Picture Us in the Light

There are some books, some very special unique beautiful books that are like a key to the reader's soul. For me that book is Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe now joined by Picture Us in the Light.

To me these books are some of most beautiful things I've read. It's this longing to be able to return to my teenage days and be the person I've always been, not the mask I've hidden behind.

I will never ever be able to relive those days, to return and fix my own mistakes. Life doesn't really give out second chances like that. So I am eternally grateful to authors like Kelly Loy Gilbert for giving me the opportunity to, for at least those few hours that I spent with Picture Us in the Light, stand in shoes of those who found light so much sooner than I.

Thank you

Thank you so very much

PS.: I hate Daniel's parents. Poor Danny was lied all of his life, had them forbid him the stupidest of things, only for them to disappear at the end.

4.5 stars. Read it in one sitting and needed a hug when I finished. Beautiful, heartbreaking, devastating and ultimately hopeful. I'm not even going to write a full review because words fail me right now. I'll just leave this quote from Danny, as he is thinking how brave people must be to get married:

“To pluck your heart from your chest that way and hand it to someone, unprotected, and wait to see how gently they'll stitch it back in for you, or not...”

Many have tried, but not many have succeed as well in articulating how complex being a senior in high school in a very complicated life can be. This author does a wonderful, heart breaking job of telling a story about a teenage boy who has his entire world crumble underneath him. By the end of it, it's impossible to not feel connected to Danny.

The threads of credibility snap by the car crash, with too many thumbs on the scale of writing a flawed protagonist. The parents are also loaded with a lifetime of grave miscalculations including ultimately ghosting on their son, wilfully choking in the mire of not communicating. The story is engaging when it's about the experiences of second generation Asian Americans, about suicide, guilt, self-doubt, and the magnifications and distortions of being a teenager. But Kelly Loy Gilbert juggles too much, mixes in crime and mystery, and tiptoes around queer sexuality. In the lone paragraph not fumbling with half-expressed desire, she has Mr. X describe Danny's identity as ‘funny'. Also, having your flossing habits faulted is listed as an example of a beleaguered life that might contribute to exacting impossible standards from your children?