I spent a good chunk of my weekend lost in Jeff Zentner’s new book, In the Wild Light, and it was simply wonderful. Zentner has a way with words and viewing the world in all its beauty and imperfection unlike so many others—yet, just exactly right. It always feels a bit as if he’s reaching into your soul and wringing out every possible emotion from the first page to the last.

It would be difficult to supplant Serpent King as my favorite Zentner story, but this one may just do it. I have so many passages highlighted to share with students. **I might have looked through many chapters like my heart had just stepped on a LEGO. And the Easter eggs...

Teachers, you are going to want to preorder this for your classroom—not only to put in the hands of kids who are dealing with grief or loss or having a sucky hand dealt them, but to dissect as a class to look at the absolute beauty and healing power of language and stories and the most unexpected relationships.

You need to read this book.

I've been thinking about what to say in this review for two days since I finished the book and that is what I keep coming back to in the end.

You need to read this book.

Jeff Zentner creates such vivid, real characters. They have struggles and joy and everything in between. The contemporary rural Appalachia in this novel rings true. The language and poetry is wonderful. As a teacher, I loved seeing the portrayal of a teacher investing in and caring about her students. This book also hit home to me because of Cash's relationship with his Papaw. It reminded me so much of my Pawpaw and how very special he was to me.

I cried, I laughed, and I marveled at the beauty of words with this book.

You need to read this book.

This is one of those books that is greater than the sum of its parts. It starts in a small town, moves to a prep school, and goes back and forth. It explores what family is, love and loss. At points it felt like too much was going on, but at the end it was like “wow, that was a really important year” for these kids. I will be buying it for my classroom and recommending it to pretty much all students.

I am an absolute lover of YA lit, which always seems to surprise people when they know I’m an HS English teacher. Not only that, but I’m a sucker when there’s some romance, in particular. Among the many, many YA books I read, the stories are fun and make me smile, but they aren’t always filled with the most, uh, beautiful of writing. Zentner, on the other hand, writes some gorgeous sentences. I cannot believe how many sentences I had to highlight so I could return to them later. “Here we are, survivors of quiet wars. Like trees that have weathered a brutal storm, but with broken branches and fallen blossoms littering the ground around us.” Like, absolutely beautiful!

In the Wild Light tells the story of Cash Pruitt who gets a scholarship to go to a Connecticut boarding school with his best friend, Delaney. I always love a book or show set at a boarding school—I feel like so many of us dreamt as kids that we would be able to go to one and do all these crazy, exciting things while acting like adults. Or maybe I just watched too much Zoey 101...

Being in a new environment with so much room to grow (Cash with his newfound love of poetry and Delaney being able to delve deeper in Science) comes with its toll on their relationship but also adds beautiful new friends, an impeccable education, and an experience of a lifetime.

There are definitely some John green vibes with similarly mature, poetic characters, but Zentner has a voice of his own. I loved the small cameos to his previous works and his addition of poetry in many of the chapters. As a very new teacher of Poetry, it gave me a small boost of inspiration and warmth.

This is a book that definitely gets you in your feels. You will feel anger, sadness (I definitely cried more than once, which hasn’t happened in a while!), love, and joy as you flip the pages through the seasons of Cash’s journey. While I do feel it was a *bit* drawn out at times, I absolutely loved reading this novel.

This is a must-read of 2021!

4.8/5⭐️

Friendships born of necessity and grief carry a unique bond. A special bond. Cash and Delaney are friends out together by loss. They are friends that are deeply committed to the friendship they forged amidst the pain of a parent's opioid addiction. But what will happen when they are pulled out of their small Appalachian town and given access to an education and life they never imagined.

In this stirring and raw novel about family, friendship and love, Jeff Zentner thoughtfully examines the evolution of young friendship to fathomless love. He expands our definition of family to the ones that love us deeply and without bounds. He also reminds us the magic spark inside us, that if fed will grow into a fire of purpose and life direction.

Well done!

My three boys have a papaw and a pa. These men teach them life lessons, ride down the rivers of Missouri on canoes with them, love them unconditionally.

I know a kid named Cash.

I’ve stored my phone in a ziplock bag on the Gasconade.

I’ve felt the comfort of a quiet day on the water.

I know kids with very similar stories to Cash’s and Delaney’s.

I know kids with similar stories that use it to rise above it.

I know kids with similar stories that forget to rise above it.

