Full review can be found here:

https://nordie.wordpress.com/2016/10/30/book-review-the-sunlight-pilgrims-by-jen...

I really liked this book. My only complaint was the ending left me with questions. ( )

As stated on other reviews, I am a part of Litsy and love reading the feedback from other people who love books. When I saw I had The Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenni Fagan for review*, I gulped a bit when I looked it up on Litsy as many of my fellow readers put "Bailed" around this book, meaning they stopped reading it. Was it that bad?

If you had asked me what The Sunlight Pilgrims was about before I read it based on the back cover description, I would have said it was- post apocalyptic, yet hopeful, about a mother and daughter, and a sort of love story. Based on the back cover description, I can see why people bailed because this is not what this book is about at all.

Yes, it does contain a world where the winter has gotten progressively worse and worse to the point that people freeze in the street and there is a question of whether or not there is an apocalypse.

There is also a mother and daughter- Constance and Stella, but I need to hold up here and I will come back to them in just a moment. There is a love interest/main character who comes into town after the death of his mother-Dylan. Dylan is going through his mother's home, when he happens upon Constance who comes out of her home to "polish the moon" and he is stricken with her. Dylan though is trying to figure out who his mother was.

Let's come back to Constance and Stella again. Stella is the main character of this book and she is a transgendered girl (pre-pubescent). Stella is trying to figure out how to stop her boy parts (beard, deep voice, etc) from coming in, so she can stay the girl she wants to be. Doctors won't give her pills yet and she is in email communication with her friend in Italy who is her support. Stella watches as Dylan and Constance grow closer and wishes for love as they have love.

I wrote on Litsy- if you had asked me if this was a book about a pre-apocalyptic transgender story about about identity, I would have looked at you like a dog listens to a dog whistle. I was not expecting this book to be about this topic, but it very much is. Stella is quite sure who she is. Dylan is trying to figure out who her mother was. Constance is trying to figure out her new life with a love who wants nothing from her. It all takes place during a second ice age because the ice caps are melted and are refreezing. I hate to write it, but I can see why some bailed.

Not much happens in this book at all and even the ending is somewhat ambiguous, but I felt it was very much about finding one's identity within the confines of the apocalypse. I think I liked it slightly more than my fellow Litsy readers, but it was a tough read if I am being honest. I think it is being marketed in the completely wrong way and might be trying for too many messages- love story, environmental responsibility, transgendered, etc.

I gave this one 3.5 stars as I loved Stella as a character, but I can see people not enjoying this one, sadly.

*I want to thank NetGalley/BloggingforBooks and Hogarth for the opportunity to read this book. I received it for free in book and ebook form in exchange for an honest review ( )

“There are three suns in the sky and it is the last day of autumn—perhaps forever. Sun dogs. Phantom suns. Parhelia. They mark the arrival of the most extreme winter for 200 years. Roads jam with people trying to stock up on fuel, food, water. Some say it is the end of times. Polar caps are melting. Salinity in the ocean is at an all-time low. The North Atlantic Drift is slowing.” – Jenni Fagan, The Sunlight Pilgrims

Climate fiction set in the near future as the world experiences extreme cold caused by the follow-on effects of melting ice caps. Dylan, whose mother and grandmother have recently died, abandons London, and moves to a caravan in Clachan Fells in the Scottish Highlands. Constance and her twelve-year-old trans daughter, Stella, are living in the caravan (that appears to be a mobile home community). They befriend Dylan and he joins the small group struggling to survive the elements.

I found this book a creative take on apocalyptic fiction. The author beautifully describes the wintery landscape. I liked the quirky characters and non-traditional family. I appreciated the portrayal of the trans individual, conveying a sense of the loneliness, emotions, and bullying she experiences.

The author goes a bit overboard with the crude language. The reasons behind the increasing cold are not addressed in any depth. I am not sure what to think about the ending. I do not generally mind open endings, but the way I interpreted it was not particularly satisfying.
( )

An interesting book, not what I usually read, so I found it lacking in story, but the characters where quite interesting.

I did have to work quite hard to finish it, and then it just seemed to end. But I guess it is a snippet out of several lives, and nice conclusions dont happen in real life.

I found the winter setting to be well thought out in terms of the effects it would have and how communities would react to extreme cold. ( )