Overview

""I don't know how many times I squinted through the rocky crevice at that crack of light, faint by your standards and intoxicatingly brilliant by mine. There I was again, for the last time. Light this brilliant was as mesmerizing as music, even though it hurt my frail eyes. The thought of finally finding out what it was thrilled me and scared me at the same time."" When Kimi ventures from his underground home to a world filled with light, mysteries surround him. As an outsider, he is sent to retraining where he will have one year to learn about the world of light and prove that he can fit in. It is only later that he discovers that, if he cannot fit in, he will be sacrificed to the Light.

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Reviews

Rich characterizations and a compelling message distinguish this speculative story. An outsider's perspective sends a civilization in a new direction in Okell's SF novel. Teenager Kimi leaves his underground land of darkness to explore the hint of light that keeps creeping through from outside. Dazzled in the land of the Light, he gets captured and put into a retraining program for misbehaving youths....Burgiss, a teacher in the program, takes pity on Kimi and offers to become his mentor. Burgiss learns how Kimi functions back home and teaches him how to survive in this new place. Noting Kimi's aptitude for math and science, Burgiss introduces him to Halmo, a friend who's a mechanic for the Light, a living light source that functions as an object of religious devotion. Halmo lets Kimi in on the Light's dark secret, which Burgiss couldn't bring himself to tell him: The Light is powered by humans. Each year, the trainee who fares worst is fed to the Light, and Kimi is expected to be that year's sacrifice (""They are all expecting that you will fail"")....The author has created a well-rounded cast of supporting characters to populate what is essentially a juvenile prison. Her best character is Kimi, who proves remarkably adaptable in a world radically different from his own. Okell's narrative hinges on this bighearted, intelligent boy who comes up with solutions not just to his daily problems, but also to his new home's long-term concerns. A handful of late twists bring the tale to a satisfying conclusion, offering hope for the future. -Kirkus Reviews Review for A Trick of the Light ""There are no comparisons to be drawn here-Emma Okell's work stands on its own with its imagination and originality. In this mesmerizing world Okell has crafted, readers connect with characters whose lives are either shrouded in the comfort of darkness or sustained by the brilliance of light. Yet it's only as we follow Kimi's acclimation from darkness to light that we realize the true value of both and of friendships forged among the unfamiliar."" -Kaitlin Lyle Keane, journalist

Author Information

Emma Okell has been writing since they could hold a pen and invented their first nom de plume when they were four. They previously published two books under the pseudonym Olana Stuart. Their short story ""The Cooking Spoon"" was recently published in the Youth Climate Collaborative's publication Climate Courage. For more information visit youthcc.org/climate-courage or emmaokell.com. Olivia Montoya is a solo hobby developer/designer, zinester, community builder, event organizer, speaker, and graphic designer. They are in their element working on game and game-adjacent projects, especially narrative video games, tabletop role-playing games, and live action role-playing games. You can see their work on oliviamontoya.com.

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