''A Scatter of Light'' is a young adult

coming-of-age story In genre studies, a coming-of-age story is a genre of literature, theatre, film, and video game that focuses on the growth of a protagonist from childhood to adulthood, or "coming of age". Coming-of-age stories tend to emphasize dialogue or internal ...

written by

Malinda Lo Malinda Lo is an American writer of young adult novels including ''Ash'', ''Huntress'', ''Adaptation'', ''Inheritance,'' ''A Line in the Dark'', and '' Last Night at the Telegraph Club''. She also does research on diversity in young adult literat ...

and published on October 4, 2022, by

Dutton Books for Young Readers Dutton Children's Books is a US publisher of children's books and a division of the Penguin Group. It is associated with the Dutton adult division. It was previously an imprint of E.P. Dutton, prior to 1986. They have been publishing books sinc ...

. A standalone companion book to Lo's previous novel, ''

Last Night at the Telegraph Club ''Last Night at the Telegraph Club'' is a young adult historical novel written by Malinda Lo and published on January 19, 2021, by Dutton Books for Young Readers. It is set in 1950s San Francisco and tells the story of Lily Hu, a teenage daughte ...

'', it tells the story of Aria West as she explores her sexuality and the LGBT culture in San Francisco.

Reception

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' called ''A Scatter of Light'' " contemporary queer coming-of-age story steeped in pivotal events", in reference to the novel's setting of 2013 and the legalization of same-sex marriage in California. While the publication praised the setting, calling it "richly detailed", it noted that the story would have been improved if it focused more on the personal lives of the main characters. '' Publishers Weekly'', which gave the novel a

starred review A starred review is a book review __NOTOC__ A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit. A book review may be a primary source, opinion piece ...

, called it an "expansive tale of yearning, self-discovery, and first love." A review for '' The Horn Book Magazine'' commented on the connection between Aria West and the main character from ''

'', saying "readers will be delighted to discover the connection between

he two He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

" The reviewer also praised

's take on the topics explored in the novel, and called it "an intimate, exhilarating story of irstlove." Molly Horan, for '' The Booklist'', commended the author for her use of the Tumblr website in the novel, which made it feel "wonderfully early 2010s" while the main character's exploration of her own sexuality felt "timeless".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scatter of Light, A 2022 American novels 2022 LGBT-related literary works American LGBT novels American bildungsromans Novels set in the 2010s Novels set in San Francisco Novels with transgender themes E. P. Dutton books 2020s LGBT novels LGBT-related young adult novels