From Back Cover: In the class of the high school English teacher she has been haunting, Helen feels them: for the first time in 130 years, human eyes are looking at her. They belong to a boy, a boy who has not seemed remarkable until now. And Helen - terrified but intrigued - is drawn to him. The fact that he is in a body and she is not presents this unlikely couple with their first challenge. But as the lovers struggle to find a way to be together, they begin to discover the secrets of their former lives and of the young people they come to possess.
Thoughts on the Novel: A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb was recommended to me by Laura (not the author), and was very different from anything I’ve ever read.
It’s a love story involving two ghosts (referred to as the ‘Light’), Helen, a woman who has haunted five humans (referred to as the ‘Quick’), and James, a Light who has come to inhabit the body of a seventeen-year-old boy named Billy who overdosed and had his spirit leave his body. As the two struggle to be together despite the obstacles surrounding them, they also attempt to piece together their memories from before they were Light to determine why they are in limbo.
On top of the unique plot, Whitcomb’s writing is very beautiful and haunting, and the romance between Helen and James is intense. However, I felt very removed from the characters themselves, which is probably why I didn’t read the book in one sitting. Also, even though I ended up liking A Certain Slant of Light, the writing style isn’t something I’d read on a usual basis (since it seems reminiscent of older times) and so I’d recommend this novel for more mature teens and adults.
A Certain Slant of Light was released by Graphia in September 2005.
A Certain Slant of Light was released by Graphia in September 2005.
