Sadly this book just didn’t grab as much as I hoped it would. I put it down and picked it up multiple times but I just couldn’t connect with it. Super bummed.

This was a DNF for me. Early on, I found I couldn't engage with the characters. There was something about their voice or the way the story was being told that kept me from being invested. And because I didn't care about the characters, I didn't care to finish the book either. I tend to adore family/sibling stories, and maybe this one got better, but I wasn't compelled to continue.

In my opinion this book was sort of a let down. The summery of the book makes it sound so whimsical and amazing and what I got was a lack-luster book that barely held my attention. I kept setting it down and picking it up hoping it would "grab" me and I would be submersed in the story. I did finish it and the ending was pretty good so I'm giving it 3 stars since generally anything less than that is for books I couldn't stand to finish.

Honestly, I had trouble getting through this book. I only begrudgingly made it through the first fifty pages before I gave up. And that's not to say it's a bad, it was just too heavy for me. Depression in fiction has to be presented in a very delicate way for me, because I suffer from depression. Some things are just too heavy and hit too close to home.

This book is really unique and creepy. My students are a little young for its intended audience but I think my more mature readers will love it.

In my honest opinion, this book did not live up to my expectations. I was excited about it from the description and didn't really end up connecting with it. It was a very slow read and I struggled with commuting to and bonding with the characters. The plot confused me beyond just being told by multiple POV. For this reason, I give this book 2-3 stars.

I got to page 74 on this book and just had to put it down. The pacing was slow and I didn't really have any feelings towards the main character or what was happening in the book. I have liked Leah Thomas's previous book so I guess this one just wasn't for me.

WHEN LIGHT LEFT US by Leah Thomas has a beautiful cover and it received multiple starred reviews (including Booklist and School Library Journal). Unfortunately, I had quite a bit of trouble understanding the story and why anyone would want to read about characters like Ana who duct tapes her eyelids open. I did find a print copy and that helped a bit with understanding because compared to the advanced reader copy the print version at least had spaces between sections and even sometimes used * * * to indicate a change in the story which is told through multiple narrators. Overall, though, I found the book too dark and too focused on a dysfunctional family. Where are the positive, uplifting books? We need them, particularly now when so many students are feeling less safe at school.

Thomas continues to blow me away. I knew within 20 pages that I NEEDED to talk about this book. It can be a little hard to describe. At face value, it's about the aftermath of being possessed by an unknown being. At heart, though, it's about grief. loss, who we thing we are, the people we try to become, familial and romantic relationships, and the ways that other people perceive us. It's a deeply emotional book and Thomas succeeds in connecting us with the central core of characters. Each perspective is distinct and well developed. Some may find it a bit slow to start, but seriously folks hang in there. It's more than worth the effort. My recommendation: read it; love it; pass it along.

I want to be very honest with this review. I did not finish the book in its entirety so this review will only reflect what I read. This is a story that is packed full of emotions. With being split into different pov chapters, we get to go inside all of the characters heads and experience, through reading, what they are going through and try to understand where they are coming from.

This is a story with a broken family that is struggling to piece themselves back together. Will they succeed, I do not know but I do have high hopes that when this book hits stores, I will find myself pulling to this book to finish. Please do not let this review persuade you to not read this book. I am going to give this book a partial review but in no way does it reflect the overall story that the author has brilliantly created.

Three years after their father left them, the Vasquez siblings find an alien parasite which stayed with them for a summer. Once the parasite left, one of the senses of each sibling was profoundly affected. Underneath the science fiction premise of When Light Left Us is an emotional story about family and the ways people in the same family both know each other and are strangers to each other at the same time. Told in alternating chapters from the point of view of each sibling and their mother, Thomas does an excellent job getting into the feelings of loss each Vasquez family member experiences. This is also the rare YA novel where a parent is one of the point of view characters and not just a periphery character. While readers immediately know that an entity the kids called Luz possessed the siblings, they don't know the full story of what actually happened until well into the novel. When Light Leaves Us is at its core an emotional novel with a Sci-Fi premise that will likely appeal more to realistic fiction readers than to science fiction readers despite its premise. The book spends more time on the Vasquez family and the people around them than on space aliens and that's what makes this book work.

It's times like these where I forget HOW to review a book. And especially one like this, which borders on the line between contemporary and science fiction. Some of the reasons why I picked this up were 1) written by Leah Thomas, who also wrote Because You'll Never Meet Me and 2) it reminds me of Shaun Hutchinson's We Are the Ants, which I loved, and 3) this is totally my type of book, and I wasn't wrong about that.

