3.5 Stars

This is a quiet novel about the bond between mother and daughter.

An unnamed young woman is attending a liberal arts college in Vermont as an international student. Her mother remains in northeastern Brazil. In the blue light of their computers, the two communicate, and as absence disrupts their usual routines, they develop new rituals to maintain their bond.

The book examines the immigrant experience. The young woman has to adjust to a new country with a different climate, culture and language. As one would expect, she makes friends mostly with other international students who can understand her feelings of not fitting in and her homesickness and loneliness. Because she is a scholarship student, she doesn’t have the money other students have to return home for periodic visits.

But the book’s focus is on the complexities of the mother-daughter relationship as it inevitably changes because of the distance that separates them and because the daughter’s experiences are so alien to the mother. The daughter, though she often feels isolated and adrift, is grateful for the opportunities she has and wants independence, but at the same time as she enjoys her life, she loves her mother and feels guilty about leaving her alone. The mother’s health issues add to the daughter’s concerns. The mother realizes she has more freedom and fewer responsibilities but loves and misses her daughter very much. She wants her daughter to have opportunities, “to have the ocean,” but has to come to terms with changes in her daughter, including hearing her speak a language she herself doesn’t understand. Both want to maintain a connection while having to find new identities and purposes and learn “how to live alone, and to keep going.”

Three-quarters of the book is from the daughter’s perspective in first person. This section covers her first year in the U.S. Then there’s a shift to the mother’s perspective but her section is in the third person. Though very short, the mother’s chapter covers years. The final chapter entitled “Reunion” takes place five years after the daughter’s leaving for her education. I found the large time jumps to be awkward, and the switch to third person has a distancing effect.

Actually, there’s a feeling of detachment throughout. The style contributes to this because it feels detached and emotionless. There were many times when I wanted more feeling. The plot is also minimalist so parts felt incomplete; not much happens. For instance, the daughter’s life is described vaguely; it’s an impressionistic approach. I understand that the author wanted to focus on theme, but I would have appreciated more depth.

This is not a book for readers wanting lots of action since it describes only the mundane daily activities of the young woman and her mother. I sometimes found the book repetitive and its slow pace frustrating. However, it will appeal to readers interested in a realistic portrayal of a mother and daughter relationship as the two learn to let go and move forward while still maintaining a close bond.

I really enjoyed the simplicity of this story whist still evoking deep emotions and exploring connection, love and the relationship between mother and daughter, separated by thousands of miles, seeing each other not through a webcam. I love the writing style, it felt poetic and moving and wasn’t overly complicated. It warmed my heart and I felt the true compassion and love both daughter and mother had for each other. A beautiful story.

4.5 stars

what an unexpectedly lovely little novel! this follows a brazilian woman studying abroad in the usa, and her attempts to stay connected to her mother through their daily skype calls. they're both struggling with loneliness; the mother dealing with illness and still grieving her own mother's death, while the daughter is learning a new language, trying to fit in in this new country, and daring to dream for a future there. their calls are full of mundane stuff, talking about horrible news stories or telenovela plots. the book is quite simple, not much happens, there is not a particularly strong character arc. but it just has such a comforting, melancholic feel, with simplistic and straightforward writing, until there suddenly will be a line that takes your breath away.

The protagonist has left her childhood home in Brazil to study on the other side of the continent in Vermont. It’s a whole new world; new friends, new languages, new ways of living. The only downside is her beloved mother being back home, a thirty hour flight away that neither can easily afford. At least there’s the internet, a means of connection through blue-lit screens at any hour of every single day.

This was such a tender and poignant read. Two people whose worlds had unquestioningly consisted of the other now separated by geography and time zones, not always privy to the seemingly inconsequential things that add up to big things, even when they try their best to not let these slip away unshared. New environments, new friendships, shaped away from a mother left behind. A new language like a tear in a relationship once seamless, its words fashioning a means of making sense of this new place that is so distant from one’s ancestral land. The unmaking of one home, the making of another.

I loved what it had to say about migration, about foreignness giving way to belonging, how this naturally shifts our relationship with our pasts, even when rooted. I loved the writing, supple yet evocative, rich in imagery that allowed this reader to feel strongly present, of being grounded right there with mother and daughter as they were during this encapsulated period in both their lives. Their being suspended as if in a snow globe, the turns of the seasons witness to both women finding their footing again amidst upheaval (who is she without her?), learning how to remain a beloved mother, a beloved daughter, despite it all.

