Let the Light In

When 17-year-old Leah finds herself holding her family together after the death of her dad, she finds escape in a risky and secretive love affair with a married man who makes her feel like a goddess. Her younger brother, Charlie, tries to escape his grief and solve his problems by taking up the offer of some easy money which seems too good to be true. Inevitably, as the secrets and lies pile up, their two stories collide in the most shocking way with devastating consequences for their whole community.

Written together in lockdown as a writing challenge, Downham and her son take ownership of a character each and tell their stories in carefully-crafted alternating chapters. The writing is so skilful, the interweaving so seamless, that you'd never guess. The dual point-of-view narrative builds the back story without any repetition, it's brilliantly clever and hugely readable.

Let the Light In doesn't shy away from tackling huge emotional issues of grief and loss, love and power, depression and healthy relationships. It also explores the topical social issue of loan sharks; their underhand tactics and devastating impact, and the healing power of art. It's truthful, sensitive and well-researched using lived experience and will really resonate with teen readers. In less skilled hands, this raw and challenging content could easily make for a very heavy read but Leah and Charlie are both well developed, completely relatable characters, making the wrong decisions for the right reasons.

The authors leave plenty of space for the reader to build their own opinions and to gauge what they think about very complicated issues. Despite the weighty topics, this is a very joyful book too, with moments of real warmth and humour, thanks to the myriad of questions and canny observations of seven-year-old younger sister, Abby.

This is an extraordinarily intense, just-one-more-chapter read which definitely pulls on the heartstrings. Ultimately hopeful, Leah and Charlie both come to realise the importance of family, friends and community as they cope with grief and battle their way back to finding light in life again.

Let the Light In is a very special book, perfect for building empathy and sparking discussion. With an audiobook in the pipeline, narrated by the authors themselves, this looks likely to be one of the most talked-about books this year - deservedly so!

384 pages / Reviewed by Eileen Armstrong, school librarian

Suggested Reading Age 14+

In Let the Light In, Leah's in love and woefully naïve; Charlie's an innocent who has got in way over his head, and only Abby is young enough to be relatively unaffected by the turmoil that has followed their father's untimely death. With their mother housebound suffering unspecified mental illness, the children of the Taylor household have to manage largely by themselves; and that means eldest Leah running the household and just about keeping things on track.

Distracted by an ill-advised affair with an older man, Leah barley notices as Charlie is drawn into debt and his fragile confidence teeters dangerously close to the edge. As the family spirals into a chaos of secrets, lies and misguided good intentions, things come to a head and the Taylors seek a way out of the gloom.

There are lovely characters in the book but they are exasperating in equal measure! There's a naivety to many of their actions and it's hard not to berate the mother for such a woeful neglect of her parenting duties, as her children also deal (or not deal) with their grief. However, there is a strong core of love and loyalty and you certainly find yourself hoping that they find a way out of the chaos.

Let the Light In carries strong points about those children who, for whatever reason, fall by the wayside, too unnoticed; ultimately decent young people who don't see a way out and feel there is no-one to help them. Many of the adult characters are flawed, unwilling or unable to guide the vulnerable youngsters in their lives.

Covering regular teenage angst (dating, looks, confidence) and more nuanced, multi-generational themes of grief, mental illness, poverty and control, this empathetic book is an always welcome reminder of the value of families and communities.

378 pages / Reviewed by Clare Wilkins, school librarian

Suggested Reading Age 14+