When Light Left Us is a strange story about three siblings who, for a short period of time, were connected to each other via an alien given the name "Luz". Apparently, according to the book, "luz" translates to "light" from Spanish to English, hence the title of this book. But rather than starting from the beginning, the novel begins once the alien has left the bodies of the three main characters, Ana, Hank, and Milo. We see how the siblings have to deal without Luz, who unfortunately did not leave them unscathed both mentally and physically.

To be honest, right from the start I was a bit wary, and the confusing beginning did not help whatsoever. Because the reader is introduced to the characters after Luz left, it's confusing as to why Ana is taping her eyes open because every blink hurts her, or that Milo needs headphones to escape the loudness of the silence. The writing itself felt convoluted, maybe to convey an air of strangeness; it felt like the author was trying way harder to make the writing more descriptive than it needed to be.

Yet, somehow, the more I read on and got to know the characters, the more I was invested. For once, there's a parent actually present and involved in her childrens' lives, Maggie. We also get chapters solely focused on her as well, which I actually enjoyed. The further along I got in the book, the more I learned about Ana's, Hank's, and Milo's struggles, and also how the presence of Luz affected them.

When Light Left Us does a phenomenal job weaving together a story that ties together real-world issues, with out of world issues. I've never read anything quite like this, and I'm pretty surprised that the story and the characters grew on me. The ending, like the book, was also a bit strange yet had some thrill to it, which I greatly appreciated but did not anticipate. The only thing really going against it is the weak and confusing start, but other than that it's two thumbs up from me!

When Light Left Us by Leah Thomas is one of the more unique books I’ve read lately. At its heart is the Vasquez family, in particular, siblings Milo, Ana and Hank, who are reeling from the fact that their father has just walked out of their lives without so much as a goodbye. They are all trying to cope with the loss as best as they can, until one night something happens that changes everything…a shimmering alien figure named Luz appears in the canyon behind their house. Luz fills the void left by their father, bonding with each of the siblings in his own way. Until Luz disappears without a word too…taking something vital from each of them.
Struck by the sense of loss all over again, Milo, Ana, and Hank are left to pick up the pieces and attempt to go about their lives as normal. It’s much easier said than done and all three siblings flounder, filled with questions about why their father left them, why Luz left them, and how can they ever feel close to or trust anyone again.
Will the Vasquez kids get their lives back on track? What were Luz’ motivations for coming into their lives and then leaving them so abruptly? What did he take from them when he left? All of these questions and so many more began filling my head as soon as I started reading this moving story about family.

I thought the focus on family was the highlight of When Light Left Us. Even though the book itself centered a lot on the alien Luz and the impact he had on each of the Vasquez siblings, it was the family itself and how the siblings dealt with the losses they experienced that really kept me reading. Their struggles to function on a daily basis, their hesitation to trust and connect with others, and even their own now-awkward interactions with each other at home all felt so realistic as was their mother’s reaction. First, Maggie’s husband walks out on them, then her children experience something together that can’t really even be explained but obviously continues to haunt them many months later, to the point where they can barely function. Maggie loves her children more than anything in the world and is overwhelmed and frustrated that there doesn’t seem to be anything she can do to help them. All of the pain this family experiences is just so palpable. I ended up really caring about them and wanting to know that they could make it through this.

Expected the unexpected. I’m kind of a sci fi nut, so I was also a big fan of the twistedness of the whole Luz storyline. I loved how original this part of the storyline was and I loved how I initially felt a bit of an E.T. vibe from Luz with the way he came into these children’s lives and filled the void left by the father who abandoned them. The E.T. vibe didn’t last long though as Luz ultimately ends up being a much more complex character than I was expecting and a bit more of an ass if I’m being truly honest. I won’t go into any more details so as not to spoil anything but definitely keep your eyes on Luz.

A final element that I thought was very well done was the way the story was presented from multiple points of view. Thomas gives us the perspectives of each of the three Vasquez siblings, as well as a few chapters from their mother, and even as we move further into the book, a few chapters from Luz himself. Since I was so invested in this family, I liked being able to have a glimpse directly into each of their thoughts to get an honest look at how they were each doing. The Luz chapters were especially illuminating since we finally get a look at what is driving his actions with respect to this family.


