving underground and misinterpreting its history. But I enjoyed this story and its characters much more. I was willing to buy the super scientists angle, but I am not sure about the addition of the telepathic dgos - maybe there will be further books that feather them in more interesting roles? ( )

Good book. I would have been absolutely mad about this book if it had been written when I was 12 or so. Even now, in my mid-twenties, I enjoyed it.

Recommended Ages: Gr. 5-8

Plot Summary: Peter leaves New York City and heads to Greenland with his parents and his father's colleague, Jonas. While his father studies glaciers, Peter is left to sit in the large tent or explore Greenland on his own. He discovers Thea, a girl from Gracehope, and helps Thea bring Mattias, who fell into an ice crevice, back to their secret city in the glacier ice.

Setting: New York City
Greenland
Gracehope (city under ice)

Characters: Peter
Peter's dad, glaciologist
Rory (Aurora) - Peter's mom, gets bad "headaches" all the time, British
Miles - Peter's best friend
Jonas - Peter's father's grad student
Sasha - Peter's dog
Chikchu - dogs
Thea
Lana - Thea's aunt
Mai - Thea's mom, who Thea thought drowned trying to find a way out of Gracehope, but really found a way out and died from an illness shortly thereafter
Rowen - Thea's grandmother, the leader of Gracehope, doesn't want community to leave Gracehope
Dexna - Mattias' grandmother, refused to speak, teaches Peter how to use his eye adept
Mattias - Thea's best friend, almost dies
Dolan - dog trainer

Recurring Themes: family, survival, dogs, standing up for what you believe, global warming

Controversial Issues: Gracehope was created because when they lived in England, people thought they were witches for their special powers (seeing or hearing very well, for example).

Personal Thoughts: While I'm not a huge fantasy reader, I really enjoyed this book. The characters and plot were well written. I liked the way everything came together at the end. ( )