Name: Out of Darkness
ISBN: 9781467742023

Ashley Hope Pérez

Loosely based on a school explosion that took place in New London, Texas in 1937, this is the story of two teenagers: Naomi, who is Mexican, and Wash, who is black, and their dealings with race, segregation, love, and the forces that destroy people.

Out of Darkness

Amanda Kordeliski

Beautifully written, but one of the most traumatizing gut wrenching books I have ever read. My booktalk for this book could quite possibly only consist of holding up the book and sobbing. 

Before the Printz, I avoided this book even though it was always at the top of every Mock-Printz discussion because it was clearly a high school book and would not fit in my middle school--and I heard it was emotionally a difficult read. After it won an honor and made the High School Sequoyah list, I still avoided this book for the same reasons. 

I heard Ashley Hope Perez speak at the Printz reception at ALA and knew I had to read it--I just wasn't ready. I started and stopped half a dozen times in July. I read it slowly and took breaks because the slow build in the book was almost more than I could stand. It doesn't rip your heart out all at once like Code Name Verity , or leave you crying but with some hope like All American Boys, it nurtures your love for the characters and evokes sympathy and building dread for their situation while slowly squeezing your heart to death. 

It is a spectacular read. It is a devastating read. It is the kind of book and characters that follow you forever but you know you can never go back and revisit because it would just be to hard to read again.

Elad Schulman

HOLY MOLY.

this book was incredible. Like, incredible. The characters, the plot, everything, was so incredible, but also devastating.

Out of Darkness

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