To have resources, like In the Wild Light, that I can put in the hands of any kid, even my own, to help them deal with survival—surviving crappy parents, feelings of inadequacy, unrequited love, grief—is priceless.

The best yet, from Jeff Zentner, who expertly crafted this therapeutic story of survival and triumph.

“There are days when your heart is so filled with this world’s beauty, it feels like holding too much of something in your hand. Days that taste like wild honey. This is one of them.”

And when you experience a day like this, remember who was there with you.

Thank you Penguin Random House for the ARC in exchange for this review.

Where do I even start?!? This book was INCREDIBLE. Jeff has such a way with words, I had to stay with this book for a bit and savor it. The rawness of his work will sit with YA readers and make them feel seen. The authenticity that this book holds is a testament to the writing that Jeff has across all his works. He provides a window into the lives of people that show us who they are, and at the same time, reveal in us things about ourselves. In other words, you need this book!

The characters in this book will touch your soul. Cash & Delaney are so many of the students who have sat in my classroom over the years. Poverty and addiction could easily prevent these two from becoming more than their circumstances, yet through the love of grandparents, education, and resilient spirits, these two overcome. Jeff Zentner has once again penned a poignant story that will teach us and heal us. Read this book. Then, gift it to someone else.

#IntheWildLight #NetGalley

Jeff Zentner has a magical ability with prose. He pens pretty magnificent sentences bursting with vivid imagery that can make me swoon in delight. I think it’s fair to say that I am a huge fan! He also manages to write about sensitive teenage boys that is no way emasculating but rather gives them gravitas and courage. Although Serpent King remains my favorite, Into the Wild Light is a story about overcoming hardships, abiding friendship, grief, a love story, and an elegy to the unbreakable bonds we form with family or the family we choose. Thanks to Net Galley for the advance reading copy.

Do you ever feel seen? Like your soul is literally being spread across a page or strewn across the sky and someone who isn't you can recognize it so clearly and confidently know that it is you. That's how I feel when I read Jeff Zentner's books. I doubt I'm the only one who feels this way, but the only way I can describe it is that I feel like Jeff personally wrote this story for me and me alone.


Considering how beloved his novels are, I doubt I'm the only one who can resonate with this, but this is honestly how I feel every time that I finish his books.


It's a fact that I am Jeff Zentner's biggest fan. I have loved his books since almost the beginning, and I always made sure to support him in any way I can. Just like the 3 novels before, I feel as though the foundation of my life has been strengthened. Just reading his words and the wonderful stories he creates makes me feel alive and whole in this dead and broken world. If books could possess hope, his books would.


In the Wild Light is a classic Zentner story that will make you laugh, cry, and love life. I suppose now that I've finished my love letter to the best prose I've ever read, I can begin the review of the book.


One of the things that set apart Zentner's novels for me is the absolute wholeness of his characters. I've never read a single character in any of his books that I felt like I could not understand inside and out. I know Cash and Delaney better than I know my own family, and as a reader, this is so invigorating. I recommend Zentner for any reading slump because it's just so electrifying page after page not from any plot but just the characters themselves.

I may be partial to this plot because I know Jeff, but to see his main character delve into poetry like I know Jeff did recently (I don't know your life, Jeff but I do follow you on Instagram). I saw pictures every day of either the view from the river or a poem from Ocean. It floored me to see Cash discovering these things when I knew the author was deeply moved by poetry and quiet mornings on the river. This enhanced the reading experience for me, which I wanted to talk about because this blog is basically a journal and I do what I want (screw you, formal reviews. we don't want you here).

Every two years when a new novel comes out, I'm always astounded by the complete mastery I find in the book. The way imagery and metaphor work in Zentner's books is truly astonishing and something I would love to see teenagers fall in love with. I've always praised Jeff's name because his books are just so <em>intelligent</em>. I feel constantly that YA is being dumbed down. I can't stand a book that doesn't feel like a writer wrote it. I know everyone is a writer when they put pen to page, but I can't think of a way to describe what I mean. I feel smarter with every turning of the page and I can only dream of the benefits I would've had if I had a Jeff Zentner book in highschool.

