Jeff Zentner is one of the authors that I could say my “automatic read”. It’s just, when they publish a new book, without further ado, I’ll get their book and read it. I don’t even read the blurb, I just know it will be beautiful. In The Wild Light didn’t disappoint. It’s worth reading, it gets me in some way and I can relate. The book actually made me cry in some parts of it. I even tweet and tagged Jeff Zentner about it (sorry not sorry!) I love the book so much and I need the physical copy of it, unfortunately it’s not available locally yet (Philippines, FullyBooked please have more copy?)

Cash and Delaney are solid. They are best friends and they are the type of person who will do anything for their friend. One big opportunity came which took a few convincing but, eventually, both agreed to try and grab it. Despite all the worries and fearful idea, this opportunity is their big shot. Both characters grew differently as the story goes, Cash and Delaney discovered new things like a normal teenager would, and to add up, these two have the world around their shoulders, lifting something heavy and the only people they got for support is each other. Cash is a good man/teenager who lives with his grandparents since his parents died in an accident. He manages his own business (mowing lawns) to help his grandma and save up for school. He’s an adorable kid who worries for his grandpa who’s sick. Cash is like an average kid who befriended a genius girl, Delaney. She’s smart, determined and does things her way. She wanted to become a doctor and save lives of people who needs the most. She made a promise to Cash’s grandpa. Delaney works in Dairy Queen to make ends meet, she has her own family issues and she needed to support herself.

This book inspired me to do all the things that you’re afraid to do. Trust yourself and eventually things will get better. Also, family is a big factor of the life decisions. In the Wild Light is such an amazing book. Once again, Jeff Zentner written an amazing work. I’m not surprised that there are a lot of praise already, it’s worth reading. I’d still get my copy once it’s available to complete my Jeff Zentner collection (I hope there’s signed hardbound too!)

This is Zentner's fourth book and he keeps getting better. In the Wild Light is the most beautifully written YA novel that I have read in a long time. Zentner's skill with description moves this YA novel to literary fiction, but it remains relevant and approachable by teen readers.

Once again Jeff Zentner writes a beautiful book! I laughed, I cried, I wanted to hug Cash and Delaney and make everything all right for them but they manage to do that on their own. The book is a sheer delight of poetry and prose.

When Zentner’s debut was released, I was late to the party. I remember being a library circ person and deciding that I would read it because so many people were checking it out. I got the audio and read it on my way to work. Needless to say, I will now add anything that Zentner writes to my TBR. With no hesitation. And that was definitely the case for this one too.

Small town Appalachian is full of mostly downs. Cash has lost his mother, he’s losing his Papaw, and drug dealers are still everywhere. He’s spent his whole summer mowing lawns while his best friend stays out of trouble. But then Delany manages to get them scholarships to an elite prep school away from home. Cash now has to wrestle with leaving his family and only town that he ever knew.

At this point, I know not to go into Zentner’s work with my heart on my sleeve. I was surprised ONE TIME (TSK while I was driving to work with mascara on) and I vowed to NEVER AGAIN let him catch me slippin lol But with this one, you really know what’s coming and it doesn’t make a difference anyway. When it came to it, I wasn’t boo-hoo crying, but I did get teary. I think I made myself try not to get too attached.

But try as I might, I couldn’t completely do that. The family dynamic in this is really close to perfect. And this includes the bonus family that Cash gets in Delany and his friends from school. The way they all fit together and the things they do for each other was unmatched. The family dynamic in this book is quite literally what makes it.

I also liked the Easter eggs from his previous books. He always puts them in his books, so I wasn’t surprised to find them in here too. It’s always fun to go on a hunt to see if I found them all. It makes us readers able to interact with the book and I love that. To me, actively looking for these makes the book more fun because I feel like I’m doing more than just reading. If that makes sense.

I do think the romance was cute, but I loved how it didn’t over power the story. Because I didn’t feel that it was hella important. I liked “them” being friends more. But it was obvious where the love interest was going. That made me laugh because he completely missed it, but everyone else saw it. Even PaPaw lol

Lastly, since I read the audio, I wanted to talk about the narrator. Michael Crouch is one of my FAVORITE narrators. I have read so many books that he did and each one he nails the character. At this point, even if I wasn’t enjoying the book, if he is narrating, it still would be good.

This book was so good! If you have read a Zentner book, you’ll be happy to know this is just as good as the others. Don’t sleep on this one, make sure you pick it up today!

Jeff Zentner's books are always a gut punch in the best possible way. He manages to weave loss, beauty, grief, and love with exceptional characters. As always, his prose is devastatingly real, raw, and beautiful.

I couldn't get enough of Cash, Delaney, Mawmaw, Pawpaw, and Vi, even though at times their stories hit me hard. As my students say, this has "all the feels." Be prepared to laugh AND cry. (And then cry some more.)

As a school librarian, this is unquestionably one of the best books I've added to my collection this year.

I have always enjoyed Zentner's beautiful descriptions, such as, "The day gave up its heat quickly at sundown, and the early autumn twilight feels like cool water on my face." This book touches the sorrow in your soul and lets a little of it loose. Touching on important topics like the opioid crisis and mental health never takes away from the storyline, only adds depth of description.

This was probably one of the best books I have read all year. Family, Grief, love, poetry, loss, friendship, true love, all wrapped up in this absolutely wonderful book. I have to listen to it and half read it and couldn’t put it down. I really enjoyed how the author Inc. free verse poetry As a way for cash to get in touch not only with himself but where he came from.

