The engrossing book What Light by Jay Asher, is a work of realistic fiction that features romance. The protagonist of the novel, Sierra goes to California for over a month each year to the Christmas tree farm her family owns. Sierra’s dad always reminds her to be careful not to fall for anyone because after the holiday season, the family goes back to Oregon. Despite her father’s advice, she really likes Caleb who made a serious mistake in the past. *spoilers ahead* We learn that Caleb went after his younger sister with a knife, (without harming her) to scare her. He did this because she kept pressing on the issue of their parents divorce. Sierra understands him because of his kind personality and that he regrets his actions and pays for them everyday with the rumors that swirl around. However, her parents learn of what Caleb did and were not pleased. This creates a major conflict.*end of spoilers*

A text-to-text connection I have is to Jenny Han’s To all the Boys I’ve Loved Before. In this book, the main character, Lara Jean is also unsure if her relationship with her current boyfriend will work out in the long run. Both books have similar main conflicts. I chose this book because I read another book by Jay Asher titled 13 Reasons Why. It was a sad, yet influential novel, which inspired me to read this book as well. What I liked most about the novel was the author’s characterization of Caleb. Regardless of his actions, the author described him so that we still liked him and made us hope Sierra and his relationship would work out. I feel this book resolved itself well. It was a bittersweet cliffhanger that ended up with the couple confessing their true feelings to each other. It seems to promise that Sierra and Caleb will have a future together in spite of the distance between them. It was concluded well.