Linc and Holly are sisters. They're almost the same age and consider themselves twins. Holly is adopted and Linc is a biological daughter. Linc is the creative sister and Holly the athletic one with academic success. Their mother loves everything Holly does, but doesn't approve of anything Linc finds important. This makes it hard for Linc to pursue her dreams. She'd love to go to art school and would like to take photography lessons, but her parents just care about her grades and nothing else.

Linc finds a way to prove she is worthy of her parents' approval. She secretly takes photography lessons and works hard on a school project about Seneca Village and Central Park's rich history. Linc is keeping her wishes, plans and goals a secret. Photography makes her feel good about herself for the first time. However, she knows it will get her in trouble once her parents discover she's done something without their permission. Linc's home situation is getting even tenser than it already was and she's in trouble at school, will she ever get out of the dire situation she's in?

The Way the Light Bends is a beautiful poignant story. Linc is a sweet and talented girl. I loved her creativity and really liked the way she sees the world. Linc's mother constantly pressures her and Linc's life lacks warmth, love and appreciation. I had tears in my eyes when I read about the way she's being treated at home. She's such a wonderful special girl and deserves a lot more than she gets. Linc is desperate to get approval and to be loved and therefore she doesn't always make the best choices, this is heartbreaking to witness. She learns from her mistakes though and she never stops trying, which is something I greatly admired about her character. Cordelia Jensen has perfectly captured what it's like to live with unreasonable expectations and a lack of empathy and I loved the amazing honest and raw way she describes Linc's situation.

Cordelia Jensen's words are gorgeous. I fell in love with her mind-blowing poetic verse from the first sentence. The Way the Light Bends immediately captivated me, I didn't want to stop reading and finished this fantastic book in one sitting. Because of the stunning writing it's a story I could read over and over again. Cordelia Jensen knows how to describe emotion and there are many impressive layers in The Way the Light Bends. I was mesmerized by this brilliant book and highly recommend it.

I hold this book close to my heart. And no, is not only because I read it during the hurricane Maria, it also involves the subject of adoption which is very important to me. This wonderful story about two sisters, Linc and Holly, is told in verse and it involves family relationships, race, love and more.

I don't know how many people agree with me but, Linc is so relatable; and that's one of the reasons why she's my favorite. I can see and feel her struggle in the middle of her family. She is constantly wondering if she is enough for her parents; especially her mom, because she thinks her mom prefers Holly. And how many children doesn't go through this? Also, I was so mad with the teachers comparing their work. It brought me back so many memories. I have two sisters, I'm the middle child. We basically shared the same teachers, so it was a difficult situation being compared to my oldest sister all the time. I hope my little sister isn't going through this.

I enjoyed how Cordelia exposes Linc's vulnerability. She was always feeling less than her sister, and I was like her when I was growing up. But as I'm always saying... self love is not easy and that's okay. This, and many other things, made me feel so connected to Linc; and this is very important, to feel represented-- I can't say this with many books!

So yeah, as you can see, I loved the story! Oh, and I got teary with everything related to the adoption. Why? Well... not many people know this, but we've always wanted to adopt a child. On September 23 2017, we finally got a face to face appointment scheduled. And then? Hurricane Maria happened. And everything got cancelled and has been rescheduled so many times. It has been a rollercoaster ride, but is so worth it!

Last but not least, I want you all to know that Cordelia Jensen made me fall in love with verse novels. So if you haven't read one yet, why don't you start with The Way the Light Bends? Or maybe Skyscraping? I will never forget the day I started reading this book because it was an awful and dark day, and this novel gave me light and hope and everything!

The Way the Light Bends revolves around Linc, an aspiring photographer who is struggling to keep up with school and please her ever-criticizing mother. She is constantly comparing herself to Holly, her adoptive sister, who seems to be perfect in every way imaginable; straight A’s, star soccer player, lots of friends, etc. Linc and Holly used to be like peas in a pod, but they’ve started to grow apart, and Linc’s relationship with Holly is one of the many things Linc has to navigate over the course of the book as she tries to find approval from her mom and figure out where she belongs. 