I enjoyed the gentle symbolisms, like a mother framed in a Skype window tinted sepia through the warmth of Natal, as daughter sits bathed in the glow of her blue lamp, Vermont snow swirling in the windows outside. Disconnection in connection, past in the present, nostalgia and longing and missing against the cold rush of daily student life. Grief coexisting with anticipatory grief adds to the melancholy that meets the excitement of living a new dream life overseas. Even when it’s agonising, isn’t it only natural for the young to make their own way in life eventually? Even when it doesn’t bear thinking about, isn’t it only natural for parents to ail, the childhood notion of their invincibility revealing itself to increasingly grown up eyes as nothing more than an illusion.

Love binds us. Endings make way for new beginnings. Life is lived in the present. Despite the difficulties, it is the commitment to keep one another close that bridges cracks to pave new shared paths forward. To always remain a part of each other even when apart, so as to always recognise one another, to always feel at home. Thank you @groveatlantic @netgalley for my copy of this beautiful read, it warmed my heart 💙

Short, cozy, and contemplative - perfect for a fall read.

The 192 pages of this book is a series of conversations between a daughter who is an international student in Vermont and a mother who is in Brazil, alone. They talk through regular Skype calls, and outside of those calls, we see the daugher's perspective of her life in a completely new world, reading books she loves, making friends, and missing her mom.

The author captures the guilt the daughter feels perfectly - how can she move forward and ahead in a world without leaving her mother behind? How can she stop herself from changing, from wanting more, so as to not abandon her mother? As for the mother, how can she wish the brightest and boldest opportunities for her daughter while also wanting her near at all times? These feelings are universal and difficult to reckon with. The guilt never really goes away.

I think this book does a really good job exploring a mother-daughter relationship in the modern(ish) world. The way the daughter grapples with the changes in her life, the role of the English language, the lack of money, the despair of seeing her mother lonely, of feeling lonely herself is profound and conveyed in a simple and graceful manner.

Reading some of the negative comments made me realize that some aspects of my personal background made me understand and appreciate the characters more. Where some people saw a lack of depth, I saw intentional avoidance and silence that further reflected the strength of mother-daughter relationships and the increasing fragility of said relationship as the daughter ages and becomes her own self.

Thank you to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the advance review copy.

"My sweet sweet daughter.
you gave me a beautiful pond. i want you to have the ocean."


This is definitely a four-star book. It portrays a healthy mother-daughter relationship, highlighting the sense of loneliness both experience as they start their separate lives. The mother lives in Brazil and has long video calls on Skype with her daughter, who has moved to the United States. Filled with emotional moments and featuring smooth writing, this is a perfect book to relate to or to evoke strong emotions rich in a unique simplicity and empathy.

A tender look at the relationship between a mother and daughter, separated by continents, told through the azure light of a computer screen. A lovely premise, developed with exemplary warmth and wit: an utterly heartening tale.

awww this book was so sweet. It can definitely be a tearjerker at a lot of points, but at others it's the sweetest and nicest thing you've ever read. Incredibly done and amazing characters.

A story about a daughter studying in the US and her mother living in northern brazil, connected (literally) through skype every night. Simple, quiet and warm. At times sad and full of longing, at times heartwarming and relatable. A cozy little book that i finished in no time. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eArc in exchange for an honest review!

This is a book that will either warm your heart or break it; maybe both.

Sometimes it’s nice to read soft, gentle stories that are about the connections we make with other people. In this case, it’s a mother and daughter. This book is lovely. There’s no tragedy, no real conflict, no drama - it’s just about one young woman on her own for the first time and an empty nester learning to be alone again. It’s a story about growth and growing away from someone, but not in the sense that you are leaving them, but you are both adapting to your new relationship and how it functions differently.

I say this book will warm or break your heart because if you have a great relationship with a parent or guardian, you will probably find a lot about this book that makes you smile or nod in understanding. If you don’t have that relationship with a parent - or, in fact, a terse or tense one or a non-existent relationship - this book will make you wish you had what the mother and daughter in this story share. The heartbreaking part is knowing you won’t have that … unless you have kids of your own and can develop it that way. It’s, well, I found this book hard to read for reasons I won’t get into.

This book was compelling to me because I understood both perspectives. I did think they both were a bit too self-isolated and needed to get out more (though I understand why they didn’t), but I also could sympathize with the daughter’s emotions regarding being away from home for the first time and, being a mother myself, I can empathize with the sadness (yet also the pride and vicarious joy) at having your child out and experiencing new things. In this way, they were both understandable and relatable characters.

Not a lot happens in the book, though - there isn’t much of a plot or a storyline. It’s honestly just the daughter living her day-to-day life with small moments of wonder (like experiencing snow for the first time) and the mother having a few passages about her life back in Brazil. And then their conversations, some that feel like a chore (to them, not the reader), others fun and full of connectivity, which serves to develop them and their relationship.

