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Sunlight
The sunflower farm was the most boring place on earth. Until weird things started happening...
What's the most boring place in the world? The farm. After his mother's death, Sol is sent to spend the summer with his aunt and uncle, but with no cell service and only an old dinosaur of a computer, Sol's not sure how he's going to survive. But his boredom is interrupted by strange sounds at night, the discovery of a mysterious cave, and stuff that starts to sound an awful lot like a bedtime story his mother used to tell him when he was small...that just might be true...
What's the most boring place in the world? The farm. After his mother's death, Sol is sent to spend the summer with his aunt and uncle, but with no cell service and only an old dinosaur of a computer, Sol's not sure how he's going to survive. But his boredom is interrupted by strange sounds at night, the discovery of a mysterious cave, and stuff that starts to sound an awful lot like a bedtime story his mother used to tell him when he was small...that just might be true...
250 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 4, 2011
5 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 11, 2017
15 year old Sol is still grieving the loss of his mother, and his father who doesn't want to talk about the past is no comfort. When he goes to stay with his aunt and uncle on their farm, he encounters a strange new friend, a mysterious cave, and a diary left by his mother. Desperate to connect to his mother somehow, Sol devours the dairy and learns of a magical place his mother wrote about. I really enjoyed this book. It was a little slow to start, but once mysterious things began to happen, I was hooked! My only after though would be that I imagined the character much younger from his interactions and thoughts. I was surprised when I looked up how old he was again after I was finished. Overall, it was an enjoyable read that I would recommend to others!
February 26, 2018
Sol (15 y.o.) and his dad are still struggling a year after the death of Sol's mother, but in different ways. Sol spends time being moody and reading and missing his mom, while his father spends time drinking a little more than he should. Neither of them is very happy with the other's way of coping, and when a conference comes up for Sol's dad, Sol is left to spend some time with an aunt and uncle he barely knows on their sunflower farm.
But while Sol starts out bored, odd things start happening and he sets out to find out what they are. What he finds helps him learn more about his mom and her stories, and how some of them just might be real. He also learns a lot about himself and about friendship, and even a little about love.
I enjoyed the novel very much, though it started a little rough. Give it a couple of chapters, and you will start to really like these people and want to spend the rest of the book with them. I especially like the mysterious girl, and how Sol and she relate. Their different reasons for being isolated helped them form a bond, and their shared quest for the truth solidified it. Well done!
I recommend this to teens, and even mature tweens. The content is clean, so those worried about how YA can trend toward sex and swearing will be relieved.
Reposted from My Comfy Chair review blog.
But while Sol starts out bored, odd things start happening and he sets out to find out what they are. What he finds helps him learn more about his mom and her stories, and how some of them just might be real. He also learns a lot about himself and about friendship, and even a little about love.
I enjoyed the novel very much, though it started a little rough. Give it a couple of chapters, and you will start to really like these people and want to spend the rest of the book with them. I especially like the mysterious girl, and how Sol and she relate. Their different reasons for being isolated helped them form a bond, and their shared quest for the truth solidified it. Well done!
I recommend this to teens, and even mature tweens. The content is clean, so those worried about how YA can trend toward sex and swearing will be relieved.
Reposted from My Comfy Chair review blog.
February 25, 2018
Sunlight
CL Bledsoe
At first, the connections to the sun, seem a bit forced: the protagonist’s name, Sol, means sun, his spends weeks on a sunflower farm, he discovers a cave with many little suns drawn on the walls among other pictures, he reads a fairy-tale type story written by his mother about a journey to the land beyond darkness where there is always light, and he makes a friend who is allergic to the sun. However, as the story unfolds, it begins to connect. Sol’s own life is going through a dark time, and like a rising sun, the proverbial light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel (which the story also has a scientific answer for) begins to reenter his life. This YA story, would be great as a guided reading, as most young teens may not make the connections that there is light after darkness, and new days are certain to be different after tragedies, but they can bring goodness and hope. I think it could be the catalyst for some therapeutic discussions. My favorite part of the theme was when a girl, who lives in darkness, brings light into Sol’s life.
