Out of Darkness

Book review by Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media
Out of Darkness Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 15+

Beautifully written look at racism and love in 1930s Texas.

Ashley Hope Pérez Historical Fiction 2015
Rate book

Parents say

age 16+

Based on 6 reviews

Kids say

age 18+

Based on 1 review

Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. Your purchase helps us remain independent and ad-free.
Rate book

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this book.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Out of Darkness is a historical novel by Ashley Hope Pérez that was named a 2016 Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book. Set in 1936 East Texas in the months leading up to the 1937 New London School Explosion, the book explores a fictional relationship between a Mexican teen allowed to attend the white high school and an African-American teen who lives in the black neighborhood on the other side of town. Language include racial slurs such as the "N" word, "Boy," and "dirty Mexican," as well as occasional curse words, including "s--t," "c--t," and "f--k." The violence is disturbing, personal, and based in racial hatred. Additionally, the book explores the mature and intimate relationship between two teens.

Community Reviews

AureliaLovesLiterature
AureliaLovesLiterature Adult
February 20, 2021
age 18+

Run Away!

Do not allow your child to read this book! It's NOT a Romeo/Juliet love affair about race division. This novel crosses some legal boundaries with the adult/child abuse and rape scenes. It is VERY detail, vivid, and graphic. It includes descriptive scenes of the main character being sexually abuse by her father. Years later, her pastor encourages her to marry her stepfather as a child. This book continues to get worse as it include graphic images of children violently harmed. Eventually, a bomb goes off at school and her little sister is killed- graphic descriptions of her body parts are all over. This novel is a canvas, showcasing child abuse. There isn't any healthy themes or solutions.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
2 people found this helpful.
qemuel
qemuel Adult
August 22, 2022
age 14+

Great historical novel that puts in a very specific time and place

I heard about this book when some people showed up at a school board meeting demanding it be removed from all the libraries in each of the schools in the district. I researched it and saw the book had many accolades and was on many critics top ten list. So I bought a copy and started to read it. Overall the book took its time to introduce the characters. It didn't tell you so much as showed you about them. Some of the characters seem like good people but as you go along, you learn more about who they are and what they believe. I think it's probably a good lesson for kids to know you probably shouldn't make snap judgements about people, whether for good or for ill, until you get to know them. It covers the topic of race in the South (Texas) during the oil boom of the 1930s. It takes place in a camp where a young black boy falls in love with a Hispanic girl, and it being in the 1930s, people handle it about as well as you'd expect. So, it offers an important historical perspective about race I think most people may not be comfortable thinking or talking about. But I think it's important not to forget the draconian, populist racism people of color had to deal with at the time. The book also covers a topic most parents are too comfortable with. That is, it doesn't shy away from including the topics of sex and sex abuse. But it's not pornographic or even alluring or titillating in the slightest when the subject of sex briefly makes appearance, The sex stuff is usually brief, only a paragraph or two and doesn't make it sexy but matter of fact. I think it's delineates sex between loving individuals versus the loveless kind of sex that occurs in the dark. Kids are pretty smart and can tell the difference. Also, better to learn in a book than on the playground or Internet.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
1 person found this helpful.
See all 6 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Set in the months leading up to the 1937 New London school explosion in East Texas, OUT OF DARKNESS follows two fictional teens: Naomi Vargas and Wash Fuller. Orphaned Mexican-American Naomi wouldn't normally be allowed to attend the all-white high school, but she moves to town under the guardianship of her younger twin siblings' formerly estranged white father Henry, who moved all three kids from their grandparents' poor Mexican neighborhood in San Antonio. Wash, meanwhile, is the son of educated, middle-class African-American parents who expect him to focus on his studies and attend one of the country's prestigious black colleges. Although he lives in the black part of town, he often works for white folks near the New London school to earn money. Wash is instantly attracted to Naomi and eventually wins her over by playing with the twins. But as Naomi and Wash embark on a secret interracial romance, the young lovers wonder if their forbidden love can exist outside the confines of the woods where they meet under the protection of a hollow tree.

Is It Any Good?

This award-winning historical novel about an interracial love story set against the institutional racism of 1930s Texas is heartrending and powerful. Perez candidly describes the heady emotional roller coaster of falling in love with the added heartache of knowing it's not only socially forbidden but illegal and dangerous. Naomi and Wash complete each other in a meaningful way, not to mention that Wash loves the precocious twins Cari and Beto, but they both know that their relationship is ultimately doomed -- especially in the confines of their small and segregated oil town.

The story explores real racial brutality, and the author never shies away from the town's overt racism or the mob violence that was considered acceptable -- so long as it was directed at African-Americans. Because each chapter is told from a different point of view, with Naomi and Wash having the most perspectives, Perez is able to delve fully into the psyches of even the antagonist and "The Gang," the voice that stands in for the white community of students. By no means is this an easy read; at times readers may need a box of tissues to manage the emotional nature of the last third of the story. But don't let that stop you; it's not only beautifully written but may start a powerful conversation about the injustices of the past and how they affect the present.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the power of historical novels to teach about events you didn't know about. Does this book make you want to learn more about the 1937 New London school explosion?

  • Are the racial slurs and prejudiced viewpoints expressed in the book difficult to read? Do you think the offensive language is necessary for the historical context?

  • How did the violence in Out of Darkness affect you? Was it different from the kind of violence, say, in paranormal and dystopian books?

Book Details

Our Editors Recommend

  • The Diviners, Book 1 Poster Image

    The Diviners, Book 1

    Swell start to a spooky but fabulous Prohibition-set series.

    age 15+
  • Esperanza Rising Poster Image

    Esperanza Rising

    Historical fiction at its best in story of '30s farmworkers.

    age 10+
  • Salt to the Sea Poster Image

    Salt to the Sea

    Heartbreaking WWII novel shows power of hope, connection.

    age 13+

For kids who love history and stories of social injustice

Themes & Topics

Browse titles with similar subject matter.

  • Cartoon picture of a sister and brother holding hands
    Brothers and Sisters
    See all
  • Cartoon hands high fiving
    Friendship
    See all
  • Cartoon picture of a high school letterman's jacket
    High School
    See all
  • Cartoon picture of a map and jug
    History
    See all

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate