The novel follows a teenager and her younger sister as they try to deal with their mother’s sudden disappearance. Things become further complicated when older sister Lucille falls for her best friend’s brother. The publisher said the book is a “luminous portrait” of two young girls enduring hardship.
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Review
The Raging Light was such an inspiring and well-written book. The author was really able to match the tone and mood to her writing style. It was nice to read at a pace and style that matched the characters, making it easier to get caught up in their story. The Raging Light drew me in so much. I got caught up in the characters and their plight as they struggled through their challenges. One thing that I noticed was the dedication and focuses on Lucille and her sister. Lots of times in books similar to this, the storyline gets off track and suddenly the drama is overwhelming. Estelle Laure does a masterful job of managing the balance between too much drama and making the book interesting.
“Me. Not perfect. Not bad. Not Mom. Just me. I feel like me.”
Lucille makes this book. If she was written any other way with any other personality, this book would have fallen a part. She is perfectly imperfect in The Raging Light. Lucille is an interesting combination of fragile and strong. It showed through her every moment as she worked to take care of those she loved. Often this meant she had to sacrifice something. Lucille’s whole situation is undesirable and definitely horrible, yet she makes the best of it to raise he sister. This didn’t come without sacrifices though. Yet these breakdowns just made her human and relatable.
“I want to pull my skin off my body so I can crawl into it without the eyeholes and disappear into myself, never to emerge again.”
Quick Side Note; What really helped make this book were all the supporting characters. There were the three angels which helped Lucille and Wren countless times. The there was Lucille’s best friend Eden. Eden was such an interesting character as she was a quote-r of poems by day and a aspiring ballerina by night. Then of course there was the love interest with Dirby, Eden’s twin brother. Of course Dirby barely seems to notice Lucille at the beginning of the book (not to mention he already has the “perfect” girlfriend), yet I loved how their relationship grew. Dirby was really able to support Lucille and his love shown through every moment and choice he made. Without this supporting cast, this book wouldn’t have had the three-dimensional quality that makes it so amazing.
“He’s wild, a wild thing standing there, like everything got loosed at once.”
Overall, I really loved this book. The characters were amazing and I got so caught up in the story that I literally couldn’t put it down. Laure also did a really job of ending the book. She kept things open in the air yet gave this ending glimmer of hope that I adored.
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