What Light by Jay Asher

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 256

Publisher: Macmillan's Children's Books 

Released: 20th of October 2016 

Sierra's family runs a Christmas tree farm in Oregon—it's a bucolic setting for a girl to grow up in, except that every year, they pack up and move to California to set up their Christmas tree lot for the season. So Sierra lives two lives: her life in Oregon and her life at Christmas. And leaving one always means missing the other. 

Until this particular Christmas, when Sierra meets Caleb, and one life eclipses the other.

By reputation, Caleb is not your perfect guy: years ago, he made an enormous mistake and has been paying for it ever since. But Sierra sees beyond Caleb's past and becomes determined to help him find forgiveness and, maybe, redemption. As disapproval, misconceptions, and suspicions swirl around them, Caleb and Sierra discover the one thing that transcends all else: true love.

What I Have to Say 

I really want to say that this is a beautiful, heart-warming book to get you in the mood for Christmas, but that would be inaccurate. I think what it really is, is a beautiful book that feels heart-warming and will get you in the mood for Christmas but actually has a lot of deep and painful issues involved at the heart of it. 

The so adorable love story, full of Christmas, pine trees and cheap Peppermint Mochas overshadows the sad part of the book effectively without taking away the importance of those issues. It's such a great way of showing the "love conquers all" trope, but showing it in a real way. Because even though love can transcend the issues, the issues are still there and will effect things, whether they come externally or internally. It's about overcoming the issues rather than hiding from them in "true love". 

This book will may make you want to fall in love and go to live on a Christmas Tree farm, but it will also put you really in the Christmas mood. 

My thanks go to Macmillan for providing me with this copy to review.