MMGM and #IMWAYR (11/2/2020): First Light by Rebecca Stead (plus giveaway winners!)

Before we get started, the winners of my giveaway of The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen have been selected! They are...

 Terry,    Cheriee,    and    Natalie!

Congratulations to the winners, and thanks so much to everyone who entered! I truly wish I could have given a copy of The Magic Fish to everyone, but since I cannot do so, I can only implore you to go out and buy a copy of this marvelous book!

Now that that's done, for MMGM and #IMWAYR, I am recommending First Light by Rebecca Stead.

The current cover.

          First Light is the debut novel of beloved and crazy-talented MG author Rebecca Stead, who also wrote When You Reach Me, Liar & Spy, Goodbye Stranger, Bob (with Wendy Mass), and The List of Things That Will Not Change. Stead is, no question, my favorite author in existence, yet I had never read her very first novel—until now. I decided to read First Light after rereading Goodbye Stranger for probably the seventh time and not wanting it to end; coincidentally, fellow #IMWAYR blogger Aaron Cleaveley was also reading it recently as well! First Light is written in third-person from the perspectives of Peter and Thea. Peter often feels a bit distanced from his parents, both of whom are hard-working scientists, so he is excited when his family decides to take a trip together to Greenland so his father can continue studying glaciers. He's also harboring a bit of a secret: he's been getting strange headaches and vision sensations for some time now. To Thea, glaciers are no mystery: she lives inside one, along with many other people that form the hidden society of Gracehope. Thea lives with her aunt Lana and works in Gracehope's dog-breeding grounds (every citizen of Gracehope receives a dog companion known as a Chikchu). Thea is struggling, however, to convince Gracehope's government (run by her grandmother, Rowen) to explore the surface once again, just as her late mother Mai tried to do. Peter and Thea don't know it, but their worlds are about to collide in remarkable ways, changing everything they thought they knew.

The original cover—
the red ring is
important.

          One of the striking things about First Light is how it has something to appeal to readers of every genre. Readers of fantasy novels will love Gracehope and how Stead has attended to every minute detail. The layout, with the underground lake and the streets of ice that skaters can ride on; the history of how and why people would willingly seclude themselves away in the ice; the political system; the rations; the inventions; every detail has been thought out and made fascinating. Fans of science-fiction books will appreciate reading Peter's plotline and learning about the mechanics of studying glaciers in countries as remote and unpopulated as Greenland—we see the tents, and the special tools, and some of the details about glaciers as well. Furthermore, practically every detail in this story is grounded in science: global warming plays a small role, and mitochondrial DNA plays a surprisingly large and well-thought-out role! Gracehope's special lanterns use oxygen in the same way that fireflies do to produce light. If you like adventure or survival novels, you'll appreciate the action scenes scattered throughout the book and the ingenious tactics Peter and Thea have to use to stay alive (did I mention this book is proof that Rebecca Stead is smarter than all of us?). Even if you love dogs, you'll love First Light, as dogs are central both to Peter's family's expedition and to Gracehope's society, and there's quite a few of them (Sasha, Peg, Gru, Norma, Cassie, etc.). There truly is something for everyone in First Light.

          "But wait," you're wondering. "What about if I like realistic books? You know, like some of Rebecca Stead's other books?" Ah, yes. If you're asking that question, you're quite a bit like me, in fact—I read far more realistic fiction than anything else. And if you're a fan of realistic fiction—you'll have mixed feelings. (Mic drop.) You see, I've read Rebecca Stead's books far more times than is healthy, and I've noticed a bit of a pattern. Stead has a knack for understanding the way in which kids actually think, and one of her techniques that is central to making this clear is embedding details about characters' lives and personalities without drawing attention to them—after all, middle schoolers usually (emphasis on usually) aren't as self-aware as authors would like us to think they are. Because of this writing strategy, Stead's protagonists usually don't have loud, obvious personalities—their personalities are more subtle, waiting under the surface to be found and understood if you choose to look for them. In most of Stead's books, I would say this works exceedingly well—even in Goodbye Stranger, which is mostly written in third person, the characters' personalities are apparent. However, First Light is Stead's debut novel, and unfortunately, it seems that she had not yet worked out the kinks in this technique of hers. I found Peter's personality in particular to be thin for about two-thirds of the book; it was really only in the last third that I started to see that Peter is a bit funny, a bit sensitive, and very much a kid. Thea's personality—adventurous if impulsive, and a bit wiser than her age would suggest—was more apparent, which I believe made me favor Thea's plotline for a while during the book. It is important to note that the end of First Light really pulls out the stops, emotion-wise. Peter becomes developed and likable, the other characters in the story pull together to develop themes of love, loss, and betrayal, and some revelations add an emotional gut-punch to the story—I found myself entranced by the end of First Light in a way that I was not in the beginning. The emotions are well worth the wait, but with Rebecca Stead, I was surprised that there was a wait at all.

          All in all, First Light is not what you'd expect from Rebecca Stead. It's not realistic fiction, and it's honestly not a story that sticks with you—I won't be rereading it the seven or so times I've reread Goodbye Stranger, for example. But, if you're a fan of fantasy or science-fiction books, First Light may be worth your time. It's somewhat slow to get started, but the payoff, in emotions, fantastic details, action, and societal effects, is well worth it. I'll leave it up to you to decide to read First Light, but I will end this review on a happy note: I've now read every single one of Rebecca Stead's books! I have officially become a steadfast fan. (Ha!)

Update (11/30/2020): My rating is: Pretty good!