There's so much to say about this book that I fear that my words will not be good enough. A Certain Slant of Light is unconventional in so many ways.First of all it is labeled as a YA but it is not a YA book. The main character is 27 year old Helen who died 130 years ago and she's been haunting people ever since. She wants to go to Heaven, wants to cross over, but something mysterious and painfully terrifying is keeping her in between worlds. So in order to keep the pain at bay she clings to people, her hosts. All of her hosts are artistic. Her first host The Saint loves poetry, the second host The Knight is also into poetry, and then there's The Playwright and The Poet and Mr. Brown who holds a special place in her heart. When she's near them she doesn't feel pain. Helen coexists with them in kind of a symbiotic way, she feels safe with them, and the loneliness is tolerable because the hosts she's with are good people, people she cares for very much. And she feels like she's giving something back to them by whispering ideas to them, by being their muse.No one knows Helen exists and no one can see her. She feels like she's the only one of her kind in the World, the only Light, so she's bewildered when a teenage boy in Mr. Brown's class not only sees her, but is like her himself. James is a young man who died at the age of 29 and has been dead for 85 years. He's not haunting people but places (actually one place in particular) and one day he sees a teenage boy, Billy Blake, whose soul has left his body, so he enters him and starts living his life as Billy.The connection between Helen and James is strong and (of course) they fall in love/lust with each other. In order to truly be together they need to find a body for Helen, so they find Jenny's body, and Helen enters her.I found the body snatching quite disturbing. It felt wrong, not just because they are using their bodies, but they are taking their places in the real world. I mean, I really do understand their need to be seen and heard again after so many lonely years, and to breathe and taste food, and to touch and be touched by another person....but being human again comes with a price, because both Billy and Jenny have skeletons in their closets. They have secrets that drove them away from their bodies. James and Helen slowly learn what those secrets are, but they don't now how to deal with them....those are not their secrets to deal with, and those are not their families. And after a while they realize that the body snatching has an impact on other people in Billy's and Jenny's life. They are trying to pick up the peaces of their host's lives, while trying to come to terms with their own pasts and the reasons why they have not crossed to the other side.I'm going to stop here, because every reader needs to figure out the rest for himself/herself.Whitcomb's writing is beautiful and the book is beautiful, it has so many layers....so much depth. The reason I gave it 4 stars and not a 5 stars is because, at one point I found Helen a bit childish and irresponsible. Her reactions to some of the stuff that were happening to Jenny's family and to Mr.Brown were cowardly and childish reactions. She's not a child and she's been around for 130 years, so she should be able to act more grown up about some things (especially about what happened to Mr. Brown!!!!). James was much more responsible while dealing with Billy's life and family. He did the right thing much sooner then she did (actually, she didn't do much and, in the end, it felt like she failed Mr.Brown).But the ending was beautifully done. Whitcomb really knew what she was doing when writing the ending. It was liberating.Like I said, this is not a YA book. When Helen went into Jenny's body it felt a bit more like a YA book, but it was still an adult book. It's almost like an adult book has snatched a body of a YA book....the surface is YA, but the content is so very much grown up. Do publishers think that just because the main characters are teenagers (or should I say adults occupying teens bodies) that this should be labeled as a YA book?But it's suitable for younger readers. I should warn you that it has some sex scenes, but they are not graphic.I really hope that the sequel is good, I really want to know more about what's happening to Jenny and Billy.
