Wild Light: A printmaker’s day and night

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There are days when your heart is so filled with this world’s beauty, it feels like holding too much of something in your hand. Days that taste like wild honey.

Like all of Jeff Zentner’s books, In The Wild Light has a heart that beats in Tennessee. And although I’ve never lived in “the volunteer state,” I did call its neighbor to the east home for nearly 30 years - which may be part of the reason why I always feel as though I *know* the small towns that Zentner creates. I’ve been to places like Sawyer, Tennessee. But more importantly, I *know* the people who live and love and sometimes die in there, too.Lastly that cover and title! Like the story they’re simple, and so breathtaking at the same time! They fit Cash and the writing perfectly. And ... I strongly believe this story should not only be pitched as a YA. Like I said above, this could easily be a literary masterpiece!

I met and fell in love with some many characters in this book. I was quite taken with Delaney’s drive and strength, and Dr. Adkins ability to see and nurture talent, but I think it was Cash and Pawpaw who owned my heart. Cash was a gentle soul with a huge heart. He loved fiercely and was protective of his own. He sometimes did the unpopular thing because he knew it was the right thing. The more time I spent with Cash, the more my love for him grew. I cheered all his successes and felt the pain of all his losses. And then, there was Pawpaw. Wow! He really embedded himself in my heart. Those talks he shared with Cash were amazing and touched me deeply. He was just a beautiful man, and his positive influence on others was obvious. Life often won’t freely give you moments of joy. Sometimes you have to wrench them away and cup them in your hands, to protect them from the wind and rain. Art is a pair of cupped hands. Poetry is a pair of cupped hands. When you grow up with ugliness and corruption, you surrender to beauty whenever and wherever you find it. You let it save you, if only for the time it takes for a snowflake to melt on your tongue or for the sun to sink below the horizon in a wildfire of clouds."

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When you grow up with ugliness and corruption, you surrender to beauty whenever and wherever you find it. You let it save you, if only for the time it take for a snowflake to melt on your tongue or for the sun to sink below the horizon to a wildfire of clouds. No matter what else might be troubling your mind." Sawyer – Cash’s love for his hometown shined through, and I appreciated the vivid depictions of the beauty of his home. I’m in awe! This book is like a love song so mesmerizing, you put it on repeat again and again. Like a poem so vivid, it’s etched into your mind forever. Like prose so tangible, it touches your whole being. And it’s YA, y’all!! You know when you can sense a book is going to be 5 stars from reading the first chapters, well I knew from chapter 11. Heartfelt and deeply moving…a book that readers will unhesitatingly take to theirhearts.”— Booklist, starred review

It turned out that a boarding school book was how this story wanted to be told. There’s a particular sort of magnetism that the boarding school story has for a particular sort of person. I’m one of these people. As a kid I dreamed of a place where my love of learning was a social asset, rather than a liability. I imagined a refuge, away from parents and bullies, where I could go to be the person I really wanted to be. Naturally, I’ve always been drawn to boarding school stories for this reason. When I started writing books, I promised myself I’d write one someday.Would it be better to know that someone you never thought loved you did love you? Or would it be worse to know that someone you always thought loved you didn’t?" Here we are, survivors of quiet wars. Like trees that have weathered a brutal storm, but with broken branches and fallen blossoms littering the ground around us." The Poetry – I talked this earlier, but it really deserves a second mention. I was really grateful that Zentner shared his poems with us. I already thought him a word wizard, but these let him showcase that talent in a different way.

An ode to the healing power of nature and art, but also a testament to the beauty of family both blood and created. No one else can write like Jeff Zentner.”— Silas House, New York Times bestselling author of Southernmost and Same Sun Here

Delaney + Science – I will always laud a STEM loving character, and there was some cool science mentioned. That's what Jeff does through his writing. He finds the "broken spots" and makes them beautiful. This book is special. The characters are special. And I hope you give this special book a chance. If you've never given contemporary fic a chance, I beg you to try Jeff's books. I'm not saying his books will all of a sudden make you love all contemporary, realistic fic...but I am saying that his books are remarkable and able to be loved and appreciated by every type of reader. Readers love good stories, and all of Jeff's stories are good. I’ve always known that Jeff Zentner has a way with words. And I think In the Wild Light may just be his best work yet. He writes in a way that forces the reader to truly experience something. The smells, tastes, touches, and overall imagery in this book are brilliantly and uniquely described. Just through the power of words I could smell the wonderful scents of the South, taste the goodness of country cooking, and feel the air of all four seasons. This. This is why I love reading, and why I especially loved In the Wild Light. A moving and rich novel about friendship, loss, kind strangers, the blindness so often present in the pursuit of love, and love itself. His protagonists have their eyes raised to the sky.”— Daniel Woodrell for The New York Times Book Review