The book, despite being quiet and subdued, spurs you to really consider your own life. The story is so non-invasive that you’re almost forced to bring yourself into it. It also has this sort of melancholic feel, a drowsiness to it, that almost puts you in the same mindset as the characters when they go to make third calls at the end of a long day.

An excellent book if you want something short, non-confrontational and contemplative.

Love and absolutely adore Lobato as a literary translator prior to reading this new book of hers. This was quite special and a very certainly lovely read. I thought I might share similar feelings about the entire mother/daughter relationship in terms of distance,etc, but was even more pleased to know that I don't - and to realise that we all have different stories - and that they're all meaningful and lovely in their own ways. I thought the tone and voice of the narrator/speaker was very easy to love/stick with which makes this an even lovelier read. Really looking forward to experience future work/writing by Lobato whether it be a work of her own creation or a beautiful translation of someone else's. A very pleasant read.

I devoured Bruna Dantas Lobato's debut novel, Blue Light Hours, in one sitting. I had checked out this novel because of its setting in Bennington College of Vermont, the backdrop of Donna Tartt's famous novel The Secret History. If you miss Vermont, you should definitely check out this novel ! ❤️


This debut novel follows a young Brazilian woman navigating her new American life while maintaining connection with her mother back home through video calls on Skype. Those intimate conversations form the heart of the story, beautifully capturing the daughter's evolving identity and the growing distance between her American experiences and her mother's Brazilian life. The dialogue is tender yet raw, conveying love, longing, and adjustment challenges. The novel did not really explore other aspects of her life.

Honestly, I am someone who prefers plot-heavy narratives. So even though, I didn't feel so strongly about the book, I am hopeful that the novel will be endearing to the fans of Elif Batuman, Bronwyn Fischer, and Sally Rooney.

In Blue Light Hours, a young woman leaves her home in Brazil for college in the US. Her mother, who is sick, and lives alone remains in Brazil as the two navigate this change in their relationship. This book explores their love for each other and how that evolves as they live apart for the first time. It’s often quite emotional and does a really good job of capturing the feeling of leaving home and exploring your place in the world and also of watching someone you love grow and change as the story is told through both perspectives of the mother and daughter. While it was generally really well done and the writing was often beautiful, I did keep thinking that it might have worked better as either a short story with focus on a shorter time period, or as a longer novel that gave it the chance to expand on the story as some aspects felt sort of skimmed over.

A thoughtful and poignant novel of a mother and daughter navigating the next stages of their lives and communicating over Skype. The daughter has moved from Brazil to New England for college leaving her bereft mother behind. While things are initially shiny and new for the daughter, there's a subtle shift as the cold and life away wears on her even as the mother begins to build a new outlook for herself. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Lovely language and carefully crafted - albeit entirely relatable- characters make this a very good read.

Blue Light Hours tells the story of a daughter who moves from Brazil to the US to pursue her undergraduate degree at a prestigious university, leaving her mother behind. Each night, she connects with her mother via Skype from her small dorm room, illuminated by the blue light of her desk lamp. This book is a quiet yet powerful portrayal of the mother-daughter bond, beautifully capturing the complexities of their relationship despite the thousands of miles that separate them.

Having moved to the US for my PhD and experienced leaving family behind, this book deeply resonated with me. I saw so much of my relationship with my own mother in these pages. I laughed, cried, and felt a strong connection to the characters, often wanting to share my own experiences with them. While the personal parallels may have made the story even more special to me, I believe the book’s emotional depth would still resonate with readers who haven’t lived through something similar.

One aspect that did catch me off guard was the shift in narrative structure halfway through the book. I wasn’t entirely sure of its purpose, but it didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the story. For anyone seeking a short yet thoughtful and moving campus novel, I definitely revommend Blue Light Hours.

─ 𝟓 ★ 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 💙💻 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞.

“𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚋𝚘𝚠𝚕𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚝𝚎, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚋𝚘𝚠𝚕𝚜 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗, 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚘𝚘𝚗, 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚢, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚜 𝚜𝚘 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚘𝚏𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚞𝚌𝚑, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚓𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚢 𝚙𝚒𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚗 𝚏𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚗𝚎. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚋𝚘𝚠𝚕𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚑, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎, 𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚍𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚒𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜.”

This is a beautifully written novel, with Bruna’s lyrical prose that is as poetic as the relationship this mother and daughter have, and every single thing that brings them back together to the blue light hours sitting in front of their computer screens, sharing stories, moments and memories, helping them keep their bond intact throughout the years in this coming of age piece of work. I savoured every single page and had a wonderful time, smiling and tearing up with the tastes of happiness and worries.

