I came here after reading Last Night at the Telegraph Club. I found that book and this one to be night and day. At first, I felt put off by it, but eventually, I came to understand that Malinda Lo is really a brilliant writer if she can manage to create two beautifully written pieces of fiction that if I didn't know, I would never guess are by the same author.

A Scatter of Light is the companion novel to Lo's previous novel Last Night at the Telegraph Club, though unlike it, it is not a romance but rather a coming of age story (FWIW, Telegraph Club felt very coming of age-y to me, but anyway), and is set six decades later in 2013. It follows recent high school grad Aria, whose summer plans are thwarted so she ends up going to stay with her grandmother Joan. I loved the relationship that Aria had with Joan, and how they unite by attempting to piece together Aria's late grandfather's works.
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This being a coming of age story, a major theme in this book is identity, and it focuses on Aria figuring out her sexuality. She befriends Joan's gardener Steph, who introduces her to the queer community in the area. Something that I think Lo does really well is allowing Aria's self-discovery journey to be messy and windy. She questions herself a lot and doesn't come to an absolute conclusion about herself. I think that sometimes YA authors show their characters finding out things about themselves with a certainty that the vast majority of people don't feel at that age, so Aria is definitely realistic. There is a little bit of romance in this book, but it is very tentative (since this isn't a romance).
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This book was so raw, emotional, and a little sad, but ultimately hopeful.

Life got in the way and I could not finish the book. Thanks to the publishers for the chance to read the book.

A Scatter of Light is a queer coming of age story set in San Francisco. It is very loosely tied to her other book, Last Night at the Telegraph Club, via a few characters that appear here. However, you do not need to read that one first.

I enjoy the friendships and support between characters in her books. I listened to the audio for both of her books and they have been well done.

Reading Last Night at the Telegraph Club is by no means a prerequisite for reading this book, but it provides the sweetest, briefest update to Lily and Kath's lives 60 years down the road.

Aria is sent to California to spend the summer with her grandmother Joan, a widely regarded artist, while her mother travels and her father works on his manuscript. The last thing Aria wanted was a summer away from her friends in Massachusetts, but she finds herself settling into life with Joan. She makes new friends, including members of the LGBTQIA+ community and learns so much about herself along the way.

This is a truly wonderful coming of age story. My high school students really resonated with this title.

Many thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group and Dutton Books for Young Readers for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

beautifully messy coming into age story about discovering bisexuality through a relationship through somebody older. malinda lo writes the tender messiness of self discovery beautifully; at moments i felt like i was being taken apart from the inside. this one is for the girlies that discovered themselves through their first relationships with somebody they shouldn’t have

Years later, I'm finally ready to share my feedback on this arc! it was a great book, my first malinda lo novel and i'm very excited to read more books from this author! thank you for the arc!

If Malinda Lo has a million readers I am one of them. If Malinda Lo has one reader, it is me. If Malinda Lo has no readers then I am dead. I will forever and ever read every and anything Malinda writes as it is GOLD with A Scatter of Light being one of her best! I don’t think I need to go into detail about what an emotional and profound experience it is reading this book but I do want to say that more than anything Malinda’s compelling and brilliant storytelling is evident in ASOL more than anything! 10/10 could not put this one down and more importantly I can’t stop thinking about it 🥹

I loved the character development and Aria's story as a whole spoke to me deeply. The self-discovery felt so authentic and organic, I only wish we had more story of her life back home to compliment it.
I really enjoyed this book. I loved the community there was to the book, and the overwhelming emotional journey.

My only issue lies with the pacing. When things picked up THEY REALLY PICKED UP and then it just...ended. Incomplete in a way (at least to me, which is why I wanted more.) Also I feel there was more to be discovered with her friends at home. There was a lot to unpack towards the last 30% that felt like it was moving way too fast to process--but I also imagine that's how Aria felt as well.

I wish I read this quicker! It was really good.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for this DRC.
Aria is sent to California to spend a summer with her Grandma instead of a fun summer with friends. What she finds is much more important. New friends, new relationships and a better understanding of her own identity. Well worth the read.

#AScatterofLight #NetGalley

I don't enjoy books with cheating. Also, the main character was super obsessed with Steph, to the point that it was just annoying and unhealthy. However - I loved the LGBTQ rep and discussions. I'm okay with unlikeable characters - but this one was borderline problematic.

I could hardly put this book down. The main relationship and the main character’s discovery that she’s queer is very on point, and there’s so much other life stuff that she deals with. I also love that the main character discovers how much she lives the arts, and though she’s studying science and is very into that, she never forgets about art.

I loved this book, such a beautiful coming of age story of a woman figuring out who she is. This book gave me everything I felt I needed and as I finished the final chapter, I couldn't exactly describe how I felt. This story was beautiful and poetic and just wonderful in all ways.

I couldn´t really get into this novel.
The writing style was fine, but it didn´t really grab me.
I´m not the target audience and it might just be a personal preference, but for me it´s a no.

*Thank you Penguin Randomhouse for an eARC in exchange for an honest review*

Set just after Prop 8 was overturned and California legalizes gay marriage, we follow Aria West, recent high school graduate who had to cancel her summer plans to stay in Martha's Vineyard with friends and stay with her grandma in Fairfax, CA instead. Experiencing a crush on a girl for a first time while experimenting with art with the help of her famous artist grandma, among much else, this story handles a lot of heavy topics within a sweet setting.

While I loved a lot of this story - the relationship between Aria and her grandma Joan, the way topics of sexual and gender identity, friendships surviving through secrets, and much more - there was also a through line plot of cheating that I just couldn't get behind. It soured the love story to the point I almost decided not to finish. I also feel like there was some use of stereotypes when it comes to nude photo leaks I felt have been over done and there are better versions of that story to tell.

Overall, a 3 star rating. There is so much good that comes with this book and I trust Malinda Lo to continue writing great LGBTQ+ stories.

CONTENT WARNINGS:
-nude photo leaks
-cheating
-lying
-explicit sexual encounters
-absentee parent
-death of a family member
-explicit description of a stroke
-underage drinking
-various coming out stories, some of which may be triggering

A beautiful coming of age story about love and the loss of love.
This book is a lot about reflecting about one’s own search for love especially in the LGBTQ+ community.

this was unfortunately a DNF for me. I just wasn't vibing as much as I thought with the writing style. Nothing I would necessary say anything bad about, just wasn't for me! I would still recommend it to someone who is looking for books in this genre / style!

Lo is quickly becoming one of my favorites. This story was so good and kept me engaged the entire time. I was turning pages like I needed air.

I will read anything she writes.

Although Last Night at the Telegraph Club felt meticulously researched and was a definitive 'queer people have always been here' moment, I think Scatter of Light was a more personal book to Lo and hit differently. This is a book about discovery, grief, and longing. Maybe a bit controversial but I don't think we even needed the look at Kath and Lily, nice as it was to see them get a happy ending, it felt a little bit stuck in there either because Lo didn't want to give them but also didn't have a book in her for them, or because she wanted readers to know they were happy and be satisfied. Either way, it was nice, but unneeded.

My main issue with this book is the fact that the main character Aria is head over heels in love with a character that’s been in a 3-year-long relationship and her whole experience with learning about her sexuality is by having an affair. I wish her Asian side was talked abt more as well it was barely mentioned. I did enjoy reading abt her relationship with Joan and how her relationship with art grew over time and watching her figure out her sexuality