What do you think?
Rate this book
Light in the Dark #1
Because You Exist
Life is good for LOGAN MIDDLETON.
He’s quarterback of the Shepherd High football team, nephew of the town’s most successful lawyer, and boyfriend of Jenna Maples, a girl who has finally agreed to take their relationship to the next level. But nothing good lasts forever.
With only a few minutes of last period English left between him and a weekend alone with Jenna, Logan blacks out. When he awakens, he finds himself in a future where Shepherd High lies in ruins, nothing is what it seems, and everyone he loves is dead.
Logan is a shifter.
Chosen to travel through time, it’s up to him to figure out how to stop the terrible events that claimed his once perfect life. Of course, all of this might be easier if he wasn’t paired with the one girl who’d rather see him dead than help him, JOSEPHINE.
A girl he tormented during childhood. Strong-willed with biting wit, who lives in the shadows. Tough and dark, Jo is Shepherd High’s most notorious outcast and Logan’s opposite in every way.
Together the two must overcome their many differences to figure out why they’ve been selected for such an overwhelming task, and who selected them in the first place.
Before it’s too late…
He’s quarterback of the Shepherd High football team, nephew of the town’s most successful lawyer, and boyfriend of Jenna Maples, a girl who has finally agreed to take their relationship to the next level. But nothing good lasts forever.
With only a few minutes of last period English left between him and a weekend alone with Jenna, Logan blacks out. When he awakens, he finds himself in a future where Shepherd High lies in ruins, nothing is what it seems, and everyone he loves is dead.
Logan is a shifter.
Chosen to travel through time, it’s up to him to figure out how to stop the terrible events that claimed his once perfect life. Of course, all of this might be easier if he wasn’t paired with the one girl who’d rather see him dead than help him, JOSEPHINE.
A girl he tormented during childhood. Strong-willed with biting wit, who lives in the shadows. Tough and dark, Jo is Shepherd High’s most notorious outcast and Logan’s opposite in every way.
Together the two must overcome their many differences to figure out why they’ve been selected for such an overwhelming task, and who selected them in the first place.
Before it’s too late…
296 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 11, 2014
3 people are currently reading
426 people want to read
About the author
Tiffany Truitt
8 books322 followersTiffany Truitt was born in Peoria, Illinois. A self-proclaimed Navy brat, Tiffany spent most of her childhood living in Virginia, but don’t call her a Southerner. She also spent a few years living in Cuba. Since her time on the island of one McDonalds and Banana Rats (don't ask), she has been obsessed with traveling. Tiffany recently added China to her list of travels (hello inspiration for a new book).
Besides traveling, Tiffany has always been an avid reader. The earliest books she remembers reading belong to The Little House on the Prairie Series. First book she read in one day? Little Woman (5th grade). First author she fell in love with? Jane Austen in middle school. Tiffany spent most of her high school and college career as a literary snob. She refused to read anything considered "low brow" or outside the "classics."
Tiffany began teaching middle school in 2006. Her students introduced her to the wide, wonderful world of Young Adult literature. Today, Tiffany embraces popular Young Adult literature and uses it in her classroom. She currently teaches the following novels: The Outsiders, Speak, Night, Dystopian Literature Circles: The Hunger Games, The Giver, The Uglies, and Matched.
Besides traveling, Tiffany has always been an avid reader. The earliest books she remembers reading belong to The Little House on the Prairie Series. First book she read in one day? Little Woman (5th grade). First author she fell in love with? Jane Austen in middle school. Tiffany spent most of her high school and college career as a literary snob. She refused to read anything considered "low brow" or outside the "classics."
Tiffany began teaching middle school in 2006. Her students introduced her to the wide, wonderful world of Young Adult literature. Today, Tiffany embraces popular Young Adult literature and uses it in her classroom. She currently teaches the following novels: The Outsiders, Speak, Night, Dystopian Literature Circles: The Hunger Games, The Giver, The Uglies, and Matched.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 28, 2015
Holy freaking awesome! This book is a recipe for everything I love in a story. Time travel - check, angsty teen drama - check, a flawed protagonist that is hard to like, but you pull for anyway - check and check. Logan Middleton discovers he's a shifter, someone who can time travel, but with no control over any of it. And to make matters worse, he's teamed with fellow shifter, Scary Carrie, the worst girl in all of Shepherd High. She's so awful, he's spent a great deal of his childhood tormenting her, including her horrible nickname. Now he has to rely on her to survive.