Linc is a passionate photographer and a complex character. I loved how much she loved art. Also, she’s flawed, but I really cared about her. She didn’t always make the right decision, but she wasn’t one of those characters I couldn’t root for. I felt for her, and for her sister, Holly, too. I love when books have sibling relationships, and this one was no different. Linc and Holly’s relationship is complicated and really interesting. As a person who has siblings who were adopted, I found it easy to relate to some of the things they experienced, like how people would look at them funny in public or not believe that they were sisters. I loved reading about another family with adopted kids. I also really liked how the author touches on issues of racism and white privilege

Linc and Holly’s mom was another very interesting character. I found her super frustrating, but unlike some books, she isn’t painted as the one-dimensional evil parent character. She was multifaceted, and by the end of the book, I felt like I understood her better. I liked the dynamic with Linc and her mom and dad—most of the time, her dad is the understanding one, but the parents aren’t simply good cop and bad cop. 

Just like the people in Linc’s family, her best friend isn’t perfect. Ellery is more of a minor character, but she doesn’t fall into the “perfect best friend who never makes a mistake” trope.

Like the author’s debut novel, Skyscraping, The Way the Light Bends is told completely in verse. The writing is beautiful; it feels raw and real. I also loved how a lot of the poems were like snapshots; there were little details about unrelated things placed throughout some of the descriptions that made reading feel sort of like looking at a photograph, which is definitely fitting for the story, since Linc is a photographer.

I loved The Way the Light Bends! Everything felt so honest and real and artistic, and I would definitely recommend it.

THE WAY THE LIGHT BENDS is a wonderfully written free-verse novel. It's beautiful and genuine, and it's now one of my favorite books. I look forward to what Jensen has to offer in the future. 

This novel focuses on Linc's struggle through high school and her relationship with her adopted sister Holly. Linc is incredibly artistically talented but doesn't do well in school, while Holly does, making Linc feel like her biological parents prefer Holly over her. Linc also goes through the novelty of relationships, such as those of Linc herself, Holly, and one of her friends. 

I didn't realize THE WAY THE LIGHT BENDS was written in free verse, but I'm glad it is - Jensen's poems successfully reflect the raw emotion and personal struggles of Linc. The poems are expertly crafted and really captured the story well. [I can't say myself about the representation of Holly's heritage as she is from Ghana, but! If any #ownvoices reviewers have anything to say about it, I'd be more than happy to include links in my review.]

Overall, THE WAY THE LIGHT BENDS is one of my new favorites. It focuses on love and art, family and reconnecting. This upcoming novel is not one to miss - if you enjoyed BLOOD WATER PAINT (another amazing novel), be sure to check this one out.

There are things that I absolutely loved about this book, and other things that I thought were just okay. This story follows a girl named Linc, who has an adopted sister named Holly. She is always trying to live up to her Mom's expectations of her, and she has this constant feeling of letting her parents down and failing to live up to their high standards. This story is told in poetic verse, and is beautifully written. I was a huge fan of Jensen's debut novel Skyscraping, so I was very excited for this new release!

Like Skyscraping, this story is a very powerful story about family. It's about finding your place in your family, and feeling accepted in your family for who you are. I loved the poetry and metaphors in this book that made me fall in love with Cordelia Jensen's writing in the first place. I also love the diversity with these characters: her sister is adapted from Ghana, and has dark skin, and her best friend is a lesbian. So I appreciate the representation in this novel! I also thought the family dynamics were really interesting, because Linc is always trying to live up to her straight-A's sister Holly, and their Mom is a doctor and has very high expectations for both her daughters, but Linc always feels like she's disappointing them. Linc is obsessed with photography and arts, and her parents don't understand it and don't think it's important. I definitely related to her and understood her in the way she loves creativity and her art and thinks it's just as important as her education. I also related to her with the way she constantly felt alone and like she didn't "belong" in high school. Her sister has a boyfriend, and her best friend has a girlfriend, and she feels so alone most of the time, and I definitely related to that, considering I was always the only one in my group of friends without a boyfriend as well.

Now, for the things I didn't really care for: Linc's love interest in this story. The romance felt so inta-love and forced, and I didn't see them chemistry or like him at all. I thought he was shady and weird and it felt like they'd barely spoken to each other before they were kissing and "dating". Linc was difficult to relate to at times because she is very naive and makes bad decision after bad decision and at times it made me want to strangle her a little bit. But this could also be because I am getting too old for YA stories like this, or see this repetitive behavior in YA books and am getting tired of it. Linc always says she wants to do better and achieve so many things, and then she makes careless, stupid decisions all the time and hates herself more for it, and she falls into this never-ending cycle of that. 

Overall, I did really enjoy this story and I think Cordelia Jensen is a fantastic writer. Even though I didn't love Linc as a main character, I still think this is a very powerful, good story about family and finding yourself. There is no doubt that Cordelia Jensen is a very talented writer and I will definitely be checking out all of her future books!