3 out of 4 stars
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A light in the Dark by Kelly Bedford is a post-apocalyptic novel of approximately 225 pages. The whole world has gone dark. Cars stopped running, planes dropped out of the sky and the power went off. Now, every day is a struggle to survive with food supplies running short, no heat for the winter and no communication.
Grace is a teenager caught up in the middle of the darkness. She’s a little different from those around her, though, as she can hear the voices of the deceased. Her mother didn’t make it through the darkness, and she has to survive on her own. She decides to return to a camp she used to attend yearly for other people gifted like her. Along the way she meets a little boy named Andy who reads the colors around people and is able to tell if they are mostly good or bad. Together the two try to find their way, but the journey is treacherous and the path fraught with danger.
I enjoy apocalyptic fiction such as this, but sometimes it seems repetitive. How many books have I read where an EMP causes the world to plunge into complete darkness? Too many. However, Ms. Bedford adds her own spin to the plot which makes this story quite interesting and different. I loved the supernatural aspect in this novel, and it changed the whole scope of the story. There is even a twist at the end that I did not see coming. When an author can surprise me, I am truly impressed. Ms. Bedford manages to do that in this book, and I must applaud her for that.
The characters were easily relatable with interesting back stories as well. Grace is an unusual teenager to begin with due to her special gift, and yet, she is still a typical teenager. I don’t know many adults that would cope well with this darkness, but she manages to gather up her courage and plunge ahead. The secondary characters are also intriguing. Ms. Bedford manages to make them interesting by the deceased loved ones speaking in Grace’s head. I loved the little tidbits that we picked up from these conversations.
The story’s pace is steady, and never once did I feel bored. At the same time, I didn’t feel like the story was too intense either. There are some novels that I have to put aside for a few minutes because I feel overwhelmed. That is not the case here as the plot is nicely balanced.
I also enjoyed how resourceful the characters are in surviving during this harsh time. My favorite example of this is the torch that Grace makes out of a pine tree. She takes a branch of a pine tree that is filled with sap, cuts it crosswise, puts kindling in the middle and there you have it. This makes me want to find a pine branch to try this myself!
Overall, I really enjoyed reading A Light in the Dark. The only complaint I have would be related to the many, many instances of run-on sentences throughout the book. The story is told in first person point of view from Grace’s perspective. As she is still a teenager, I can see that this might be the way that she talks. However, I think it’s a little too much. Also toward the end, the number of word substitutions went up (if used for of.) I would, therefore, rate this book 3 out of 4 stars due to the editing issues. I would, though, recommend this highly to any that enjoy apocalyptic literature.
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A Light in the Dark
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