Logan's the big man on campus, quarterback of the football team, poised to take the team to the state championship. Except he keeps shifting into the future, where a plague has wiped out most of mankind unless he and Scary Carrie, aka Josephine, can find a way to stop it. His teammates think his newfound interest in Jo is sexual. Even his uncle has a weird obsession with his relationship with Jo. Only Logan's perfect, cheerleader girlfriend seems to understand that Logan's relationship with Jo goes deeper.
Plot
The plot is complex and fascinating. On the surface, it's about Logan and Jo finding a way to save the world, but it's more than that. There's the mystery over what happens in the future and how they can possibly stop it. There's the questions over why they were chosen to be shifters, and how shifting occurs. Plus there are other shifters as well as a handful of future survivors who want to kill and eat the shifters. And it's about two damaged kids who develop a true friendship based on a common goal as well as genuine affection for each other.
There is so much going on in this story, but it's never confusing. Tiffany Truitt weaves in the subplots so expertly, everything is seamless. Tension run high throughout the story, and I found it incredibly hard to put down. While it's the first book in a series, the ending is well done, wrapping up enough of the story goal to satisfy me, but also leaving me dying for more. This is the first book in awhile that I've been this anxious to get my hands on the sequel.
World Building
The world building is intense and thorough with shifting and guides, light and dark shifters, and conductors. And all of it is really well developed. The future as well as the past are just as three-dimensional as the present world Logan and Jo inhabit most of the time, I'm impressed with the level of detail woven in. At no time does the world building feel like anything other than an extension of the plot.
Characters
I love how beautifully crafted the characters are. Jo and Logan, especially, are deep, layered, and intense. Both of them grow and develop so much over the story in natural, believable ways. In fact Because You Exist at times feels like its equal parts character-driven and plot-driven. What it is, is exceptionally well balanced.
Logan is utterly heartbreaking as the kid who leads a charmed life, popular, in love with the girl of his dreams. He tears everything apart trying to be who he thinks he should, only to to finally admit he's a complete asshole. And he is. At times. And yet, I still want him to do the right thing. I still believe he will.
Jo is damaged beyond what anyone should be. Her story unfolds slowly throughout the novel. With every new piece of information I learn about her, the more I love her. And it only makes me want Logan to do the right thing by her even more. Oh, Logan...please, please pull your shit together in book 2!
Top Five Things I Loved About Because You Exist
1. Time Travel. It is my number one favorite genre, whether it's books or movies.
2. The Ending. It ripped my heart out and left me craving more.
3. Logan and Jo. Because they are just so cute together, even though they aren't "together" together.
4. Randall and Ben. Best bromance I've read in a long time.
5. 1996. Because it was a very good year and because did I mention I love time travel?
Bottom Line
Because you Exist is a phenomenal time-travelling young adult romance that raises the bar for the genre.
Disclaimer
I was provided with a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Logan's the big man on campus, quarterback of the football team, poised to take the team to the state championship. Except he keeps shifting into the future, where a plague has wiped out most of mankind unless he and Scary Carrie, aka Josephine, can find a way to stop it. His teammates think his newfound interest in Jo is sexual. Even his uncle has a weird obsession with his relationship with Jo. Only Logan's perfect, cheerleader girlfriend seems to understand that Logan's relationship with Jo goes deeper.
Plot
The plot is complex and fascinating. On the surface, it's about Logan and Jo finding a way to save the world, but it's more than that. There's the mystery over what happens in the future and how they can possibly stop it. There's the questions over why they were chosen to be shifters, and how shifting occurs. Plus there are other shifters as well as a handful of future survivors who want to kill and eat the shifters. And it's about two damaged kids who develop a true friendship based on a common goal as well as genuine affection for each other.
There is so much going on in this story, but it's never confusing. Tiffany Truitt weaves in the subplots so expertly, everything is seamless. Tension run high throughout the story, and I found it incredibly hard to put down. While it's the first book in a series, the ending is well done, wrapping up enough of the story goal to satisfy me, but also leaving me dying for more. This is the first book in awhile that I've been this anxious to get my hands on the sequel.
World Building
The world building is intense and thorough with shifting and guides, light and dark shifters, and conductors. And all of it is really well developed. The future as well as the past are just as three-dimensional as the present world Logan and Jo inhabit most of the time, I'm impressed with the level of detail woven in. At no time does the world building feel like anything other than an extension of the plot.
