Began reading: 10.2.2017
Completed reading: 14.2.2017
Overall rating: 3 stars
Can the best thing happen at the worst time?
Her dad went crazy. Her mom left town. She has bills to pay and a little sister to look after. Now is not the time for level-headed seventeen-year-old Lucille to fall in love. But love—messy, inconvenient love—is what she's about to experience when she falls for Digby Jones, her best friend's brother.
This Raging Light by Estelle Laure is a contemporary young adult realistic fiction novel that contains romance. I had put this off for a bit, but decided to read it for Valentine’s Day. Overall, I thought that it was gritty and realistic, but there were some flaws that affected my rating. We’ll explore that as the review progresses.
The story is told from Lucille’s perspective – a seventeen-year-old girl, who is forced to look after herself and her sister after being abandoned by both parents. As she cares for her sister, Lucille struggles to maintain her grades and pay for the bills without letting anyone suspect that she and her sister are alone. Amidst this, Lucille has to learn about loyalty and trust, especially when her best friend’s brother begins to show interest in her – the problem is that he’s not single. More and more people begin to question Lucille’s story, but can she keep the lies coming, or will she tell the truth at the risk of being separated from her sister?
The novel was well-written, especially in relation to tone and the description of characters. The tone set the atmosphere, as it was realistic and somewhat sombre. It was clear that Laure wanted readers to comprehend the difficulty of having to mature quickly while also trying to experience life as a teenager. There were some great quotes scattered throughout the book, including:
I did the piles of laundry, folded mine, hung up Mom’s, carefully placed Wren’s into her dresser drawers, but it turns out none of her clothes fit right anymore. How did she grow like that in two measly weeks? Maybe because these fourteen days have been foreverlong.
These are all things Mom did while nobody noticed. I noticed her now (p. 9).
Sometimes, […] something slow happens fast and you can’t quite grasp the moment, whether it was an important one, whether it actually happened or you made it up (p. 28).
I like to think that the things we talk about here are safe, that words drip from our mouths into the earth and grow trees that guard secrets in their leaves (p. 52).
Eternity lives in pauses (p. 204).
Maybe we’re all breakable. It’s just a question of what breaks us (p. 225).
Explain to me what the point of living is if you aren’t willing to fight for the truths in your heart, to risk getting hurt (p. 307).
More quotes from the book can be found here.
The plot is what made me purchase the book. There was something about the likelihood of the situation happening in real life that piqued my interest. The idea of Lucille trying to hide her mother’s disappearance from the community was interesting, and made me want to know what happened next. It’s difficult for a teenager to socialise and act like a teenager when they also have to grow up quicker and care for someone. People who are in this situation should be admired, and Laure made me want to admire Lucille and all of her hard work to keep her sister happy. I think that Laure did a great job of portraying the harsh reality of growing up quickly.
Good backstories always make characters more complex and intriguing, even secondary characters. I was pleased to learn background information about various characters, as they had more substance than previously expected. For example, I learned about Lucille’s dad’s past and what drove him to insanity. Similarly, we learnt a bit about Aunt Jan, and how she had to look after Lucille’s mother when they were abandoned by their parents. Not a lot of authors put effort into shaping secondary characters, so it was refreshing to see such developed characters again.
I’m a sucker for a good cliff-hanger, primarily because it builds up anticipation for the sequel. This book did just that: there was a massive obstacle involving Eden, and then ended with something that gives us hope for her. Because of that ending, I want to read the next book now. To hell with Lucille, I’m here for Eden! The conclusion could also be seen as a little abrupt, but I choose to see it as an effective cliff-hanger. I need to know what happens next!
One of the issues that I had with this book was the lack of likeable characters. When I’m reading a book, I tend to relate to every character before picking my favourite. Unfortunately, when there is a lack of likeable characters, I tend to lose some interest in the story. There was a lot to hate about pretty much every character: Lucille was whiney and ungrateful, Digby was a cheater, Lucille’s parents were irresponsible, and Elaine was a complete b*tch. I need a range of characters with some likeable traits. I’m hoping that the next book does this for me!
Another problem that I had with the book was the range of random obstacles or plot lines. Usually, a book will have one primary plot line, and maybe a few subtle ones to keep the narrative flowing. However, there were way too many plot lines in this novel, which made it very distracting and confusing to follow. From the blurb, the main plot would be that Lucille struggles to care for her sister while keeping her missing parents a secret from the community. As I read, there was another major complication that rivalled the main issue. I was left wondering what the actual primary complication was – the secret or Eden’s incident? I can see why there were a few more plot lines added, but I believe that two big issues clashed. It was confusing and off-putting.
My favourite character is Eden, as she was loyal, fun and intelligent. I loved that read quoted literature a lot, and was there for Lucille and Wren whenever they needed her. She even gave Lucille money when she was struggling. She was such a good friend, and it bothered me that Lucille wasn’t grateful for everything Eden did for her.
That brings me to Lucille: I really wanted to like her, but she made it so difficult. Like I said, she was ungrateful and whiney. She didn’t appreciate her friends enough, especially when Eden and Digby watched Wren while Lucille went to work. She just irritated me, so I couldn’t like her as much as I’d wanted to.
Speaking of irritating, I did not like most characters in this book, and I have a lot of opinions on that (which I will keep to myself). Most of all, I did not like Elaine, especially when she confronted Lucille at her house. She was so rude, and I just wanted to throat-punch her.
And Digby! What the heck? How could he do that to Lucille? I didn’t understand why he couldn’t end things with Elaine sooner. I know he planned a future with her, but seriously. Pull yourself together!
My favourite parts were when Lucille cared for Wren. She took responsibility for her sister, and matured quickly for Wren. As I mentioned earlier, I think that it’s admirable and sweet. It demonstrated how much those sisters love each other. Even Wren did things to show her love for Lucille – cooking dinner and not wanting to be separated from her.
Recommendation time! If you like Don’t Fail Me Now by Una LaMarche, Risk by Fleur Ferris, Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple, and Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt, you will love this book. Also, I recommend this book to anyone who likes Missing Parents, The Outsiders, Gracie’s Choice, and Homecoming.
I will also be reviewing the rest of the series when the books become available. Keep an eye out for those!
Happy reading!
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