So teachers, librarians, and educators please buy Jeff's books for the young ones in your community. </p>

I could possibly type thousands of words more about what I loved about the book and why I cried and why I laughed and why I hoped, but Cash's story is just something you'll have to discover for yourself. Dive in. The water is just fine.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

A young adult novel about two brainy teens attending a prestigious boarding school for the first time while simultaneously trying to deal with their home life, a sick family member, and an Appalachian town that is struggling with the opioid crisis. The main character finds solace in writing poetry and keeping an eye on his beloved childhood friend. This was beautifully written, heartbreaking, and inspiring. The dialogue was definitely cheesy at times and sometimes the teens’ conversations seemed unrealistic to me, but overall really enjoyed this one.

With gorgeous language, Jeff Zentner once again invites us into a life that could easily be overlooked but whose very existence doesn't allow us to forget them. It is clear that the book is written with such care for the lives of the character and it makes us care deeply about them as well. I read the book in one day, needing to see the path that Cash ultimately chooses for himself, needing to sit with him and Papaw as they remind us of the beauty that comes in absolute love and care for one another. A quiet book, perhaps, but one that roars with determination.

Like all of Jeff Zentner's books it seems, In the Wild Light is about loss, grief, and healing. In that absolutely devastating way he has, this one had me sobbing through the last 20% of it. But also in the beautiful, lyrical style of Zentner's novels, In the Wild Light is a poem and I don't just mean Cash's poems intermittently spaced through the text. There are very few digital books that I annotate and this is one.

The destruction of so many rural communities by opioid addiction including ones like my own is at the forefront of the novel, always lingering even though Cash lost his mother before the events of the novel begin. It's wonderful to see this in YA, although I will be putting some very bright courtesy warnings on this for my students. Also CW for a scene of sexual assault. Zentner doesn't shy away from the tough stuff, and he gets it right.

Looking forward to adding In The Wild Light to my personal and classroom shelves in August.

In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner was the first book that I read in 2021 and I have a feeling it will be on a top 10 of the whole year. Jeff Zentner's writing is always very poetic but I feel like he outdid himself with this book. I had a love hate relationship with Delaney. I definitely learned some interesting facts from her but she was not a likable character. I'm sure this was intentional because then she would make grand gestures; such as when she broke into Papaw's room with her penicillin from the cave. I felt like Cash was written like a piece of Jeff Zentner which made him feel very real.
What's interesting about a lot of Jeff''s books is that you know something is going wrong but when it goes wrong you are even more crushed by it than if it came out of nowhere. This time that related to Papaw. You knew he was sick throughout the book but when he passed on it was soul crushing. You get to know the characters so well it's hard to let go. I would 100% recommend In the Wild Light especially to teens who like hard hitting stories.

I don't have the words to adequately describe how beautiful this book is. There were so many times I had to slow down and re-read entire passages. Before I was even finished, I kept thinking "I need to re-read this book!"
Cash is given the opportunity to attend a prestigious prep school in Connecticut because of a scientific discovery his best friend Delaney made when they were together. Cash and Delaney hail from small town Tennessee and have dealt with the effects of opioid addiction. Cash has his beloved grandparents and Delaney has Cash. Making Cash's decision to accept his scholarship even more difficult is his grandfather's health.
A heartbreakingly beautiful story about friendship, loss, grief, love and finding your way in life.
I give it ALL the stars!

Guys, be ready. There are a lot of feels in this one. And I wasn’t prepared, which makes me utterly delusional since I was reading a Zentner book. Duh. I read this in winter, but it made me long to be on a country road, swinging on a porch swing, watching fireflies, and listening to the ambient sounds of a quiet summer night. There is such vivid exposition of this feeling you can’t help be transported right to the very porch that Cash and his pawpaw sit every night. And just like Cash, there’s no place I think I’d like more. Sadly, Cash knows this isn’t going to last forever. Papaw’s sick, and he’s not getting better. A larger than life man, both in personality and physical stature, he is slowly shrinking. He’s hooked up to oxygen, has coughing fits, and his boundless energy has its limits. When he’s not on the porch, Cash is busy mowing lawns and saving as much money as he can. Money is tight around the house, and his Grandma’s job as a pizza manager isn’t enough. Between that and hanging out with his best friend, Delaney Doyle, his life is full. Delaney isn’t a normal girl, but Cash isn’t afraid of that. They share a history of drug abuse (their mothers, not them), and her smarts aren’t something he can relate to, but he and Delaney just make sense. They shared an ill-fated kiss a while back, and that’s the last time either has tried anything resembling romantic toward the other. Her intelligence is astounding, so much so that she just discovered a new strain of bacteria in the waters of Sawyer, Tennessee, the small town where the two live. That discovery allows both Delaney and Cash to study at a boarding school in Connecticut. Tuition and room and board are included in the scholarship, but that would mean leaving his pawpaw. And no way is this small town Appellachan boy fitting in at a private school on the east coast. It just won’t work. But Delaney wants it to work, so he goes.

