A Scatter of Light
By Lucinda Dyer,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Sensitive story of teen discovering her sexuality.
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Great Role Models
What's the Story?
A SCATTER OF LIGHT is set in 2013 and told in the voice of 18-year-old aspiring astronomer Aria Tang West. After a boy posts topless photos of her online, Aria finds herself branded a slut at school and the plans she'd made to spend the summer holidays with the families of her best friends friends Tasha and Haley are abruptly cancelled. As her parents are divorced, her opera singer mother is in Europe, and her father's trying to finish a book, Aria's sent to spend the summer with her grandmother. She adores her grandmother Joan, who lives in Marin County outside of San Francisco and is an accomplished artist and photographer. When Aria first meets Steph Nichols, her grandmother's gardener, she thinks she's cute and wishes she were a boy, "because then my summer would be a lot more interesting." But the summer does get interesting for Aria as she realizes she's attracted to Steph and looks at her in a way she's never looked at a girl before. When Steph invites Aria to join her and her friends when they go into San Francisco for the Dyke March, she agrees and finds herself quickly included in their group -- aspiring chef Mel Lopez, Mel's ex-girlfriend Roxy, and Steph's girlfriend Lisa. As the attraction between Aria and Steph grows, they begin to meet secretly and the relationship eventually turns sexual. But with Aria due to leave at the end of summer for her freshman year at MIT and Steph committed to Lisa, their future together is uncertain.
Is It Any Good?
This sensitively written queer coming-of-age story explores broken family ties, friendship, heartbreak, and first love. Readers of Last Night at the Telegraph Club will be delighted to discover its two main characters reappear in A Scatter of Light. Lily Hu (who turns out to be related to Aria) and Kathy Miller are now married after being together for 53 years. Each has achieved their dreams, with Lily working on robotic spacecraft and Kathy training women hoping to become astronauts.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how A Scatter of Light portrays Aria's coming out as a lesbian. Does it seem realistic? Familiar?
Is there someone in your life who's encouraged and inspired you to follow your dreams?
Have you or any of your friends had something embarrassing or hurtful posted about you on social media? Do you think Aria paid too high a price for the topless photos being posted online? What should have happened to the boy who posted the photos?
Book Details
- Author: Malinda Lo
- Genre: Coming of Age
- Topics: Friendship , Great Girl Role Models , High School
- Character Strengths: Perseverance
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
- Publication date: October 4, 2022
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 15 - 18
- Number of pages: 336
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (abridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: October 5, 2022
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