Name: Desire JoRay's review of The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton
Item: The Light Pirate
Rating: 4
Author: Desire JoRay

Lily Brooks-Dalton

From the author of Good Morning, Midnight comes a hopeful, sweeping story of survival and resilience spanning one extraordinary woman's lifetime as she navigates the uncertainty, brutality, and arresting beauty of a rapidly changing world. Florida is slipping away. As devastating weather patterns and rising sea levels wreak gradual havoc on the state's infrastructure, a powerful hurricane approaches a small town on the southeastern coast. Kirby Lowe, an electrical line worker, his pregnant wife, Frida, and their two sons, Flip and Lucas, prepare for the worst. When the boys go missing just before the hurricane hits, Kirby heads out into the high winds in search of his children. Left alone, Frida goes into premature labor and gives birth to an unusual child, Wanda, whom she names after the catastrophic storm that ushers her into a society closer to collapse than ever before. As Florida continues to unravel, Wanda grows. Moving from childhood to adulthood, adapting not only to the changing landscape, but also to the people who stayed behind in a place abandoned by civilization, Wanda loses family, gains community, and ultimately, seeks adventure, love, and purpose in a place remade by nature. Told in four parts--power, water, light, and time--The Light Pirate mirrors the rhythms of the elements and the sometimes quick, sometimes slow dissolution of the world as we know it. It is a meditation on the changes we would rather not see, the future we would rather not greet, and a call back to the beauty and violence of an untamable wilderness.

The Light Pirate

Amelia Hruby

The time for marking ecological change and acting on it has passed, and if she's honest, there is a relief in releasing those fervent unfulfilled desires for solutions. Now all that's left is to behold these environments as they transition. The great rewilding, as she likes to call it. Humans have spoiled so much, but nature is resourceful. It dies and is reborn as something new. Her work now is to watch this occur.

When she died, he was beginning to think barely knew her. Now that he's lived with her ghost for ten years he’s an expert.

Desire JoRay

Haunting and vivid portrait of a not so implausible post-apocalyptic future. The promised “hopeful” outlook was not enough for me. The writing is good, but this was work. 

Diane Calello

Beautifully written.   Loved the ending.  

Barbara Hruby

This book was beautiful but utterly heartbreaking. I struggled to get into it initially because the pacing is very slow, and the first part was tragic. However, I kept reading for the beautiful prose and imagery. This story is unique and also a bit unsettling in a way as it’s written to be a near-future dystopia of sorts. Our current path towards environmental destruction aligns with the outcomes of the story just so, and it’s not too hard to imagine this coming true. Regardless of how frightening this is, the writing was evocative and made me reflect quite a bit. The characters and their relationships were very real and raw, and the ending is bittersweet but with a hopeful tone. I would recommend it with the caveat that it is extremely sad and somewhat slow throughout.

Erin Goss

Francesca Starecheski

A tapestry interwoven by the inevitabilities of pain and of magic

Beautifully written with a storyline that will keep you guessing. Genuinely would not change a single thing. Absolutely loved it!

Anna

"Leaps of adaption are what's necessary now... If humans desired a future, if they deserved one, it would have to come from a generation made like Wanda." 

I don't even know where to begin with this book. I couldn't put it down. Could not tear my eyes away from the present circumstances that are leading to a different world. A world that will be unrecognizable to us today. 

Be warned, I cried hysterically in the first part of the book "Power." It hit very close to home. I didn't know how to consul myself with this fictional story that is too real and closely resembles our own story. The writing is beautiful and absolutely draws you in. The characters throughout the book, even ones that were only there for a few chapters made lasting impressions and were constant reminders throughout the book. 

Magical, dispiriting, and hopeful all wrapped into one. This story will stay with me for a long time, and will hopefully serve as a warning to many. 

Gisela Ayala 

"Leaps of adaption are what's necessary now... If humans desired a future, if they deserved one, it would have to come from a generation made like Wanda." 

I don't even know where to begin with this book. I couldn't put it down. Could not tear my eyes away from the present circumstances that are leading to a different world. A world that will be unrecognizable to us today. 

Be warned, I cried hysterically in the first part of the book "Power." It hit very close to home. I didn't know how to consul myself with this fictional story that is too real and closely resembles our own story. The writing is beautiful and absolutely draws you in. The characters throughout the book, even ones that were only there for a few chapters made lasting impressions and were constant reminders throughout the book. 

Magical, dispiriting, and hopeful all wrapped into one. This story will stay with me for a long time, and will hopefully serve as a warning to many. 

10000000% recommend. 

Devastating, but beautiful story. Feels incredibly timely!

Brian Cotie

Guy Schmidt

         When a book shows up on multiple book lists, I assume it’s going to be an amazing read. When I watched the GMA episode in which this book was announced as their December 2022 book pick, they had Ginger Zee as the hype woman.  Ginger Zee is incredibly passionate about climate change, she talks about it daily.  When I started this book, I assumed the subject matter was going to primarily be climate change, and while I wasn’t completely wrong, I was right either. 

            Wanda is a compelling character:  her life is one of profound loss.  She was born during a hurricane (for which she is named), and she lives her life in a Florida that truly never recovers from said hurricane.  Her family is fractured in multiple ways, and her life is adversely affected.  In my attempt to not divulge details, I won’t elaborate.  However, I feel like this book is more about the people and their relationships than the effects of climate change.  Although, upon further reflection, it occurs to me one of them would follow the other.  Wanda seems to flourish in this new, primitive land; one that doesn’t include the technology that we all rely heavily upon (upon which we rely heavily?). 

            I felt like the entire story was incomplete.  It was almost like there was a soft blanket of snow over the whole thing, muting the full vibrancy of the story.  The younger brother, the mom, the older brother, dad’s death, her relationships with others in the area, it was all just unfinished.  I found it to be thoroughly unfulfilling. 

Kristen Claiborn

         When a book shows up on multiple book lists, I assume it’s going to be an amazing read. When I watched the GMA episode in which this book was announced as their December 2022 book pick, they had Ginger Zee as the hype woman.  Ginger Zee is incredibly passionate about climate change, she talks about it daily.  When I started this book, I assumed the subject matter was going to primarily be climate change, and while I wasn’t completely wrong, I was right either. 

            Wanda is a compelling character:  her life is one of profound loss.  She was born during a hurricane (for which she is named), and she lives her life in a Florida that truly never recovers from said hurricane.  Her family is fractured in multiple ways, and her life is adversely affected.  In my attempt to not divulge details, I won’t elaborate.  However, I feel like this book is more about the people and their relationships than the effects of climate change.  Although, upon further reflection, it occurs to me one of them would follow the other.  Wanda seems to flourish in this new, primitive land; one that doesn’t include the technology that we all rely heavily upon (upon which we rely heavily?). 

            I felt like the entire story was incomplete.  It was almost like there was a soft blanket of snow over the whole thing, muting the full vibrancy of the story.  The younger brother, the mom, the older brother, dad’s death, her relationships with others in the area, it was all just unfinished.  I found it to be thoroughly unfulfilling. 

This story about Wanda, a girl born during a devastating hurricane, is part-fairytale, part exploration of climate change, part portrait of grief. I liked, but didn’t love, it. Something felt disconnected for me, but I’m in the minority on this one.

Desire JoRay &
The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton

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Desire JoRay &The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton

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Desire JoRay &
The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton