A Certain Slant of Light (Light #1)

Reader reviewed by Jess

I thought this book was very imaginative and it touched me greatly. The story of Helen, an undead spirit, or Light, as she puts it, is far fetched but at the same time, believable. She wanders from host to host, so as not to be dragged back into her horrible hell, a place of cold, dark water.

When her host becomes a high school English teacher, she meets James, one of the humans, or Quick. He was Light, once, but took over the vacated body of a teenage boy named Billy and was living his life. I won't tell you any more, that would spoil the story horribly, I will only say that the two fall deeply in love, but, tragically, cannot be together. I cried at the end, not because it was sad, but because it was beautiful, so beautiful.

Helen is a kind and interseting main character, and the storyline is completely captivating, so I urge you desperately to read this story, you will not regret it, I swear.

Reader reviewed by Sara

"In the class of the English hight school teacher she has been haunting, Helen feels them: For the first time in 130 years, human eyes are looking at her. They belong to a boy who has not seemed remarkable until now. And Helen - terrified, but intrigued - is drawn to him. The fact Helen - terrified, but intrigued - is drawn to him. The fact that he is in a body and she is not presents their first challenge. But as the lovers struggle to find a way to be together, they begin to discover the secrets of their former lives, and of the young people they come to possess."

This story was so much more than a love story. I was first attracted to the book because of its cover but the summary totally roped me in. I loved the idea of this book... Helen was amazing because of her passion for literature which I share as well, causing me to become more able to see through her eyes. In a way I felt that we were kindred spirits. James, the boy she falls in love with, was a great love interest, introducing Helen to new ideas and filling the story with hope and vibrancy.

Reader reviewed by Alexandra

Helen has been dead for 130 years. In that time, she hasn't had real, personal contact with any of the Quick, even her five hosts. Until one day, a boy in one of her host's classes starts watching her. Helen is shocked, but drawn to him at the same time. It seems almost intrinsic that the two get to know each other, and fall in love. They begin to explore together the rules of the Quick and the Light, and their own love. But as they learn and remember more about their own lives, as well as the young people who they have possessed, the rules become less clear, while their own destinies, and pasts, become more clear. This wonderfully written, powerful novel, explores love, life, and death, and how the three are eternally intertwined, for both Quick and Light.

Reader reviewed by Grace

Helen is Light, caught between the dead and the living, unable to move on due to something in her past that she can't remember. She's had several hosts, all them of having a love for literature. It is in her latest host's classroom that she sees a boy looking right at her, and thus a strange and impossible romance begins.
What first interested me in this book was the cover, and then I found out that the story itself is very interesting and told with a lyrical style.

Reader reviewed by rachpaige11

Helen is a spirit. She walks the earth being unseen and unheard. That all changes when in the first time in over a hundred years, someone can see and hear her. Its a teenage boy, named Billy. When Helen gets up the nerve to talk to him she discovers that he is also a spirit, just one with a body. With his help she learns how to inhabit a vacated body (a living and breathing body with no soul). They also fall in love.

This book was fantastic! I read it three times (not in a row!). I loved the story and the characters. There is love out there for everyone including ghosts.

Reader reviewed by Lana

A certain slant of light was a book I picked randomly of the shelf at the library. What first attracted me to the book was the facinating cover art; it made me curious. After reading the summary I was ready for a regular little love story with some elements of supernatural suprise, but I was the one pleasently suprised when I began the reading of the book. I could not put it down! Everything from the unconventional love to the more intruiging theories of spiritual happenings captured my imagination and made me question some things about life as I know it. This story was one of those perfect finds: unconventional, passionate, intellectually stimulating, and excellently thought out. This book is absolutely innovative and should be read by anyone looking for something a little more out of the ordinary.

Reader reviewed by SDaugherty

I loved this book and highly recommend it to everyone.  Helen is a ghost that has been around for around 150 years.  She has never seen anyone else like herself and has never had a living person notice her.  But some strange boy in her "host's" class sees her and talks to her.  This is not just a ghost story but a tangled web of ghost/teen drama/romance.  I could have sat and read this in one sitting but had to make it two.  

This is not just a book for those who like ghost stories, it's one for everyone.

Reader reviewed by Natalie

AMAZING!
This is the best book I have read in my lifetime, and it's only followed by Boy Meets Boy and Breathe my Name!
I love this book, I love Helen, and I love James, and I love everyone else!
It's great, there isn't anything wrong!
The only issue younger kids may have is some of the sex is a bit...much. But other than that this book is great for everyone!
Read it!

Reader reviewed by Suzanne

Very surprised by how the book turns out. At first your not sure what's going on, but as you get deeper into the book, your dizzy(in a good way)with all the different directions. There's deep and dark thoughts that pass through the main characters mind, and only her will power to survive helps her. Amazing !

Reader reviewed by Crimin

Helen is Light - a spirit who cannot find peace and, in a desperate attempt to stay far away from her hell -chilled water, churning mud, the sensation of choking, drowning - she attaches herself to a series of human hosts, hovering around them unseen and unheard.   That is, until one day, someone does see her and changes her life (if itd be called as such) entirely.

What took my breath away was Laura Whitcombs intricate storytelling, as it left my heart aching, brought tears to my eyes, and made me love Helen and her consort, James.  I loved it so much, that I wished for it to never end - but, alas, it did, as all books must.  Although, the ending was perfect - I feel that there is no need (or rather, no point) in a sequel, as it ended so perfectly.

Now for the recommendation?  Took care of that already (sorta)!   One of my friends noticed I was reading it one day, and when I had put it down to go and fetch something to eat, she sprung on it, intrigued by the cover.  She read the back and the first couple of pages before I returned and caught my wrist, holding the book up to my attention. Youre letting me borrow this, right? After youre done?  Because it sounds amazing!  That same night, I went over to her mothers house and she saw the book and begged me to let her borrow it as well.

Its that amazing.  So, yes, I recommend this book to any and all who want to read one of the best romances of all time.

I daresay that Helens and James love for each other blows a certain vampire couple out of the water!