When Light Left Us by Leah Thomas

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Reviewed by: When Light Left Us by Leah Thomas Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor Thomas, Leah When Light Left Us. Bloomsbury, 2018 [400p] ISBN 978-1-68119-181-2 $17.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 7-12 Luz is gone, and the Vasquez children are devastated. Seventeen-year-old Hank can’t stand to look at his hands, the hands that Luz used to shoot hoops like a basketball star (and also to do horrible things); fourteen-year-old Ana can barely blink, fearful that she’ll see either the beautiful or painful images Luz painted on the backs of her eyelids; and eight-year-old Milo uses headphones to drown out the Roaring Nothing that was left when Luz stopped talking to him. They know now (or at least they’ve been told) that Luz was a parasitic alien that used their bodies to experience human life, but Hank, Ana, and Milo still long for his presence and can’t move on without him. Thomas’ elegant and deeply metaphorical prose blends nicely with the blend of magical realism and science fiction, and the arid, stripped-bare landscape of New Mexico’s deserts makes an effective backdrop. The story loses traction in the middle a bit, as the voices of the elder Vasquez siblings become indistinct in their angst and the secret behind Luz’ existence begins to feel like an authorial game of hide the ball; it regains itself mightily, though, when Luz reappears and the science fiction element dominates. The last third of the book is also the most emotional as the Vasquezes’ relationships are challenged, giving readers a chance to see a family, made through blood or bond, in all its glorious messiness. Fans of Thomas’ Because You’ll Never Meet Me (BCCB 10/15) and Nowhere Near You (BCCB 2/17) will be familiar with the shift in genre and emotion, but the scene of Luz’ final departure will gut any reader, affecting/infecting them as much as he has his hosts. Copyright © 2018 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois