I really got pulled into the story and characters. The author grabbed my attention and didn’t let go till the final page. Intelligence, integrity, and the love for your surroundings were important themes. Becoming the adult to your parent was good to see.
I think many teens and adults will relate to this book.
I really enjoyed it.

I don't believe I've ever read a Jeff Zentner book without the need for a tissue. Unfortunately, I never have one which means that the shirt I'm wearing usually ends up with mascara all over it by the end of the book. Thank you, Jeff, for always finding ways for your readers to see the world in ways that make even our darkest moments feel that much brighter. Once again, you've made Tennessee proud.

This is a beautiful book, filled with poetry and lyrical writing. This is a must add for libraries everywhere but especially schools. I think it would also make a great read a loud in the classroom, as there is much to discuss, and lots of emotions to contemplate.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

I’d give this twelve stars if I could! Jeff Zentner never ceases to amaze. He writes friendships better than anyone, describes details of ordinary life better than anyone. He creates fully developed teenage characters you will never forget. A book set in two distinct worlds: Appalachian Tennessee and a CT boarding school. For teens who love nature, who love their grandparents, who love poetry, who have experienced loss and grief and still dare to dream. For boys who love girls who are smarter than them and are not threatened one bit. I wish Delaney and Cash were real people! The best YA book of 2021!

This is book perfection! I started taking screenshots of passages I loved but there were so many it got ridiculous. The book reminds me of TN (where I was born and raised) and the importance of family, whether related by blood or not. Zentner is a beautiful writer and masterful storyteller. My students love his previous 3 books (particularly The Serpent King) and I have no doubt they will love this one just as much!

An engaging, heart-touching story that does not disappoint. I experienced all emotions! A diversity of topics covered, never letting the reader be bored - grief, humor, friendship, drug abuse, assault, death. Hard to put down! I highly recommend it! @jeffzentner @NetGalley

I can never dislike a book by Zentner. I love how he went back to a love story with real and raw emotions. Always has me in tears which I appreciate.

Zentner. Again. Incredible.

In the Wild Light might show off Zentner's lyric-writing roots more than his previous books, and that's saying a lot. I found a line on just about every page worth underlining. Sometimes the entire paragraph. And thinking to myself, 'if he just put some notes to that, it'd be a verse in a song...'

What else can. you expect from Jeff's stories? An emotional punch. This one packs a few. And yet -- through Cash and Delaney's set-backs and heartbreaks, you find hope on their horizon. The love that is present in 'found family', in 'non-nuclear' families, and the subtle ways Cash and Delaney open up to new people, was incredibly powerful.

Here's the best way I can sell this book: It's February 2021 - it's been 12 hard months of isolation, fear, and hopelessness. I've put down many books, stopped watching shows, and have been desperate for something I can connect with -- a break from reality that still feels rooted in some of the same feelings I've experienced - this was exactly what I needed, and I imagine many, many readers will feel the same.

I'm in awe! Jeff Zentner is a magical storyteller and lyricist. His words are absolutely beautiful. The way he develops his characters and their relationships with each other are realistic and relatable. This was a book I had a hard time putting down and devoured in two sittings. I couldn't wait to know how the story unfolded but at the same time didn't want to say goodbye to these people who felt like family as I got closer to the end. The deep raw emotions this story evoked from me were overwhelming. I can't wait to get this into the hands of my students, friends, and family this summer! Put this on your summer TBR list and pre-order now!

Zentner's done it again with a story that's filled with emotion, beauty, and resilience. Cash and Delaney have been friends forever (at least it seems that way). Both have dealt with moms struggling with or succumbing to addiction, but they've always had each other and Cash's grandparents to lean on. But when Papaw starts getting sicker, and an unbelievable opportunity arises that will take them away from their small Tennessee town to a prestigious private school in New England, they both realize that things may never be normal again.

Zentner's authentic characters and lyrical words will have readers laughing, crying, and dreaming from the time they open the pages.

In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner was stunning! Beautiful language, a quiet story that gave me all the feels. I loved the nods to all of his other work and the way he brought poetry in for young men. Loved everything about this book!

If you love Jeff Zentner, his newest book will not disappoint! He is true to his standards of heart wrenching coming of age by struggling teens, but with plenty of new twists and points of view. If you have not read Jeff Zentner before, start with his first book and read them all with a big box of tissues, as his characters make cameos, although the stories themselves are independent. This one in particular really went right to my heart for the southern grandparent storyline. As a southerner, he writes them so authentically and with dignity only someone writing from their own experience can achieve. The kids, teachers, and the grandparents too truly come to life and grab the readers heart. Now I'm just waiting for his fifth book for the cameos of these wonderful new fictional friends.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. Please listen to the full review at: https://bookclubbed.buzzsprout.com/1572124/7640713-book-review-in-the-wild-light-my-southern-accent

In the Wild Light is anchored by its co-leads, Cash & Delaney, specifically through their chemistry and dialogue. We don’t see an excess of authentic boy/girl friendships in YA, at least operating at this level, so that is an achievement in and of itself. The dialogue is also great, occupying that tiny sliver in the venn diagram where “realistic chit-chat and conversational quirks” overlaps with “witty, engaging banter which makes you want to be friends with them too.”

I also loved the profile of a small southern town, where people are struggling but maintain dignity, where they are doing the best to take care of their own, where the young people are torn between a bigger city with opportunity and the gentle rhythms of the community and surrounding nature.

The secondary characters are complex and enjoyable, outside of an evil Post Malone cartoon character who serves as the bad guy in the first half of the novel, and the zero-dimensional frat boy who takes over as the bad guy in the second half. Other than that, the friendships made at the boarding school are handled with great care and Zenter captures the bonds that teenagers form under mounting stress.

The book packs an emotional wallop in the second half, one that you see coming but still catches you across the temple nonetheless. I’m not a crying-when-reading type of person, but maybe have tissues on deck just in case.

Jeff Zentner has done it again by creating characters who quietly dare you to love them even though you know your heart will break for them and with them. He brings Sawyer to poetry and to a teacher who knows how to use poetry to find his heart and soul. This story and these characters will stay with me for a long time, and that's fine because I don't want them to go away just yet.

Another winner from Jeff Zentner. Lyrical and beautiful, In the Wild Light explore family ties, friendship, and belonging. Once again, Zentner brings us characters with such amazing depth that they linger with us far past the turn of the last page.

Zentner doesn't disappoint-- a heart-touching story told with beautiful words and phrases that make me want to sit with it awhile... I will be recommending this book to everyone. I wish I could give it 10 stars.

Jeff Zentner does it again. I don't know how he creates characters that find a soft spot in your soul and quickly work their way in, but he does. He is a master of character development similar to Richard Russo or John Irving, but in a way that is accessible to young people. He writes in a sophisticated, nuanced way and doesn't dumb it down just because he writes YA. He gives his readers credit for being able to understand his gorgeous prose and takes them along for the beautiful ride. You find yourself bonding with his characters and rooting for them to succeed. Their setbacks are your setbacks. Their triumphs are your triumphs. I love getting drawn into the worlds he creates, even when he's tackling tough subjects like opioid addiction and poverty. This one will stick with me for a long time. So thankful I was able to read this book.

I will tell you three things right now that I know to be true:
1) This book is AMAZING! full stop.
2) I canNOT read a book by Jeff Zentner without bawling like a newborn baby.
3) Though I will try, this review will not come close to adequately expressing the beauty of this book.

Ok... here we go... "In the Wild Light" is a book that will stick with me for a long time. It is also a book that I plan to reread as soon as it comes out in August, 2021. And I don't reread books. But I'm going to reread this one because it was too well-crafted, too joyful, too painful, too lyrical, too... wonderful not to enjoy a second time. To bastardize Elizabeth Barrett Browning... "In the Wild Light" how do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

-I love the evocative imagery of nature. I have read books where the figurative language used to create imagery is overwrought ("Salt to the Sea" immediately comes to mind). The language Zentner used to paint his word pictures was gorgeous. But brief. I think this is the reason it works. Zentner did an excellent job of finding that balance between using "flowery" language to convey the character's love for the setting and brevity. Sprinkled throughout this book are brief passages that beautifully and creatively encapsulate the setting. Ok, like I said, I'm doing a terrible job with this review... and a terrible job of being brief. But there were so many "word moments" in this book that I fell in love with.

-I love the characters (with the exception of one minor character who really is NOT a good person). But Cash, Delaney, mamaw, papaw (Pep), Alex, Vi, Dr. Adkins... they're just such GOOD people. Simple, honest people who live to make the world a better place. And live for each other. I'll be honest, after reading about so many good Appalachian people, I'm a little upset that I'm not Appalachian myself. And I want to move to Sawyer, TN.

-I love the plot. I love that these two best friends decide to "carpe the diem" and make a better life for themselves. I love that they do it together. "Outcasts" going to a private school may not be a revolutionary plotline, and best friends who have a falling out *certainly* isn't anything new. But we know that the journey Cash and Delaney go on is so important to *them* that we feel blessed to be along for the ride.

-I love the poetry. Jeff Zentner, when are you publishing your first book of verse? I want to pre-order.

-But I think what I love the most about this book is just its quiet, simple message of loving those who love us for as long as they're here and then longer. And I loved how I felt when I turned that last page. Peaceful. Joyous. Renewed. Quiet. Good feelings, all.

I have read all of Jeff Zentner's YA books. (Oh! And I liked the callbacks - is that the right word? - throughout the book. References to "Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee" and "Goodbye Days"!) I have enjoyed all of Zentner's other books. But this one is my favorite. He's going to have a hard time topping this one in my mind!

Zentner is one of those authors who writes with such authenticity that his characters become like dear friends. Delaney and Cash live in Appalachia, both enduring horrible childhoods with absent fathers and troubled mothers. Neither is popular in high school but they have each other as best friends. When Delaney makes a breakthrough scientific discovery, she catches the attention of the world. She is a genius and gets offered a full scholarship to an elite prep school in Connecticut, but she stipulates that she won’t accept unless Cash is included in the offer.

New England is a far cry from their little backwoods town and the students come from vastly different circumstances. But the two do make some friends and the biggest dilemma is that Cash’s grandfather, who had been raising him since his mother died of an overdose, is dying, and Cash feels he should be home. Cash’s love for his grandparents is very moving. He’s the guy you want girls to fall for because he’s caring, modest, loyal, honest and a champion for what’s right. Delaney on the other hand is harder to like because she’s opinionated, obsessed with facts and ideas and sometimes abrasive. Despite that, her brilliant mind shines bright and the relationship between the two teens is luminous.

This is their story and one that enfolds readers in their universe. Like his other novels, Zentner moves readers with his sensitive portrayal of teens who are survivors of horrific childhoods. Don’t miss this touching and compelling story that champions doing what’s right and appreciating family and good friends.

Cash and Delaney have been good friends since meeting at a Narateen meeting in middle school, although they are very different. Delaney is a genius, while Cash mows lawns and enjoys his quiet, country life. Both live in a rural Tennessee town and had drug-addicts as mothers. In high school, Delaney makes an important discovery that earns her a scholarship to a premiere STEM school in Connecticut and she wrangles a similar scholarship for Cash as well, but he is reluctant to leave his grandfather, who is dying from emphysema. Will Cash take this big step toward his future and leave his small town behind? Great book. Great poetry in it too,