As much as I enjoyed When Life Left Us overall, I have to admit that it started out super confusing and I almost gave up on it about a quarter of the way through the story. I like reading and putting together the pieces of a mystery as much as the next person, but in this case, for the longest time it didn’t feel like any of the pieces were fitting together at all. I just kept getting more and more pieces and setting them aside, waiting for them to finally make sense. Once they did start to make sense, it was very satisfying, but I just thought it took way too long to get to that point. I’m glad I pushed through and made it to the end, but if I hadn’t become so invested in the family so quickly, I’m pretty sure I would have given up on the book.

When Light Left Us is a beautiful story about how a family has the power to overcome their struggles if they stick together. I’d obviously recommend it to anyone who loves stories that focus on families and relationships, but any science fiction fan would probably enjoy this as well. If you’re impatient and like for the stories you read to make sense from the get-go, this might not be a good fit for you. Even though I had issues with that, however, I still very much enjoyed the story overall.

TW: self harm and suicidal thoughts.

If you're a fan of Shaun David Hutchinson's writing, I definitely recommend you check out a book by Leah Thomas. Their books both have the whole "contemporary except this one specific science fiction aspect that's completely normal/accepted" thing going on and they're both really excellent at it. I went into this thinking it would be one thing and it completely surprised me by being almost the exact opposite. I won't say anything more than that because I think it adds to the reading experience. I really loved the Vasquez family and I want to hold them and protect them from the world. This was lovely and weird and it made me think. It was complicated and full of grief and it left me with my own feelings of longing. Leah Thomas is such an underrated author and she writes good stuff.

This is a story of three siblings who get possessed, in a way by an alien parasite. Sounds simple, right?

Nope.

First off, this story is told by multiple POV's so if you're not into that, you can stop here. What I love about this is that you are seeing the story through different ages since the kids range from age seven to almost eighteen. And then you have the mother and the alien toward the end.

The story gave me a definite Spielberg vibe. We have three kids who have very different views of what the alien had done to their bodies and a mother desperately trying to help them the best way she possibly can. This alien "Luz" took young Milo's ears, Ana's sight and Hank's use of his hands.

At first I was a bit confused since the author kind of throws you into it with little explanation. You collect hints along the way, but nothing is fully explained until toward the end of the book. To me, I liked this a lot because it kept me reading and wanting to know what in ever living Hell is going on. Because that is what I said after each chapter. Also this face. O_O

The plot is simple once you break it down. We have three kids trying to live life after this alien invaded them for a summer, coping with their father who had left them and a sort of confusing love life between Hank, who has broken up with his boyfriend in which his sister, Ana falls for, but Hank doesn't know it and seems to fall for his straight friend who may or may not be gay and I'm over here like, Ana has stars for eyes and nobody seems to question that.

Through all of this, we have this alien who decides he wants to do some more damage which builds up to a climatic ending that had me on the edge. I couldn't put the damn book down until i knew what happened. I forgot to eat.

All in all, I loved the emotion put into this book which is more than an alien story. it's a story of coming of age and acceptance and sorrow. There's something deeper in there that had me dwelling on it after I was done. It's something poetic. I will probably buy the copy when it comes out.

I was so stoked to receive a Net Galley e-arc of this book. This was one of my 2018 most anticipated releases. I read Leah Thomas' Because You'll Never Meet Me last year and LOVED it so much. It instantly became one of my favorite books of all time. I'm sorry to report that I can't say the same for this one.

The premise was so original and compelling, I thought for sure I would love it. I ended up getting so frustrated with this book, that I was fuming with rage while reading it at one point. It took everything I had in me not to just DNF this sucker and be done with it. Nevertheless, I persisted until the very end.

I'll start with what I liked:

1. Multiple POVs - This story was told from 4 main perspectives, from all different ages. It's told from the perspectives of an elementary schooler, two high schoolers, and a parent (plus an alien at one point). It was like getting to read a Middle Grade, Young Adult and Adult book all at the same time. You don't know how much I appreciated getting the parent's POV. Something that I hate in YA is how little of the parental figures we get to see. Not only did we get a real live parent in this book, we also got to see what she's thinking. I hope that this is a trend that sticks!

2. The Originality - I thought that the alien parasite concept was so cool. Especially when I read that he took something from each of the three Vasquez siblings. From Hank, he took the use of his hands. From Ana, he took control of her eyes. From Milo, he took over his ears. Cool!