2 1/2 starsOne of my dearest friends once told me that she does not brush her teeth or do any other hygiene related activities in front of her husband because she wants to “preserve the mystery.” What mystery? That your teeth get dirty when you eat and they need to be cleaned? I like and respect this friend, but it’s little comments like that one which gradually led me to realize that we have completely different views on what is or isn’t romantic. I am more of a “warts and all” romance appreciator. Chivalry, modesty, flowery overtures…all just feels like putting lipstick on a pig. If you don’t love someone’s warty, flawed, awkward side, then do you really love him or her at all? I guess that’s the main part of this book that fails to resonate with me. The romance feels shallow. These characters have each accumulated over a century of experience on Earth, being human and following humans, and yet they both feel like children.Maybe some of this can be explained by their mutual non-living status. I can almost get my brain realigned with this view and buy into parts of this story. Both of these characters have little memory, and they’re disconnected and alone to begin with. Apparently they both died in their late twenties, but they don’t remember anything about it. When given the chance to experience life and companionship again (essentially by taking over the bodies of young souls who have “fled” – don’t even ask me how that actually works), they jump on it without really thinking over the consequences. I think that’s very understandable, but as the time passes, I don’t feel that they really stop to consider the ramifications of what they’re doing to these bodies. It feels selfish and callous, especially given the ending. (view spoiler)[It seems that the author is hinting quite strongly (the menstruation calendar comment, the fainting, the nausea, the fluttering) that Jenny is pregnant. How are these two young people, who barely know each other and have extremely different histories, going to manage a pregnancy? Jenny is only fifteen years old! And the whole meeting between Jenny and Billy at the end feels so contrived and forced. It is as if she’s saying, “oh, don’t worry, it’s okay, because these kids totally would have approved of their bodies being used!” No. (hide spoiler)]
What do You think about A Certain Slant Of Light (2005)?
For some reason, I feel as though to be able to review this book, I need to qualify whatever I'm going to say with the fact that I'm not really a romantic person. I believe in the possibility of establishing a human connection with someone after first meeting, and I believe in the possibility of lust at first sight. But I also believe that there is a giant difference between infatuation and lust, and actual love. And yes, to me infatuation and lust are more common but much lesser entities than the latter, which takes time and conversation to develop.Phew. So that's why I wasn't moved by the majority of A Certain Slant of Light, by the romance of ghosts Helen and James. Two ghosts who are the only other ghosts each other has ever known would of course feel a spiritual connection to one another. I'm just not sure that that has to be resolved by inhabiting earthly bodies for constant kissing and sexing, y'know?The technicalities and sensations (or lack thereof) of being in the middle place between life and afterlife were interesting, though, and I absolutely adored the development at the end, when we learn more about what Helen had on Earth. Without spoiling anything, there is a relationship that Helen had in her earthly life that I was much more interested in than anything she did as Jenny. (Or, since I'm never above stooping to a corny joke, anyone she did as Jenny.)
—rachel
There are a few reasons why I decided to give this novel a 5 star rating. They are as follows:1. I cried at the end. I cannot say that about many books.2. It's just different. The story is unique. The characters are as well. Overall, I've never read anything like it.3. I adore the main character (Helen) and her James.4. I enjoy Ms. Whitcomb's writing style. It's poetic and lovely to read.5. I couldn't put this book down. At one point I was reading it while waiting at a red light. Yeah.... Not such a good idea.Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It's not perfect and it's a little overly melodramatic, but it's beautifully written, completely unique, and a very satisfying read. I highly recommend this novel.
—Angela
I was told it is a modern ghost story. But really, it is so much more then just a ghost story. Yes, the main character, Helen, is dead. And yes, I will admit Helen haunts people, or rather, attaches herself to certain people. But the people she "haunts" are, for the most part, unaware of her presence. She doesn't go around scaring people. So I want to make it clear, this isn't a spooky ghost story. When all is said and done, this story is about love, self-discovery and forgiveness. Laura Whitcomb does a fantastic job drawing the reader in right from the beginning. It doesn't take much to like Helen, she's kind, sweet and has a love of literature. However, it is clear that she is stuck on earth and cannot move on for some reason. Helen doesn't even know why because she is only able to remember a few small details of her life here on earth. And, as far as she knows, no one can see her until, one day a young man stares at her and not through her. This is when things get truly interesting... Anyway, I highly recommend this book, it's a quite good. Also, even though I'm not a huge fan of romantic story lines, I really like the one in this book.
—Penny
