The Year of Luminous Love
By Kate Pavao,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Steamy beach read with serious issues, including cancer.
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What's the Story?
THE YEAR OF LUMINOUS LOVE follows three lifelong friends who've recently graduated from high school: Ciana is an heir to a Southern homestead that's fallen on hard times; Eden is the girlfriend of a thuggish drug dealer and her mom has manic-depressive disorder; and Arie has battled cancer for years, but is currently in remission. When a handsome cowboy name Jon comes to town, he and Ciana share an instant connection -- but then she learns that Arie has her heart set on him. To escape her own predicament, help Eden out of hers, and fulfill art-loving Arie's dream, Ciana takes her friends on a bonding trip to Italy. But their adventure is cut short when Arie's cancer threatens her life. The girls must return home and face their problems.
Is It Any Good?
The Year of Luminous Love is a great summer beach book, full of plenty of drama, steamy situations, and some over-the-top lines, such as these in a speech Jon gives Ciana: "I ride the rodeo, Ciana. I go from one town to the next with my horse and saddle. Sometimes I have to buy a newspaper to remember where I am."
Readers who love the romance genre and aren't troubled by the occasional clunky sentence will find plenty to swoon over -- the girls' trip to Italy includes both a cute backpacking boy and a dashing vineyard owner who arrives at their rented Tuscan home in a Ferrari. Don't come looking for realism, literature, or too many plot surprises. But this story has a good heart, as the friends go out of their way to support each other, even when it means sacrificing something of their own.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how The Year of Luminous Love fits into the emerging so-called "new adult" genre, which spans the gap between teen-focused young-adult books and adult literature. Why do you think there is a growing interest for books about the post-high school era of a person's life?
Why do you think stories about young people facing life-threatening illnesses, or the death of people they love, are popular with young readers?
Will you read the planned sequel for this book, The Year of Chasing Dreams? What do you think will happen to these characters next?
Book Details
- Author: Lurlene McDaniel
- Genre: Coming of Age
- Topics: Friendship
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Delacorte Press
- Publication date: May 14, 2013
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 12 - 17
- Number of pages: 384
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
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