Characters
I love how beautifully crafted the characters are. Jo and Logan, especially, are deep, layered, and intense. Both of them grow and develop so much over the story in natural, believable ways. In fact Because You Exist at times feels like its equal parts character-driven and plot-driven. What it is, is exceptionally well balanced.
Logan is utterly heartbreaking as the kid who leads a charmed life, popular, in love with the girl of his dreams. He tears everything apart trying to be who he thinks he should, only to to finally admit he's a complete asshole. And he is. At times. And yet, I still want him to do the right thing. I still believe he will.
Jo is damaged beyond what anyone should be. Her story unfolds slowly throughout the novel. With every new piece of information I learn about her, the more I love her. And it only makes me want Logan to do the right thing by her even more. Oh, Logan...please, please pull your shit together in book 2!
Top Five Things I Loved About Because You Exist
1. Time Travel. It is my number one favorite genre, whether it's books or movies.
2. The Ending. It ripped my heart out and left me craving more.
3. Logan and Jo. Because they are just so cute together, even though they aren't "together" together.
4. Randall and Ben. Best bromance I've read in a long time.
5. 1996. Because it was a very good year and because did I mention I love time travel?
Bottom Line
Because you Exist is a phenomenal time-travelling young adult romance that raises the bar for the genre.
Disclaimer
I was provided with a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
February 15, 2019
QB1, and Shepherd High's resident goth are an unlikely pair. But when a power beyond their control forces them together, they must learn to get along for the sake of humanity.
Logan Middleton and Josephine are shifters. Not the animal shifters we are used to reading about, but time shifters. They can shift between the planes of time from past, present or future. But they don't control when they shift. The dark ones seem to control when and where they go. What's worse, is the future. It's nothing but death and destruction. The only survivors left on the planet are out of control, flesh eating murderers. It's up to Logan and Jo to save the world, but Logan's not quite ready. He's the star football player after all, and he'll do whatever he can to save his reputation of Mr. Popularity. Even if it means betraying the closest person in his life.
Let me start by saying that I HATE dystopian novels. But this was incredible! I could not tear my eyes away from this book. I'm left with so many questions and if book 2 was available, I would already be halfway done with it.
The reason for my 4 stars is because of the horrendous editing (or lack thereof) and the simple fact that it's been three years since publication and not a peep about book 2! How can you leave your readers hanging like this???
My advice to the author would be this: Revamp the cover, remove the type-o's and re-release the moment you have book 2 ready. You have an amazing story here, with a ton of readers just waiting to follow Logan and Jo down their path.
Logan Middleton and Josephine are shifters. Not the animal shifters we are used to reading about, but time shifters. They can shift between the planes of time from past, present or future. But they don't control when they shift. The dark ones seem to control when and where they go. What's worse, is the future. It's nothing but death and destruction. The only survivors left on the planet are out of control, flesh eating murderers. It's up to Logan and Jo to save the world, but Logan's not quite ready. He's the star football player after all, and he'll do whatever he can to save his reputation of Mr. Popularity. Even if it means betraying the closest person in his life.
Let me start by saying that I HATE dystopian novels. But this was incredible! I could not tear my eyes away from this book. I'm left with so many questions and if book 2 was available, I would already be halfway done with it.
The reason for my 4 stars is because of the horrendous editing (or lack thereof) and the simple fact that it's been three years since publication and not a peep about book 2! How can you leave your readers hanging like this???
My advice to the author would be this: Revamp the cover, remove the type-o's and re-release the moment you have book 2 ready. You have an amazing story here, with a ton of readers just waiting to follow Logan and Jo down their path.
November 23, 2014
So freaking good. Only thing that sucks is......having to wait around for the next one.
August 1, 2016
Brilliant!
Can't wait for the second book.
Can't wait for the second book.
February 24, 2016
I loved this story. Could. Not. Put. It. Down. I'm just dying now because I can't find anything about the next one!
June 5, 2020
I really enjoyed this book it’s has great plot lines and has real potential.
I finished the book and felt disappoint because there are so many typos and mistakes in the writing .
I feel as if it’s a first draft and not a complete book. There are also no other books in this series yet which adds to my disappointment.
If more were to be published I would read them because I really want to know what happens next but I don’t think the publishers did the author justice with all the misspelling and bad grammar.
I finished the book and felt disappoint because there are so many typos and mistakes in the writing .
