Photo courtesy: Goodreads
Caleb Thornton
Advertising and Distribution Manager
“What Light” by Jay Asher is pretty cheesy, okay. The book is written by the same author who created “13 Reasons,” about a young teenager who committed suicide. The latter is a much better book, but “What Light” certainly brings the cards to the table. (Is that an expression?)
First, no one should read this book if they have a hatred or disliking for books that start off slow or have an elementary feel to them. Asher uses plenty of detail in this book, but the flow is still slow, however steady it may be.
If anyone is looking for a stereotype of book, go ahead and pick this one up. It is the generic tale of a boy with a shady past who turns out better than most view him as, and it is all because of that special girl that he is able to overcome those judgements.
“What Light” contains a load of factual content, such as details about Oregon and California that are intriguing, especially for those who are not accustomed to those areas. There is a part early on in the book where Sierra talks about her uncle’s helicopter transporting some of their Christmas trees, and I had no idea that would even be plausible.
The basic rundown of this story consists of a family owning and operating a Christmas tree farm in Oregon. They move to California during the winter holiday season to sell the trees. Sierra happens upon Caleb (lol das me) and she, like any another cliché, is struck with a change in life as she begins to fall for him.
Although I really, really do think this book is cheesy and a tad conventional, it proved to be a good read. Asher does a fantastic job of letting the reader know how Sierra thinks and feels, adding more substance to the circumstances she encounters and has to maneuver through.
One thing I thought was “cute” about the text was the background information. The reader was given information about Sierra’s family business and bits and pieces of irrelevant information about her friends that made the story feel more realistic.
I probably will not be picking this book up to reread anytime soon, but it was worthy of my time and attention, as the story-line was pretty feel good and Hallmark-like.
Not going to lie, I fell in love a little bit with Caleb. Asher exhibited some mad-dog skill making that character a subtle charmer anyone would want to know more about.
“What Light,” I give you a solid six out of 10 ornaments.
