Beautiful Books :: A Certain Slant of Light

Beautiful Books :: A Certain Slant of Light

by Laura Whitcomb

I'm going to be lazy, here, and use my GoodReads review from this, with some lovely quotes added in.

I was really surprised by this book. I came in with no expectations whatsoever. I knew (assumed) it was teen fiction and about ghosts...it seemed. But I'm a sucker for pretty covers and I'd seen some buzz about this one, so I snatched it up when I saw it at the library.

"I was too fascinated to be afraid now. Everything was astounding. Being touched. Smelling people, their sweat, and perfume, and even the soap they used to wash their clothes as they gave me hugs goodbye. The power of all those eyes, shining right into mine. The weight of things, like punch in the cup. The weight of me as I stood and moved. I was lightheaded with curiosity. I wanted to run and sing and walk down a street where people would turn a shoulder to pass without colliding into me." [120]

I kind of loved it. It's not actually about teenagers, since the "ghosts" involved were in their late twenties when they died, which I think gives it some extra depth, but it also deals with some very normal, realistic teen problems that were pretty believable.

"I couldn't take my eyes off him. Like a dessert wanderer afraid of mirages, I gazed at my oasis, but he was real." [21]

The writing was very pretty, and I love overly descriptive prose, so that was perfect. Plus it had a nice blend of times that was also pretty believable, melding old and new.

"As light dappled across the forest of faces, I could watch them create inside their hearts each a different story from the same images. It was a shame the way modern movies smothered their stories with songs and loaded every moment with noises and words. Little was left to the imagination." [91]

I was very surprised by how much the story pulled me in, keeping me up late night after night to finish. It wasn't so intensely emotional that I cried at any point (I usually on cry when there's an epic scale involved, sorry), but I was definitely invested.

Another point that I liked was that although this does deal with a concept of heaven and hell, I was delighted by the idea that **SPOILER, sort of** escaping hell had little to do with forgiveness from "God", and pretty much everything to do with forgiveness from yourself, which was lovely.

Definitely enjoyed it, although some of that might be from my "no expectations" beginning. Still, very nice, very pretty. Worth reading.