In the Light of You Review

Going into reading this book, I anticipated hating the main character. I knew that Mikal fanon's ignorance would enrage me, his hate for something so insignificant, and his violent way of expressing it. I did not anticipate though, the respect he would earn from me, the way I would be encased in watching him grow, shed his ignorance, learn to accept. I took my time, once again,
to read it, wanting to let it sink in gradually. When i do this, i befriend the characters, and i think about them at other times of the day, watching a movie, I'll say "oh, that's what Richard said to Mikal." and then i realize, no one knows who I'm talking about. It's nice, it's as if i know i have something to rely on, a friend to turn to, when i feel lonely, or even claustrophobic.

My favorite character was absolutely Niani Shange. Though I do adore Mikal, his honest personality, and the fact that he spoke his mind. The growth and journey i watched him and all of the other characters make, opening their eyes, learning to love, accepting their lives. i loved the radiance Niani possessed. I love that she was this commanding presence to everyone on campus. I love that D'antre Philips, Daddy Molotov was in the book.

Writing this now, i feel like i have so much to say about the novel, but I'm struggling to word it all. I guess, "It's hard to know how to feel,". The fact that Mikal says this throughout the book reminds me of Holden saying "Lousy," it caught on, and i began discovering myself saying "it's hard to know how to feel," in everyday situations. This also occurred when reading A Prayer For Dawn, and coming across "Ya dig," so often.

As i have experienced, Singer's writing is so genuinely, and terrifyingly honest, it's like a murderer playing the xylophone on your vertebrae. Though in some parts, it was quite violent, with the racist activities a gang of neo-Nazi skinheads would typically be involved in. but it wasn't as brutal as A Prayer For Dawn, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it could prove to be an excellent thing, for those of you with a weak stomach.

Nathan Singer did a great job allowing the reader to grasp the idea of Niani and Jack Curry's relationship, the completely platonic love they had for one another, is not something a teenage reader might be able to fully grasp, with the naivety of teenagers these days. Nathan Singer's familiar intense language was not absent, and i was mesmerized by the real-to-life dialect and promisingly accurate depictions of relationships. Friendships, loyalty, honestly, it's all
beautifully expressed in the novel. Looking at A Prayer For Dawn, In The Light Of You, and Chasing the Wolf, it is final, Nathan Singer is one of my favorite authors.