Bruna was able to paint a beautifully intricate picture of a mother and daughter coming of age story and it’s deeply emotional insights, both together and apart where every single page makes you yearn more and more for them to see each other again. This novel speaks volumes with me considering I myself am Brazilian and I know how warm and sentimental we are, and the yearning was palpable, I could feel both the mother and daughter’s sentiments through the pages, with each one of their actions and sentiments being thoughtful of how each other would feel.

As the preview of the book says, “[…] 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙪𝙚 𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙘𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙮 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥”. It shows the fear they have to lose touch, to lose their bond, the struggle of their daily lives with their own problems. It’s just beautifully written, as well as a fast-paced read navigating both their lives and feeling their feelings. I adored the mentions of our beloved Brazil, the few sentences in Portuguese that weren’t translated to English which made me connect even more with the novel seeing the sweetness of mãe e filha 🩵.

“𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓎 𝒹𝓇𝒾𝒻𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝑜𝒻𝒻 𝓃𝑒𝓍𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝑒𝒶𝒸𝒽 𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇, 𝒶𝓇𝓂𝓈 𝓉𝑜𝓊𝒸𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔, 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝒹𝓈 𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝓃 𝑒𝒶𝒸𝒽 𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇’𝓈 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹𝑒𝓇𝓈. ℱ𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓃𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉, 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝓁𝑜𝓌𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝒸𝓇𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓈𝒶𝓉 𝒷𝑒𝓉𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂. ℐ𝓉 𝒷𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂 𝒾𝓃 𝒶 𝓂𝒾𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓊𝓁𝑜𝓊𝓈 𝒷𝓁𝓊𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉.”

Thanks a lot to Netgalley, Grove Atlantic, Grove Press, Black Cat and of course Bruna Dantas Lobato for trusting me with this beautiful ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Stunningly simple. I loved it. I looked forward to reading it and dragged out finishing it just so I could savour it.

I say simple because this is just the story of a young woman and her mother communicating via Skype - the daughter having gone to study in Vermont and the mother remaining at home in Natal, Brazil.

The story takes place over five years with the daughter narrating the lion's share of the story as she finds her feet in an English speaking country, learning to cope with the cold and living in a shared home while her mother deals with an underlying illness and her only child being thousands of miles away. The mother takes over the narrative in the second half of the novel.

It is so simple but so beautiful. I read this while trying to imagine being that far from my own mother. Suffice to say I sobbed quite a bit towards the end of this book when the pair are reunited.

A beguiling tale. Highly recommended. I'd love to read more by this author.

Thankyou very much to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the advance review copy. Much appreciated.

Beautifully captures the poignant relationship between a mother and daughter separated by distance yet connected through technology. Set against the backdrop of a Vermont college, the novel explores themes of sacrifice, identity, and the bittersweet nature of growth as the daughter navigates her new life while her mother grapples with the challenges of staying connected. The intimacy of their Skype conversations reveals both the warmth and strain of their bond, as they share rituals that bridge the gap between their vastly different worlds. Readers will appreciate Lobato's lyrical prose and deep emotional insights, making this a moving read for anyone who has experienced the complexities of love and separation in the face of change.

Blue Light Hours (2024) by Bruna Dantas Lobato is a gentle literary fiction tale of an international student attending a liberal arts college in Vermont, USA. The title graphically captures the narrative of the lives of an unnamed international student and her Brazillian mother’s constant zoom chats, that inevitably begin with the question – what’s news? Their unspoken love, vastly different worlds and daily experiences, play out against the never-mentioned unlikely home return. A touching understated ode to international students and the world they leave behind, that delicately displays the loneliness and yet life bond connection to mother. A small book with an understated emotional power that makes for a four and a half stars read rating. With thanks to Grove Atlantic and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without any inducement.

Blue Light Hours, the debut novel of award winning translator Bruna Dantas Lobato (to be published by Grove Atlantic on October 15, 2024), is a compact study of a close mother-daughter relationship strained by separation when the daughter leaves her home in Brazil to attend college in the northeastern United States. While the mother is suddenly dealing with a very empty nest, the daughter is adjusting to her newly-independent life at college – another culture, country, continent, hemisphere away. Connected by the blue lights of their computer screens, mother and daughter make their way through this uncharted territory of a changed relationship.

Bruna Dantas Lobato writes beautifully, and her spare, atmospheric style is perfectly suited to this push-and-pull, letting go/holding on story of separation. Quiet, tender, relatable, and surprisingly compelling, I loved this slow burn of a book.

Thank you to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on October 15, 2024.

4.5 stars, rounding to 5.