CL Bledsoe
At first, the connections to the sun, seem a bit forced: the protagonist’s name, Sol, means sun, his spends weeks on a sunflower farm, he discovers a cave with many little suns drawn on the walls among other pictures, he reads a fairy-tale type story written by his mother about a journey to the land beyond darkness where there is always light, and he makes a friend who is allergic to the sun. However, as the story unfolds, it begins to connect. Sol’s own life is going through a dark time, and like a rising sun, the proverbial light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel (which the story also has a scientific answer for) begins to reenter his life. This YA story, would be great as a guided reading, as most young teens may not make the connections that there is light after darkness, and new days are certain to be different after tragedies, but they can bring goodness and hope. I think it could be the catalyst for some therapeutic discussions. My favorite part of the theme was when a girl, who lives in darkness, brings light into Sol’s life.
January 15, 2018
I have always been one to profess that a book isn't enjoyable simply because of the setting or topic it is about. What really sets a story apart is the magic the author infuses into it. Sunlight is exhibit "A" of this theory. Sunlight is a very simple, wholesome story about a boy stuck between childhood and adulthood, struggling with some very mature issues like the loss of his mother and his father's addiction to alcohol. He visits his Aunt's farms with the plan to stay there a week or two while his father settles some things at work. He soon discovers a cave, a new friend and links to his mother's past, all while staying at this old farmhouse and the land it is built on. The author combines all of these simple elements to construct a story full of intrigue, mystery, adventure, family and friendship, with an wonderful ending which makes me wonder if there will be a book two. Well done.
April 11, 2018
This book is long and slow, and beautifully so.
I felt like I was experiencing one of the farm's sunflowers, slowly growing and unfolding.
The pace is perfectly measured and the rhythm flows in a wonderfully steady pace. The second main protagonist, the 'girl-friend', doesn't even really appear until the second part of the book.
Sol, the city boy, dealing with difficulty, the joint loss of his mother, killed in a stick-up, and the emotional loss of his father, due to his hiding his own pain through alcohol.
Jenny, the girl that that is hypersensitive to light, who has to live a type of vampire existence.
Both brought together by their own isolation.
There is much more dialogue than action, and that also works, Mr. Bledsoe, is a master at this.
All in all, a most satisfying read, even for an adult.
I felt like I was experiencing one of the farm's sunflowers, slowly growing and unfolding.
The pace is perfectly measured and the rhythm flows in a wonderfully steady pace. The second main protagonist, the 'girl-friend', doesn't even really appear until the second part of the book.
Sol, the city boy, dealing with difficulty, the joint loss of his mother, killed in a stick-up, and the emotional loss of his father, due to his hiding his own pain through alcohol.
Jenny, the girl that that is hypersensitive to light, who has to live a type of vampire existence.
Both brought together by their own isolation.
There is much more dialogue than action, and that also works, Mr. Bledsoe, is a master at this.
All in all, a most satisfying read, even for an adult.
March 22, 2018
We all need a little Sunlight in our lives. This is what 15-year-old Sol needed most, sunshine, and he got it when he was forced to go and stay with his Aunt Jill and Uncle Dan at their farm, while his father attended a conference.
Sol would have opted to stay home alone, especially after losing his mom barely a year earlier but his dad couldn’t trust the way he had withdrawn to himself at the loss. Sol didn’t trust his dad with his drinking either.
Well, going to the farm was good for him after all, as he was able to reconnect with his mother’s past, and in the bid, find some adventure too.
The book started a little slow for me, but I am one reader who knows slow usually ends up really great, like in Sunlight by CL Bledsoe.
Recommended!
Sol would have opted to stay home alone, especially after losing his mom barely a year earlier but his dad couldn’t trust the way he had withdrawn to himself at the loss. Sol didn’t trust his dad with his drinking either.
Well, going to the farm was good for him after all, as he was able to reconnect with his mother’s past, and in the bid, find some adventure too.
The book started a little slow for me, but I am one reader who knows slow usually ends up really great, like in Sunlight by CL Bledsoe.
Recommended!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews