Laura Whitcomb

I just finished reading this book, literally, like a minute ago. And I felt compelled to write a review right after while all the emotions are still fresh in my mind. I have to say that this is what every fantasy romance novel (especially ones that are classified as Young Adult) should strive to be.

I wouldn't be surprised if people sort of classified A Certain Slant of Light as just one of the many fantasy YA novels that are romance and were made solely to capitalize on the success of show more Twilight. They might dismiss it because of that. If they did, it would be a terrible mistake. This shouldn't even be classified with those other YA novels, not because they're necessarily bad, but because those are more or less fluff. And fluff is good sometimes, yes, but sometimes you need to something a little more meaty and that's what this is.

The writing in A Certain Slant of Light is simply superb. It's just beautiful. And that's something that sets it apart from the those other fluffy YA novels (Twilight, Evermore, etc.). There's a poetic flow to it that just leaves you engrossed with not only the plot, but with the language. The heroine, Helen, is so complex, yet completely relateable in all of her ghostly glory. The romance in this was really sweet, but what really had me hooked, was Helen's backstory. Her attachment to her various hosts, her love of reading, her desire to escape the hell she was sometimes plunged into, but her utter fear at actually finding out what happened to her was compelling.

So, people shouldn't dismiss this book just because it's YA. Not only is it an amazing YA book, but an amazing book, period. One that I believe everyone would enjoy if not for the plot, then for the tremendous and beautiful writing. show less

It's not often that I get to sit down and read a book cover to cover in one sitting. Not for the lack of great reading material, but due more to a lack of time. Isn't it amazing the power of a great book? Great books can make magicians out of us. For a great book, we can create time, conjure up how ever many hours needed to devote to the book. It's a wonderful feeling, to throw caution, and your day to the wind and just simple fall into a book. With a truly great one, you might just leave show more your own world, and live for a time in a new one.

With A Certain Slant of Light, I got book lost. I sat down to read it, and a few hours later I woke up in my house, not really sure of how I got there because the last thing I knew, I was with Helen and James.

Helen is Light. Light is what comes after, after we die, when to the world, we are gone but we can't leave. The Quick, the living are unaware of us then. They can't see us, they can't hear us but some part of them can feel we are there. Helen can't remember how she died, who she is, or anything about her life when she was one of the Quick save for her age, her name and that she was female. For over a hundred years Helen has attached herself to a living person, a host, and stayed with them throughout their lives until they passed. The time between hosts means fear, and pain and for Helen, the terrifying sensation of drowning.

Mr. Brown, unbeknownst to him, is Helen's host. He is a teacher, and an aspiring novelist who every so often feels a whisper of inspiration from a hidden muse. Unable to stray far from her host, Helen goes with him to school everyday and waits in the classroom, unseen by his students as he teaches.

"Although I could not feel paper between my fingers, smell ink, or taste the tip of a pencil, I could see and hear the world with all the clarity of the Living. They, on the other hand, did not see me as a shadow or a floating vapor. To the Quick, I was empty air."

But one day, someone sees her.

A boy in the back of the room, she's seen him before but he's never noticed her. Now he's looking right at her. For 130 years, she has been invisible, even to her host. Her life was watching his life, repetitive, quiet and still and now a human was watching her.

"How is it you see me?" But I wanted to cry Thank God you do.
"I'm like you." he said.

This book reads like a song- it could easily be set to music. Beautiful, lovely, romantic and haunting. I could keep gushing. I'm amazed by Whitcomb's writing. I was instantly captivated and floated effortlessly through the story all the way to the end. She put me through so many emotions- grief, loss, loneliness, love, lust, loathing. There is a family in the story, you'll see, and every time the story turned to them it made me angry.

I'm so sad that it's over. Read it and tell me what you think- that way it will be like I'm going back for a visit. show less

EDIT: I wrote this review at 1am as soon as I finished the book, and twenty minutes later, I already feel like it's vague, awkward, and doesn't fully capture my feelings, but I'm gonna leave it stand until I write something better.

I adored this book, and read it extremely quickly (for me). It fits a lot into 200-ish pages, and has some truly gorgeous writing, and yet still felt streamlined and efficient.

This is an odd review for me because, on the surface there are quite few things about show more this novel that shouldn't work, and it feels strange to be writing 5-star review mentioning what might be considered flaws, but something about this book was more than the sum of its parts, and everything that worked and and spoke to me outweighed any quibbles I might have had.

There are definitely some parts of this book that could have valid criticism laid against it. Some may find certain messages a bit heavy handed, and there could be a lot said about consent and bodily autonomy, and while I didn't need some of the messy ends to be tied up, I can see it bothering others. I think these grey areas were handled in such a way that reading those parts felt appropriately and intentionally uncomfortable, though maybe a little easily dismissed. But overall, it all hung together just so, for me personally.

The supporting characters around Helen were written with varying degrees of depth and complexity, but given the economy of the book's length, they all served their purpose. James was likeable, but was kept at enough of a distance that I was never 100% sure of his intentions, which I thought was quite well done and clever, and really served to add to the build of tension. But, Helen herself was wistful and charming, and her observations of her hosts in particular were bittersweet and heartfelt.

Ultimately, I thought it was a beautiful story, and it's ruminations on loneliness and grief touched me in particular. show less

Helen latches on to the skirt hem of "her saint" from her icy dungeon hell after her death. She is a Light, a ghost that has lived for decades without any of the Quick, the humans, seeing her ghostly form. She needs a host to attach to, even if they do not know of her presence, or else she will be begin to return to that icy hell. She doesn't have many memories from before her death and doesn't know what she did to deserve such hell. All of her hosts are mostly creative writerly people: show more poets, playwrights. So it's a pity when the person she actually possesses has no fiction in the house at all. One day, a high school boy can see her. And they clearly have a connection. Helen has to work to keep this connection and also figure out why the spirit of the girl she is possessing left her body in the first place.

This seems like the second book I read this year with a Romeo & Juliet influence (Isaac Marion's Warm Bodies). That's fine.. I'm just happy this book was written a few years before Twilight and didn't have that influence. I actually really liked this book, though I don't have an easy reason why. I don't have any complaints with this one! However, I'm not sure if this is a young adult book or not.. Kids books have such heavy swearing these days? I may just be confused because there are teenage characters. Apparently in the sequel, Helen is haunting again, but the ending is very satisfying in this one, so I feel like this book will be diminished by that one. show less