Review: In The Wild Light by Jeff Zentner

In The Wild Light was my most anticipated book of the year. So far Zentner has written 4 books, including this one, and I have loved all of them! However, this is my absolute favorite of his books so far.

Zentner writes books featuring teenagers and their journeys through some very difficult transitions in their lives.

In this book we follow Cash Pruitt and Delaney Doyle, two kids from Sawyer, Tennessee, who are now faced with the very real possibility of going to a private boarding school via a full ride scholarship and completely changing the course of their lives. Cash absolutely loves his hometown, his grandparents, and the simplicity of his life as it is. His grandparents have raised him since the death of his mom and his grandfather is ill so Cash does not feel confident enough to leave and go to the boarding school even though it would be a great opportunity. Delaney, on the other hand, can’t afford to stay. Her mom is an addict and so she tends to basically provide for herself without her mom’s support. Delaney also does not want to go to the school without Cash, who has become her only friend and lifeline.

All of the characters in this book are so well written, they are very smart and complex, they have very real problems like having to budget and the culture clash of going from a poor background to being surrounded by heirs to big fortunes, etc. There are also other wonderful characters in this book, like Alex Pak. Alex is Korean-American, from Texas, and is also at the boarding school on scholarship so Cash is able to connect with him and their friendship is heartwarming and beautiful. We see two boys being vulnerable with each other, supporting each other, and lifting each other up, I just love them!

Another beautiful relationship is that of Cash and his grandfather, Pep. Pep is such a wonderful man, he’s been a great role model for Cash and now that he’s ill all he wants is to make sure that Cash goes to the boarding school so that he achieves things that he has never even imagined. I just love Pep so much! T_T

I could go on and on about all the reasons why this book is just so wonderful but let me just put here one of the many beautiful passages you can find throughout the novel:

We think of language as this tame thing that lives in neat garden beds, bound by rules and fences. Then someone shows it to you growing wild and beautiful, flowering vines consuming cities, erasing pavement and lines. Breaking through any fence that would try to contain it. Reclaiming. Reshaping. Reforming.

In The Wild Light by Jeff Zentner (pg.263)

The love of writing and poetry is found throughout the novel. There’s even one of the most wonderful teachers ever: Dr. Britney Rae Adkins! I love that our main characters are not alone, they have a good support system and they have people who believe in them and want them to succeed. It’s just a positive book that made me feel good and happy in the end.

This book is perfect for autumn, Zentner is known for his beautiful writing as he describes the change of nature during autumn so if you want something to get you into that cozy fall mood, this is it! I highly recommend this book if you like beautiful writing, complex characters, beautiful relationships, and realistic fiction. Read this book! I promise you’ll love it! So far it is my favorite book of the year so…. read this book! XD

September Reading Plans + Magical Readathon: Orilium – The Novice Path

September is here! August was a great reading month, you can read all about it in my wrap up. For September I have planned the new books around the Magical Readathon: Orilium – The Novice Path (art in header and in journal by Lisa and Logan).

But first, let’s take a look at what I’m currently reading:

• The Stand by Stephen King: Yep, still buddy reading this, nearing 75% now and I’m so ready to see how this all wraps up!
• Todos los Cuentos by Gabriel García Márquez: I am nearing the end of this book and I just love how Márquez manages to envelop me in beautiful writing and just all the atmosphere of his stories.
• Emma by Jane Austen: I was not expecting this one to be so funny! I absolutely love Emma’s dad, he’s ridiculous in the most endearing way ever.
• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: I barely started this one and it will unfortunately go into the backburner for a bit since I’ll be putting other books as priority for the first half of September. However, I’m super enjoying the writing so far, I need to know what is going to happen!
• Temporada de Huracanes by Fernanda Melchor: This is the new pick for the book club with my friends and wow it’s so good! It is about brujas in a town in Veracruz, Mexico. A woman, known to be a witch in her town, is found murdered and so far we see how her origin is full of rumors, mythology, and violence. Excellent writing, absolutely love it.

And now, let’s look at what I will read for the Novice path for the Magical Readathon that I mentioned above!

Character Development (in progress)

For my character I’ve chosen to create Anukis Atali who lives in the urban center of Kerador and who is of Skaimorn heritage. She is a reader who has always been super curious about the magic that might be within her but which she has never been able to harness except in moments of intense pressure. She was raised by her great-uncle who is all about searching for the origins of his ancestors, genealogy is his passion. As such, Anukis knows that she comes from a line of powerful magic, which makes her inability to harness her own quite frustrating. The three books seen (Fight Club, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, and Club Dumas) will be read before April 2022 so I will talk about them in future TBRs.

TBR Spread in my Readathon Journal

So the idea for September is that my character will be embarking on the journey to Orilium Academy in order to learn how to harness her magical abilities. As such she must travel through various landmarks, each marking a trial that she must endure and pass in order to make it to the Academy. She’s not alone but she’s also super shy so hopefully she’ll be able to overcome that shyness in order to get to her goal.

• The Novice Path Entrance — Read a book with a map: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo: No, I haven’t read the Shadow and Bone series but I absolutely love heist movies and I’ve never read a heist book so I really wanted to check this out. I don’t know much more about this book other than the heist element and I am pretty sure that’s all I need!
• Ashtorn Tree — A book on top of your TBR: Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language by Amanda Montell: This is the pick for this month’s Feminist Book club so of course it’s at the top of my TBR! This book takes a look at words that have often been used against women, labeling women as less than, and tracks their origins in order to take away that negative connotation and allow the reader to take back the word into a different kind of use.
• The Mist of Solitude — Read a Standalone: In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner: I am SO excited to read this book. I’ve loved all of Zentner’s books so far and I don’t expect this one to be any different. I don’t even know what this book is about!
• Ruin of the Skye — Read a book featuring ghosts/supernatural elements: Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas: This book follows Yadriel, a Latinx brujx, who has managed to summon the ghost of the school’s resident bad boy, Julian Diaz. Now they are forced to work together in order to set things right for both of them. Ghosts, romance, LGBTQ+ and Latinx representation, can’t wait!
• Obsidian Falls — Read a thriller or mystery book: The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix: I am a big fan of horror movies and one of the tropes in many of them is that final girl who manages to survive. So this book follows a group of final girls who have survived their respective serial killers and who now come together to help each other deal with the aftermath. But apparently their horror story is not over….
• Tower of Rumination — Read a five star prediction: Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine: This is a series of short stories centered around Latinas of indigenous ancestry. There’s friendship, motherhood, sisterhood, and heritage. I’m pretty sure I’ll love this.
• Orilium Academy Arc — Book with a school setting: A Tale of Magic by Chris Colfer: A middle-grade book about Brystal, a 14-year-old girl who is whisked away to a magical school where she’ll learn that maybe her life is not as boring as she thought! I loved The Land of Stories series so I expect that this will be no different.

And that’s it for the Novice Path TBR! IF there’s time at all, I will also be starting All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, which came up in my last Want To Read List Cleanup post. As it stands, it might be pushed into October but that’s quite alright since there’s no hurry. Who knows, I might be in the mood and start it even while working on the books for the Orilium journey, we’ll see!

What will you be reading this September?