A Scatter of Light

Malinda Lo has done it again! I absolutely loved it and could not put it down, no spoilers will be given but the relationship is fresh and real. This is the representation that young people need now.

This book is very different than Last Night at the Telegraph Club, but I still very much adored it, all the same. The writing is still eloquent and breath-taking, and Aria, while different than Lily, is still a very compelling character. Her struggles with coming to terms with her sexuality in a ill-fated relationship was really gut-punching but expected, considering the circumstances around her and Steph's romance. I especially loved the one to two page chapters; those were the ones that packed the most emotional punches.

I really loved how coming-of-age was the primary focus rather than the romance, because it took time to explore Aria's relationships with her family, from Joan to her distant mother, bodily autonomy and how easily it's ripped away from young women, the struggles of being biracial, a lot is touched upon but it's all done beautifully. I didn't cry, but I still got very emotional, especially towards the end.

I cannot wait for the hardbacks to come out so I can finally place this book next to her sister on my shelf.

Lo's Last Night at the Telegraph Club was one of my top reads last year and I was so excited to see that Lo had a new book out - and it was, if anything, even better than Telegraph Club.

Aria has to spend the summer with her grandmother after an incident at a party has gone viral, while there she meets new people, and discovers lots about herself and her friends.

This makes it sound like any other coming of age YA book and while in many ways this is true the book is far far more than this and I'm not ashamed to say that towards to the end I was a sobbing mess. I also liked the small, subtle link back to Telegraph Club.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“I felt the weight of that moment all the way through my body, every nerve alive. I think she felt it, too. We could have made a lot of other choices that night, but we made the only one we wanted to make.”

Publisher: Dutton Books

Release date: 6th October 2022

Pages: 336

Representation: Bi-racial Chinese/Caucasian, Chinese, LGBTQIA+ (Queer, lesbian, bisexual, genderqueer, questioning), polyamorous side character.

Trigger warnings: Stroke, death, homophobia, grief, infidelity, cancer mention, sexual harassment (unconsenual publishing of lude photos)

Summary: Aria wasn’t planning on spending the summer at her Grandmother's house in California, but it’s where she is. She definitely wasn’t planning on falling for her grandmother's gardener, Steph. First of all, Aria is straight, and second, Steph has a girlfriend. Nothing seems to be going as she planned, and the summer before she goes to MIT is going to change everything she knows about herself, with no going back.

A scatter of light shows us that even in the darkest of nights there is a scattering of stars; each one of them unique and beautiful in their own way.

Aria was a realistically written character: freshly 18, I saw glimpses of my teenage self in how she felt at times. I can’t say I liked her, because she made decisions that I actively condemn. I knew everything she was doing was wrong, but there was a part of me that couldn’t help but root for her anyway. This is a testament to Lo’s writing. The prose is almost poetic, it lifts the story from the pages and prints the words right on the reader's heart.

The book was definitely character driven, and follows Aria’s emotions and coming to terms with some truths about herself more than the choices she makes. It follows her relationship with different family members, with friends, and with herself and her sexuality. I never wanted anything more than the book offered, and I gulped down everything it gave me with a thirst I haven’t known for a while.

My emotions are still a blur as I write this review; I’m stuck in an emotional Limbo after spending half a day being driven into the unknown by a teenage girl figuring out her life. I wouldn’t be able to turn back if I tried, and I wouldn’t want to. Full of character mistakes, queer love, heartbreak and the reality of being queer in the modern day. Steph, the love interest, wasn’t a nice character-she wasn’t someone I liked, but it was easy to understand Aria’s love for her. It was easy to understand her lust, and I loved watching the relationship evolve, as much as I hoped it wouldn’t-as much as I wanted them to remain friends and to not do anything they might regret.

The stark reality of being queer now versus being queer in the 60’s hits you like a punch in the good when reading it from the same author; the same style, the same words, but na million miles and worlds apart. I won’t give spoilers, but it gave a conclusion to Last Night at the Telegraph Club that made me tear up. It felt a fitting end to that story, that slotted perfectly into Arias. I would definitely recommend reading Last Night at the Telegraph Club before you read this; though it definitely can be read as a stand-alone it truly shines as a follow up to its predecessor.

Its shining glory: Beautifully written, with a story bound to resonate with so many queer youth, its ture glory comes from the emotional toll it takes and the mirror it holds up to so many aspects of queer experience.

Its fatal flaw: Although allowing the reader to feel a realistic process of emotions and flow of events, the plot occasionally seems disjointed at points as it jumps from one point to the next.

Read this if: You want an emotional read with imperfect characters. You want a true coming of age novel that shows just how messy and complicated life can be-one that doesn’t draw a line between who’s the hero and who’s the villain.

Skip this if: You don’t like books where the flaws of the main character are a focus. You like romance books to be 100% about the relationship, with less focus on the other parts of coming of age.

I thoroughly enjoyed this messy and somewhat chaotic dive into a coming of age tale of Aria. Lots of raw emotions and feelings about several things all at once (very true to real life). I liked how mistakes were allowed to be made and consequences were given as a result and not just conveniently swept under the rug in the name of plot.
Aria definitely grew as a person with her friends from school and those she met while living with Joan.
I think Joan was one of my favourite characters too, she was sweet and wise but didn't just hand out answers to life. The descriptions of her paintings were beautiful too.

ARC from NetGalley.

Another beautiful book from Malinda Lo! Being a big fan of Last Night at The Telegraph Club, I wasn't sure how this would hold up next to that, but it's such a gorgeous read! The book follows Aria and her summer spent with her grandmother over her friends. It's a book that delves into personal self-discovery, not only of the romantic kind, but it's about finding yourself and your place in this world. There's a super sweet kind of cameo tie in to Last Night at The Telegraph Club which I loved too! Lo has such a gentle, beautiful writing style that definitely carries over into this book too! Thanks so much for the opportunity to read! Will definitely be buying to read again once released! :)