What I didn't like:

1. Confusion, Confusion and More Confusion - I thought the alien idea was cool beans. However, I felt that there was not enough backstory and explanation at the beginning in order for me to really get a grasp on what was happening. At first, I thought this was a good thing. I was strangely compelled, and wanted to keep reading in order to figure this thing out. However, as time went on, this just got more and more frustrating. By the 50% mark of the book, Luz the alien wasn't fully explained and I started to get mad. I felt like the book was stringing me along and wasting my time and I very badly wanted to eat my Kindle out of rage. I get that authors want to keep their readers interested in order for them to want to keep reading. I just don't think that this is the way to do it.

2. Offensive Language - I swear. A lot. But still, I feel like in YA there are a few words that are utter and complete NO-NOs. Two of these taboo words that I'm talking about are "retard" and "faggot." These words, and ones similar to them, are generously sprinkled throughout the book by a real homophobic character. There was also a supremely racist moment as a bonus. I just feel like there's no way that people aren't going to take offense to these things and that it should be pointed out. Maybe it would have been okay if the characters being called these names would have stood up for themselves, but they never really did. Which brings me to...

3. The Characters - Okay, let me first say that I can really tell that the author loves her characters like they are her own flesh and blood. It's obvious in her writing that she cares about them a lot. However, I don't really feel like she gave me any reason to care about them. This book was heavily character oriented (and barely even had a plot, imo), so you really need the characters to be lovable. These ones really weren't - not to me.

Meet Milo - an adorable six (or seven?) year old boy who ended up bugging the crap out of me. For starters, HE SHOUTS ALMOST ALL OF HIS LINES. He also adorkably (or irritatingly) sometimes uses the wrong words, which wasn't at all distracting. He also said really random shit at times. It got not cute real fast. I wasn't a fan.

Get Acquainted With Ana - the semi-emo 16-year-old girl who duct tapes her eyelids open and puts safety pins through her legs. I liked her the best out of all of the characters, but I do think that her character could potentially be very triggering.

Say Hello to Hank - the boy who's dumber than a bag of rocks and just as useless. He was bullied pretty drastically and yet never got angry or spoke up for himself. At one point, someone threw a basketball at his thick head and he was all: "I'm not even mad about it." Woooow! Where are your emotions robot boy?

Meet Mama Maggie - the mom who is fed up with her crazy kids and may or may not love them anymore. I felt for her the most, because she's helpless to her kids who went loco all at once, but I really didn't like it when she'd say or think bad things about her kids. Do you hate them? Do all parents think horrible things about their kids at times? Do I need to be worried?

4. The Plot - What plot? Where? I didn't see any plot! As I said earlier, this one was mainly about the characters. I love me a good character oriented book. However, there needs to be more plot in a story than there was in this book. It's 400 pages long and hardly anything happens. And what does happen feels random and disjointed and just all over the place. Every chapter was like a fragmented piece of nothingness. It was just all over the place. I feel like this book was trying way to hard to come across as "deep." I kept asking myself, "WHAT IS HAPPENING? WHAT IS THE POINT? GAH!" It actually made me pretty mad.

5. Dumb Jokes Are Just Dumb - I'm no Robin Williams or [INSERT OTHER RELEVANT COMEDIAN HERE], but the jokes in this book were so lame. I usually don't mind sad puns or whatever, but these ones were a little pathetic. Some were even offensive. One dick joke is too many. I don't want ten.

I don't know, guys. Maybe I'm just too shallow of a person to really appreciate the full effect of this book. Maybe someone who's smarter or more profound than me will be blown away by it. At this point, I kinda just want to blow it up. 2/5 Stars.

I received an ARC copy from netgalley for my honest review,  so thank you netgalley and publishers for offering me this book! ♡
This is a story about life and family and friends and trauma and loving yourself.
When the Vasquez siblings’ father left, it seemed nothing could remedy the absence in their lives . . . until a shimmering figure named Luz appeared in the canyon behind their house. Luz filled the void. He shot hoops with seventeen-year-old Hank’s hands. He showed fourteen-year-old Ana cinematic beauty behind her eyelids. He spoke kindly to eight-year-old Milo. But then Luz left, too, and he took something from each of them. As a new school year begins, Ana, Hank, and Milo must carry on as if an alien presence never altered them. But how can they ever feel close to other people again when Luz changed everything about how they see the world and themselves? In an imaginative and heartfelt exploration of human—and non-human—nature, Leah Thomas champions the unyielding bonds between family and true friends. I give this book a 4 star rating!