I feel as if it’s a first draft and not a complete book. There are also no other books in this series yet which adds to my disappointment.
If more were to be published I would read them because I really want to know what happens next but I don’t think the publishers did the author justice with all the misspelling and bad grammar.
March 11, 2017
this book is better than I expected as it wasn't as I expected. It has destruction, it has loss, it has love, it has hope, all in one book.
November 14, 2014
Ever wondered how a good and creative blend of LOST (the 5th season), 28 Days Later (swap the hospital with a high school) and The Adjustment Bureau would look like? No? But I bet you do now, don’t you? *grins* Because You Exist will answer that question for you, and by the end of it, it will leave you wanting more.
I’ve been in a reading slump for months now. Rarely any book I’ve picked up could grab my attention long enough to finish it. More often than not I was bored, already looking for something else to do by chapter two. But as soon as I’ve read the first couple of pages of Because You Exist, I knew that this book will be different. And I was right.
Tiffany Truitt doesn’t mess around when it comes to a killer beginning. She places the reader right in the middle of what’s happening. No character introduction. No back story. It’s you [the reader] and this guy [the main character] sitting, waiting for the class to finally be over. And then you turn the page and, *BAM*, the adventure starts. An itchy eye, prickling skin, sharp pain, unbearable noise, nose bleed; you don’t know what the hell is going on and neither does the guy who’s narrating the story. It’s intense. It’s confusing. It’s creepy. It’s perfect. Exactly how an attention-grabbing opening should be. And the best part? It does not stop there. With every page I turned, I became more and engrossed in the story, its buildup and its characters. The character development and the progress of Logan and Jo's relationship is also one of the strong points of this book. It was nicely done; not too slow, not too fast.
However, there were some small things that took away from my reading experience. Like a typo here and there, a minor plot hole (nothing too big or serious but it still bothers me), and a plot twist I believe was not necessary at all. Not only did it get resolved almost instantly—which, come to think of it, thank god it did!—it also didn’t serve a purpose, except maybe to make the reader go *huh?*
Still, the start of the Light in the Dark series was fantastic and exactly what I needed! I’m ready for book two!
I’ve been in a reading slump for months now. Rarely any book I’ve picked up could grab my attention long enough to finish it. More often than not I was bored, already looking for something else to do by chapter two. But as soon as I’ve read the first couple of pages of Because You Exist, I knew that this book will be different. And I was right.
Tiffany Truitt doesn’t mess around when it comes to a killer beginning. She places the reader right in the middle of what’s happening. No character introduction. No back story. It’s you [the reader] and this guy [the main character] sitting, waiting for the class to finally be over. And then you turn the page and, *BAM*, the adventure starts. An itchy eye, prickling skin, sharp pain, unbearable noise, nose bleed; you don’t know what the hell is going on and neither does the guy who’s narrating the story. It’s intense. It’s confusing. It’s creepy. It’s perfect. Exactly how an attention-grabbing opening should be. And the best part? It does not stop there. With every page I turned, I became more and engrossed in the story, its buildup and its characters. The character development and the progress of Logan and Jo's relationship is also one of the strong points of this book. It was nicely done; not too slow, not too fast.
However, there were some small things that took away from my reading experience. Like a typo here and there, a minor plot hole (nothing too big or serious but it still bothers me), and a plot twist I believe was not necessary at all. Not only did it get resolved almost instantly—which, come to think of it, thank god it did!—it also didn’t serve a purpose, except maybe to make the reader go *huh?*
Still, the start of the Light in the Dark series was fantastic and exactly what I needed! I’m ready for book two!
January 28, 2015
Imagine a book with Doctor Who, Lost, a few spoons of The Walking Dead without the creepy looking zombies. and in the middle two Teenagers who can't be more different at first sight. but they have so much in common. like shifting...
I love it. You read a book in one day to wait a year for the next one. When will it be published? I hope soon!
I love it. You read a book in one day to wait a year for the next one. When will it be published? I hope soon!
April 19, 2024
I've been dying for 10 years now waiting for the next one.Please I did not even occasionally thinking about the book but it stuck in my mind. It has been ten years since I read this book but I still not forget and I want to know really bad whatever next part is. The author should'nt do this to me huaaaaa.Pleaseee my life is not complete.
November 12, 2014
This book is out of this world 'scary' good.Can't wait for number 2.
December 12, 2014
Review coming soon.
August 4, 2016
I would say 3,5 stars but i'm gonna round up
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews