In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner

IN THE WILD LIGHT by Jeff Zentner is the latest young adult novel from this award-winning author and I cannot say enough good things about the story-telling and writing that Zentner has done here. The narrator is named Cash Pruitt, a high school junior who lives in rural Sawyer, Tennessee with his grandparents, Papaw and Mamaw. That’s because Cash’s mom died from a drug overdose and his best friend, Delaney Doyle, is also coping with drug addiction in her family. Delaney has a photographic memory and is a treasure trove of “random factoids” (e.g., “Tears have the same salinity as seawater” or “Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes shook hands with John Quincy Adams and John F. Kennedy”). She is portrayed as a genius of sorts and her recent scientific discovery resulted in a scholarship - for her and Cash - to a private school, Middleford Academy, in New England. Leaving the only life they know, despite its many hardships and ghosts, is not an easy choice for Cash and Delaney. His great Aunt Betsy ultimately convinces Cash to take the risk, saying “You’ll never regret a decision more than the one you make out of fear. Fear tells you to make your life small. Fear tells you to think small. Fear tells you to be small-hearted. Fear seeks to preserve itself, and the bigger you let your life and perspective and heart get, the less air you give fear to survive.”

There is so much emotion in this book, including finding courage and self-acceptance, making new friends, dealing with homesickness and Papaw’s terminal illness. There is a great deal of sadness, but also some remarkable resilience. Throughout, Cash shares his feelings and his love of nature as he exquisitely describes the sights, sounds and smells of new experiences. A gifted teacher encourages him to write poetry and observing his growth in finding his voice is amazing. She tells Cash, “Being a poet takes bravery, Yes, the courage to bleed on a page. But also to bleed for the world we write poetry about. You have it.” Zentner, too, provides some foreshadowing when Cash muses early in the story: “I’ve always loved when the light finds the broken spots in the world and makes them beautiful.” IN THE WILD LIGHT is not to be missed – it received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal.