This Raging Light

This Raging Light by Estelle Laure

Age: Young Adult
Category: Contemporary, romance
Rating: 4 stars

Brittany Thinks: I love reading realistic YA fiction - perhaps because I discovered YA in a time before Twilight and magic and Dystopia shaped the books that lined shelves. When YA, like a true young adult, was really trying to find its place in the literary world and in the general societal subconscious. I love a good Fantasy YA read, but every once in a while I totally dig losing myself in a world where human beings have human problems and they make a bigger mess of things on the way to the truth. This Raging Light by Estelle Laure felt like the YA books that made me fall in love with the genre and I really want all of you to have the chance to love it, too.

The title attracted me first, because I assumed (correctly, fortunately) that it was a reference to my favorite Dylan Thomas quote, “Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light”. That’s exactly what Lucille has to do when she wakes up to find her parents have both left town and she has a 10 year old sister to care for and a mountain of bills to pay. I know that people have an amazing capacity to keep it together through unimaginable things, but I was so enthralled by her character. She was strong without being dramatically closed off and vulnerable without being obnoxious - and either of those alternatives would have been entirely understandable in her situation, too. I also really liked Eden, Lucille’s best friend, and Digby, Eden’s brother. They were so kind, so supportive, and so great at times that I envied their relationships.

I think my favorite part of this book is that it’s so dark, but also so filled with goodness. There is another trend in YA that leans more towards the sad of late. Some of my favorite reads of the last 5 years in this genre have been soul crushing. And this book could have taken that path, but it reminded me of another quote from a dude I love, Mr. Rogers: “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping”. I think everyone could use a reminder of that sometimes and this book is filled with people caring about people when they don’t really have to.

Definitely check out This Raging Light. The writing was beautiful, I bought it six hours ago. It’s absolutely worth your time.