I think the author does a wonderful job of writing the struggle of a teenager trying to gain control in a life that is coming apart as it is known. Reminiscent of Ellen Hopkins (who I admittedly haven't read since high school). I plan on purchasing for my library's YA fiction collection.

Everything in Ivy's life is changing. Her parents have gotten divorced, her brother has moved out to attend culinary school, and her best friend just returned from a summer in Paris with a new friend. Ivy has always been known as the Smart Girl, and she takes pride in this identity. As Ivy struggles to deal with all of the changes in her life, she focuses on what she can control--studying, exercising, and eating. Ivy continues to force control over her diet and exercise, while quickly spiraling out of control.

I did not know what to expect, having not read a long-form poetry narrative before. But from the start, I was caught in the downward spiral and dragged along for the ride.

Some other reviewers said that Lily Myers captured the mentality of those who develop eating disorders. I don't have personal experience to compare it to, but it seems very realistic - the chain-of-events that led to a need to control one little part of your life is a familiar one.

As a novel told in poetry, there are some beautiful lines in there, some that made me have to stop because the sadness was a little much. At the same time, I also felt that it was simplistic. If this was novel told in prose, there could be more opportunities for character development across the board. However, for a quick read, this works too. Sometimes poetry is a what happens when you distill many words into a few that works just as well.

It was my first time reading a book written like this and I found out I really enjoyed it. It a pretty hard read for me at the moment because I felt I could relate to the MC in some aspects and it made it difficult but not impossible.

Unfortunately, the style of these poems did not work for me and my own history with an eating disorder made this a challenge to get through, and due to the combination of these I could not finish the book. Despite this, I found what I did manage to read very moving and poignant: the way that Ivy's family situation and closest friendship affected her and began to fluctuate, as well as the progression of Ivy's feelings and hopelessness were written so well and were utterly heartbreaking to read.

Even though I was not keen on the style and my own personal issues left me unable to finish, I would still recommend this book to others as something definitely worth giving a try.

I picked this book up originally as I wanted a quick read, and I had never tried reading a fiction book written in verse before. I am unable to comment as to how this measures up to authors such as Ellen Hopkins, as I have yet to read one of her books. I will say though, that the writing flowed wonderfully for me, and even brought me to tears on a couple of occasions.

The story follows a teenage girl named Ivy, who goes through quite the emotional rollercoaster of a journey. This book doesn't make for easy reading at times, as Ivy deals with her parents divorce, an eating disorder, loneliness, exhaustion and also depression. I feel that all these topics are handled incredibly well, though I would exercise extreme caution when reading this if you have ever suffered from an eating disorder.

I didn't think I would end up getting attached to Ivy, or any of her family and friends, because of the writing being in verse. I thought this might somehow hinder my experience of getting fully immersed in the story, but if anything the opposite was true. I felt incredibly connected to Ivy, and the further I read on, the more I realised this would be a five star read for me. Everyone felt so real, so genuine, and I felt like I was there with Ivy every step of the way, like a fly on the wall.

I highly recommend checking this book out as it is a relatively quick read, though is difficult to read in one sitting due to how heavy the subject matter is. All the same, I absolutely loved this book, and I hope to read more by this author one day.

This heavy hearted story of 15 year old Ivy, and the troubles she deals with definitely gets a five star rating from me. Whilst the situation she's in is heartbreaking, it has been beautifully written and made it easy to read, without neglecting the importance of the topics throughout the book.

Eating disorders, depression, loss as well as family and friendship troubles are the major topics covered throughout this book. These have been depicted brilliantly as the story is grows, following Ivy along the whole way.

Lily Myer is the writer of Shrinking Women which was presented at the 2013 CUPSI (College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational). So if you love slam poetry, it is very likely that you will love this book.

This Impossible Light is a novel in verse about a girl named Ivy and her struggles after her parents’ divorce. It’s a heavy read subject-wise, but it didn’t impress me.
I liked the poetry, there are some amazing, powerful lines hidden in the verses, and I liked how it was all organized. But it’s a before-seen plot, and those powerful lines aren’t enough to carry the filler ones. Not to mention, it continuously reminded me of The Princess Saves Herself in This One.
I thought I was going to love this book, I’m really bummed out that I didn’t.

**Thanks to NetGalley for providing a free copy of THE IMPOSSIBLE LIGHT in exchange for my honest review**

If you're expecting anything similar to Laurie Halse Anderson or Ellen Hopkins, you'll be sorely disappointed. Novels in verse need to be more than prose formatted to look like poetry. With verse, every word needs to be meaningful and important to the plot or character, to advance the story or knowledge of the narration.

For the most part, the quality of Lily Myers writing feels bland and unoriginal. While she occasional pens a gem, the surrounding rusty metal turns the skin green. I enjoyed the math and science metaphors, the strongest part of Myer's writing.

Ivy, the unoriginal narrator, quickly develops an eating disorder after her parents divorce and her best friend changes. The same story has been told so many times it has become cliché.

THE IMPOSSIBLE LIGHT is mercifully a very quick read. I can't think of a reason to recommend.

I’ve listened to Myers slam poem countless times in the past, so I was beyond ecstatic to see her name grace the cover of this novel in verse. And just like her spoken word hit me harder than I expected, so did This Impossible Light.

Full review with quotes from the book can be found here: https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2017/05/03/review-this-impossible-light-by-lily-myers/