Reviews with content warning for Religious bigotry - Into the Light

What thefuck

-I really liked this book until like 350 pages in. I liked the characters, I liked the themes and real-world commentary explored. I’m a sucker for anything found-family. I had a hard time putting it down, and felt it was really well paced. I was very engaged and on the edge of my seat waiting to see how things turned out

And then the twist happened

I still really liked the book, but the twist was a bit too far out of left field for me. It went from a thriller/drama to a sci fi/horror super quick? With no build up? And all of the characters just. Accepted it. The randomness and unbelievability of it + the unfazed reaction of the characters really soured it for me. I don’t even necessarily think this book would’ve needed a twist - the anticipation of finding the body was nail-biting enough alone. I think Oshiro was going for shocking and accidentally fell into the realm of ridiculous/unbelievable. I think that the book, with its themes of the foster system and religious trauma, would’ve been more impactful had it NOT been for the twist. The end of the book also felt a bit rushed to me in comparison with the rest, because the weird new plot point needed to be explained and addressed as quickly as possible for the conclusion. There were also a couple of plot points (Carlos’ adoption and just. Rakeem.) that seemed resolved extremely conveniently and frankly just didn’t make sense (I did read an ARC copy though, so maybe this was resolved in the final!). TLDR; a plot twist being shocking and completely unpredictable doesn’t necessarily make it good.

Despite all of my problems with the ending of this book, I still really enjoyed the majority of my time with it and it helped me get out of a reading slump. A book that I couldn’t put down.

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mothumn's review against another edition

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3.5

Into The Light
by Mark Oshiro

YA, contemporary, thriller

Thank you Tor Teen for the arc copy in return for my honest review.

Into the Light follows Manny, a homeless queer teen who has spent his entire life in and out of foster homes and group homes. His whole life he has only ever had one thing that stuck with him, his sister Elena, until a year earlier when they were separated and now Manny is on a mission to find his sister. Throughout the book you slowly unravel the mystery of how they were separated and where she might be now, if she is even alive.

For a YA book, it did not shy away from difficult topics, Into the Light explores teen homelessness, the flawed foster and adoption systems, racism, homophobia, religious trauma, how religion is often used to manipulate the vulnerable, among just a few. These issues affect young people but I rarely or never read them in YA and I felt that the author did a good job of touching on them.

I liked the book, I thought it did a good job of exploring the themes and slowly revealing the mystery. Until the last 100 or so pages however, the twist felt like it came out of nowhere, changing the genre of the book completely, and was in my opinion kind of confusing as to what actually happened. There was practically no build up prior to the twist or foreshadowing. Aside from the ending though, I thought it was a good YA book with a bit of a mystery side plot but ultimately was a queer coming of age that I think a lot of young adult readers would really benefit from reading.

Also! I want to bring up another thing, it does kind of spoil a relationship, but there’s a scene where two of the characters get together, both of whom are minors so I don’t know, but reading it just felt kind of uncomfortable. It’s very brief but it didn’t feel necessary and for a YA book, it could have just cut to black. It’s a normal thing for teens to be getting together but in my opinion it just didn’t need to be described in a book. It just felt weird but I don’t know, it’s up to your decision I guess.

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utopiastateofmind's review against another edition

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Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

Into the Light is a book that builds into a frenzy by the end. Oshiro tells an emotional story about family, love, and trauma. It's one that had my heart pounding from the beginning. Whether it was Manny's struggles on the road, the cruelty of people, or his complex relationship with his sister and their foster parents, Into the Light is an emotional tapestry. Into the Light has a core oof family and siblings. The ways we trust people to love us, accept us, see us and all the ways people fail us.

The figures of authority, of religion, of family. But it's also about the people, found family and strangers, who surprise us. And everything in between. People in our life who we love, follow and believe, who still end up hurting us.

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fadingapple's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Thanks so much to NetGalley for this ARC!

3.5/5 stars

I had to take some time and process this one - it has an exhaustive list of trigger warnings and deals with some extremally heavy topics and I needed time to make sure I wasn't just gut reacting, either giving it a higher rating to support what I believe the intent was or a lower rating because it was uncomfortable.

