This Raging Light

September 28, 2015
Seventeen-year-old Lucille is hypercompetent but, then again, she doesn’t have much choice. Her father has had a breakdown, her mother took off, and someone has to take care of her younger sister, Wren. In an assured debut, Laure gives Lucille a fierce stubbornness that keeps her going, even as it stops her from asking for help. The only person Lucille trusts is her best friend Eden and—because they’re a package deal—Eden’s twin brother, Digby. But Digby is complicated: even though Lucille has known him since they were seven, she has started to feel like she’ll die if he doesn’t touch her, and she’ll die if he does. The characters are well drawn, and Laure effectively depicts the adrenaline rush of love and sex. But with everything Lucille is wrestling to manage—finding money for food, paying taxes, keeping her car running, lying about her mother’s absence, and parsing her feelings for Digby—a potentially fatal accident brought into the mix feels like overkill. Ages 14–up Agent: Emily van Beek, Folio Literary Management.

January 1, 2016
Lucille and Wren's mother has been gone for weeks now, on a vacation to clear her mind after her husband's nervous breakdown. That leaves high schooler Lu in charge of her innocent, good-natured, nine-year-old sister. Lu is determined to keep their mother's absence a secret from anyone who could potentially intervene and split the siblings up. Her only confidantes are her best friend, Eden, and Eden's (dreamy) twin brother, Digby. When maintaining the ruse becomes increasingly difficult, especially as there are bills to pay and groceries to buy, Lu gets a job at a trendy Mexican restaurant (where the uniforms consist of short-shorts and high heels). Her fierce devotion to Wren, and her ability to care for her, lends Lu maturity beyond her years but feels credible thanks to the author's astute characterization. Most importantly, readers will empathize with and invest in Lu emotionallyand cheer when romance finds her in her darkest hour. A late-in-the-story tragedy tips toward melodrama, but Laure's debut stands out for her keen understanding of the spectrum of human emotions, and her ability to put tough feelings into beautiful prose. katrina hedeen

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