There are some stereotypical scenes/students within the borders of this school that exist. Still, Cash isn’t worried about the private jets and lavish vacations he hears talk of, nor is he afraid of his thinly veiled “I’m not a racist” roommate for whom each other barely tolerate. He’s not going to change because of this place. But when his schedule forces him to take a poetry class, things do change. His teacher is a published writer, up for an award that may take her away from this school. But for now, she’s only interested in making sure that Cash knows the power of poetry and the cathartic result of putting pen to paper. She doesn’t make fun of him when he talks about his pawpaw either; she’s from Appalachia too. Cash’s poetry starts small, like one word small. As he deals with things in his life that are out of his control, his writing becomes an anchor.

Just as you’d imagine, Zentner paints portraits of friendship with broad strokes that are easily recognizable, but it’s the intimate conversations and actions between them that make you want to be friends with every damn one of them. It’s the unlikely friendship of Delaney and Cash, the supremely satisfying male friendship of Cash and Alex, and lastly, Vi. Vi is Delaney’s roommate, and she kills it at being a new bestie. The love in this story is overwhelming but also quiet. There is a level of passion for home, family, and friends that should be something we all aspire to. I loved that Cash didn’t forget where he’s from, not that I think he could, but realizes there is more to life than he imagined. Thanks to Zentner for dropping in some of my favorites from his other stories- it was like a warm hug whenever that happened.

I received an advanced review copy of this from NetGalley because I am impatient and hate waiting.

Jeff Zentner has done it again. I always love his stories, but this is probably my favorite. Cash's desires to try something new and to seize an opportunity clash with his reluctance to leave his family. The struggle is real and valid and never felt overplayed. I could relate to where he was coming from, and his relationships with his new friends, though seemingly easy, also felt real. A beautiful book that I will highly recommend.

This is by far my favorite Jeff Zentner novel, and I've enjoyed all of them. Zentner creates another coming-of-age novel that is anything but "just another" young adult drama. In the Wild Light is a bit of a departure from the author's reliance on dialogue as character and storytelling. He expands his repertoire with stunning poetry that leaks into his prose. I am usually a fast reader, but I wanted to savor this one to enjoy it longer. Like other Zentner novels, this one will give you "all the feels." The familiars are comedy, tragedy, laughs, tears, ups and downs, and Easter eggs of past novels.


Delaney and Cash are best friends who met a Narateen meeting. From the small town of Sawyer, TN, they learn responsibility fast as poverty and family struggles are daily life. However, Delaney is a genius who discovers a mold in a cave that wins her recognition and a scholarship to an elite school in the Northeast. Her condition to accept it is Cash must also get the same deal.


The experiences of Delaney and Cash intermingled with Cash's Papaw and Mamaw, their new friends at school, and the best darn poetry professor Cash never knew he needed will keep the reader turning pages. More than just a relatable and relevant story, it is a comfort to those who see themselves and people they know who face adversity and harbor feelings of being different and plain not worthy of a better life.


There are too many favorite quotes, but the one that I refer to most during the COVID pandemic, political unrest and social injustice-laden times is the reason Delany just knew the mold was in that cave. "Because for every way the world tries to kill us, it gives us a way to survive. You just gotta find it."

I can’t wait to give this book to students. Instead of writing about the story here, what I’d really like to honor in this book is its diversity. On the surface this book is not typically what we think of as a diverse book. But look closely. Characters from different ethnicities and sexual orientations celebrate a loving Thanksgiving without a thought as to their differences. The characters travel from the heart of Appalachia to the the Strand in NYC. Characters are passionate about Science and Poetry. These are the books I need in my students hands today. Books that show them we can all be accepting of each other and everyone. We are more the same than we are different.

Jeff Zentner has done it again! He has created two characters, Cash and Delaney, that readers will fall in love with. This touching book of friendship, family, and valuing your roots is heart-warming. Zentner focuses on Tennessee for this journey--its people, its culture, and its deep-rooted sense of pride. It follows the undying friendship between two teenagers as they leave the only world they've ever known and into the world of a prestigious private school. The two face trials in their friendship as they discover who they are and what they can contribute the world. This book is beautifully written and will stay with me for a long time to come.