Jeff Zentner does not disappoint in his newest novel. It is a tender story about grief, family, and love. This would be a great addition to any young adult collection.

This was absolutely beautiful and what I’ve come to expect/love from Jeff Zentner. Jeff writes books that make you feel all the feels and In the Wild Light was no different. I absolutely love the characters and the poetry of this book!

Jeff Zenter has written a beautiful story about love, loss, friendship and family. I could not put it down. The descriptions are just beautifully, written. I fell in love with the main character, Cash.

In the Wild Light is the best Jeff Zentner book yet! My students have loved his other book and this will be no different. He is an automatic buy for my classroom.

Jeff Zentner has become one of those authors whose books I immediately read as soon as they're available. This was no exception. I laughed, I cried, and the characters won't be leaving me anytime soon.

This was a beautiful book, the first Zentner I've read but not the last. Lots of tears were shed.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley for an honest review.

This was such a heartfelt story. Love told in many forms. Family, friendship, and romance. I found myself tearing up multiple times throughout the story, even in moments that surprised me.

Best book I have read this year. Jeff Zentner is one of the most talented YA writers out there right now. He truly has a gift. Loved how he weaved in bits from his other story is timely and timeless, beautiful, heartbreaking, hopeful. It’s just all the things and I sort of wish I hadn’t read it yet because then it would still be out there for me to discover. Wish I could give it ten stars!

In the Wild Light is a masterpiece of young adult literature. It is a book that I will pull off the shelf time and time again in the future, to remind myself of how remarkable it is when an author can take the simple twenty-six letters of our alphabet and transform them in the most beautiful ways. This book is a love song to friendship and family, to poetry and quiet moments. It is a reflection on the power of grief and the resilience that can be found in all of us. It broke me apart and put me back together again, and left me a better person for the experience.

In the pages of this book, Zentner provided me with my favorite kind of story. Not one driven by its plot, but by its characters. Each one is so well-developed that it gave me the feeling that I knew them personally. His descriptions of the sights and sounds and smells of Cash and Delaney's rural Appalachian hometown are so vivid that it seemed I could feel the water of the river flowing over my feet while standing on its bank, hear the rustle of wind in the trees from Papaw's porch, smell Mamaw's cooking.

Normally when I review a book I like to include a quote that stood out for me. I will not be able to choose just one from In the Wild Light. I highlighted more passages while reading this than I ever have before. It seemed that almost every page contained a line or a paragraph or even just a few words that I wanted to remember. This was the first of Zentner's books that I have read, but it certainly will not be the last. Five stars, though I wish I could give it more.

This story was about family (real family and found family), love, loss, grief, and poetry. It was told in a very simple, straight forward way, but Zentner's prose reads like poetry. It's beautiful in its simplicity.

I really enjoyed reading about Cash and his grandfather's relationship/dynamic as well as the unique relationship he has with his best friend Delaney. I enjoyed reading about their experiences at their new school and the friends they meet.

For me, oddly, the thing that I connected to the most were the discussions/lessons about poetry. As someone that has recently taken an interest in poetry and writing thanks to the pandemic, these little discussions helped me understand poetry a little better and made me want to write some of my own.

Overall, I found this to be a quiet, elegant, beautiful book that people should pick up and read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

How do you review a book that runs roughshod over your heart time & time & time again? How do you write a review about a book that makes you weep—openly weep—in front of a classroom full of students? How do you write a review for a book by Jeff Zentner? You just do it. You try. You try to find words to thank the man for writing the book that students and teachers alike need to read. You try to find words to capture how grateful you are to live in a world where Jeff Zentner manages to capture the beautiful things—even the painfully beautiful things—so that no human experience is ever ignored or overlooked. You try to weave some words together that make sense—even after your whole world has been turned topsy-turvy in a matter of words and phrases.

This is what my friend calls an Owen Meany book. The world is divided into two kinds: the people who love this book & the rest of the world. This is one for the ages.

My NetGalley copy of this novel sat in my Kindle library, waiting to be read, for 7 weeks before I finally committed and dove in. 7 weeks. Now that I have finished it and the words have completely gutted me, I can't decide if I regret waiting 7 weeks, or if I needed those 7 weeks to be in a place where I was ready for such a raw and beautiful story. I have been living on light escapist reading for the past few weeks, but this one was worth every thought and emotion I poured into it.

I love Cash as the narrator. As a faculty, we've been discussing Jen Alexander's Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools, and all I could think about while reading was how high Cash's and Delaney's ACES scores are. I love them for how they have faced their traumatic childhoods, and I love all the adults who play healing roles in their lives. I want to buy a paper copy of this novel and mark it all up. I want to read and re-read it, dwelling on the poetry and the Cash's lilting southern Appalachian accent, the way I do with Ron Rash novels.

I remember feeling this way after finishing The Serpent King. Jeff Zentner...wow. I don't have to agree with every piece of theology or politics in the story to value the way he uses words. "We think of language as this tame thing that lives in neat garden beds, bound by rules and fences. Then someone shows it to you growing wild and beautiful, flowering vines, consuming cities, erasing pavement and lines. Breaking through any fence that would try to contain it. Reclaiming. Reshaping. Reforming."

Worth. Every. Tear. I. Cried. Tonight.

Another fantastic, heartfelt story from Jeff Zentner. As always, he nails the time and place and family characterizations. I was rooting for Cash and Delaney from the first chapter, and watching them grow and find confidence and courage was so rewarding.