In the end I can't say I loved it, completely outside how important I think stories like this are. It was an unexpected blend of magical realism (I think? I'm honestly still a bit unclear) and therapeutic/traumatic realism. It discusses extremely important yet under-realized topics like religious trauma, child abuse/neglect/sexual assault, foster care/adoption, child death/murder, homophobia/conversion camps, racism....but the author keeps the reader in the dark by deliberately withholding the timing of the 2 POVs and mixing up the trauma of a child with a completely unexplained "miracle". I struggle to describe it without spoilers, though I'm honestly not sure I could even with them.

In the end, I think this is an incredibly important story but the execution wasn't for me - I don't mind being confused if the writing is well done and the author brings it to a satisfying ending - that, I think, is what was missing for me here. I didn't truly feel satisfied with the ending and it felt rushed and too unrefined - I spent more time confused and saying "well this already odd book just got super weird" than I did really feeling the impact of the story, which in my opinion took away from the power of the book.

I would still recommend this book, but only to people I know very well and would trust could handle the subject matter.

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obscurepages's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Goosebumps. Goosebumps all over. This book is a dark and haunting journey into light of a boy broken and betrayed by the very people who claim they give love and healing. This speaks so much of what queer trans people (especially QTPOC) go through in real life, and how dangerous/destructive others' religious bigotry and dogma can be. I think I'm going to need a few days to process all of this tbh.

Also, I have to commend Mark Oshiro once again. If there's one thing they can do, it's to pull you in with masterful storytelling and riveting perspectives. This book did just that and more.

Full review on my blog soon.

CW: religious bigotry, religious abuse, conversion therapy camps, techniques and forms of conversion therapy, parental abuse (especially from adoptive parents), predatory adults, mentions of sexual assault/harassment, homophobia

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booksmellers's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

One of my favorite subgenres that's gained traction in the past few years is queer genre YA that tackles difficult topics such as religious trauma and colonialism head on---books like H. E. Edgmon's The Witch King, Andrew Joseph White's Hell Followed With Us, Vincent Tirado's Burn Down, Rise Up, etc. Into the Light is a wonderful new addition to this category.

I fully believe that the most difficult books are some of the most worthwhile ones, and this is especially true of this book. Oshiro does not shy away from showing the traumatic elements of Manny's life (please check content warnings) and they do it in the most heart-wrenching but beautifully healing way. The writing is beautiful and really relatable, even though the characters are in situations I've never been in. It's clear that this is an issue close to Oshiro's heart and they write about it with such compassion. Manny is a complicated character but it's hard not to fall in love with him.

There are some supernatural/fantasyesque aspects to this novel but I don't think it takes away from the realism the story presents. The supernatural elements serve as an interesting form of symbolism that I think is unique and weird in a really cool way. It definitely kept me on my toes.

I devoured this story, and it's an absolutely important one so I highly recommend.

Thank you, NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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challenging emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Thanks to Tor Teen and NetGalley for an advanced copy of Into the Light by Mark Oshiro to review! This is their first YA in a few years, after publishing a few middle grade books. Before you start reading, I highly recommend checking out their trigger warnings. There are some difficult topics broached in this book, but know that it ultimately ends on a note of hope!

Oshiro is always good at writing strong, emotional characters. And this book is no different. We get two different points of view throughout, from Manny and Eli. Some of the point of view switching is a little confusing at first, but once you pick up on what's going on, the two narratives definitely make sense. There's a little bit of a surreal element to the plot, but it also helps to emphasize the trauma that Manny goes through throughout this book.

In addition to Manny and Eli, I loved the Varela family. At first, Manny doesn't want to trust them. And as readers, you don't really want to either. But as we get to know more about them, you realize they can be trusted, just like Manny does. There's hope woven throughout the story, despite all of the trauma that Manny goes through.

I wasn't a huge fan of the twist towards the end of the book, so that's the only reason this isn't getting five stars. But it's a beautifully written book, just make sure you're in the right head space to read it!

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Thanks to Tor Teen for the free advance copy of this book.

- Wow, fans of teen thrillers, you must get your hands on INTO THE LIGHT. This book is heart pounding, page turning, gut punching.
- The subject matter of the book is very difficult, but the light supernatural element here is a fantastic way to address how queer kids and kids of color are often quickly cast aside in the real world.
- Amid the mystery, Oshiro also builds a beautiful found family story. None of them are perfect people, and yet they are committed to doing better and to helping each other survive and grow.

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