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The Season of Light and Darkness
Not yet published
Expected 4 Aug 26For the first printing only! This hardcover features sprayed stenciled edges while the special edition supply lasts.
A girl is woken early from her cryogenic slumber to find the authoritarian rule her family had hoped to escape is still very much in effect in this unforgettable young adult dystopian thriller perfect for fans of Divergent and The Handmaid's Tale.
In the months since a dictator was elected president, the United States has been turned upside down. Dissenters are deemed terrorists, including sixteen-year old Ellie Jacobs's family.
To escape persecution, the four of them—Ellie, her younger brother Scott, and their parents—decide to freeze themselves cryogenically for ten years in her father's lab. In ten years, things will be better. They have to be.
But the government discovers the lab after only three years and thaws Ellie early. She awakens, completely alone, to a nightmare of a strange new world and is told the rest of her family didn't survive. Suddenly, she must abandon everything she knows to go to through "ReAdmittance" and become "Initiated."; Ellie is terrified. . .until her boyfriend, Ryan, now a nineteen-year-old Initiated soldier, shows up and tells her everything will be fine, that she should trust the good people around her.
But Ellie isn't sure if she can still trust Ryan.
What Ellie doesn't know is that Scott never went through with the freeze. He ran away and has joined a band of teenage resistance fighters living in the mountains. No longer her "younger" brother, he's now sixteen just like her. When Scott learns Ellie has been thawed early, he decides he must risk everything to save her before the brainwashing begins.
Together with other brave rebel teens, Ellie and Scott must navigate this terrible new world to find their way back to each other, before they lose everything—including who they are.
A girl is woken early from her cryogenic slumber to find the authoritarian rule her family had hoped to escape is still very much in effect in this unforgettable young adult dystopian thriller perfect for fans of Divergent and The Handmaid's Tale.
In the months since a dictator was elected president, the United States has been turned upside down. Dissenters are deemed terrorists, including sixteen-year old Ellie Jacobs's family.
To escape persecution, the four of them—Ellie, her younger brother Scott, and their parents—decide to freeze themselves cryogenically for ten years in her father's lab. In ten years, things will be better. They have to be.
But the government discovers the lab after only three years and thaws Ellie early. She awakens, completely alone, to a nightmare of a strange new world and is told the rest of her family didn't survive. Suddenly, she must abandon everything she knows to go to through "ReAdmittance" and become "Initiated."; Ellie is terrified. . .until her boyfriend, Ryan, now a nineteen-year-old Initiated soldier, shows up and tells her everything will be fine, that she should trust the good people around her.
But Ellie isn't sure if she can still trust Ryan.
What Ellie doesn't know is that Scott never went through with the freeze. He ran away and has joined a band of teenage resistance fighters living in the mountains. No longer her "younger" brother, he's now sixteen just like her. When Scott learns Ellie has been thawed early, he decides he must risk everything to save her before the brainwashing begins.
Together with other brave rebel teens, Ellie and Scott must navigate this terrible new world to find their way back to each other, before they lose everything—including who they are.
352 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication August 4, 2026
About the author
Jillian Cantor
15 books1,637 followersJillian Cantor is the USA Today and internationally bestselling author of fifteen novels for teens and adults, which have been chosen for LibraryReads, Indie Next, Amazon Best of the Month, and have been translated into 15 languages. Born and raised in a suburb of Philadelphia, Cantor currently lives in Arizona with her husband and two sons.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 19, 2026
Need sequel ASAP which is why i was trying to wait until closer to the pub date but alas i have no control. Despite the fact that we are currently living in a dystopia, i really have missed reading them.
Everyone needs to read this because it’s exactly where we’re fucking headed.
But disregarding the real-life similarities and pretending that this is just another book (in case it hasn’t been clear in my review so far, it is NOT), this was amazing. Tense, heart stopping, fast-paced from the start, and an incredible start back into the era of our high school days. I felt like I couldn’t breathe the entire time and I’ve never read something so quickly. Every single aspect of this was compelling AF and the chapters were short and always ended on a cliffhanger which just upped the stakes.
Read this for pleasure and because if we don’t get our heads out of our asses, this is coming for all of us. And yes I said that twice to make sure it’s understood that we CANNOT let this happen.
Everyone needs to read this because it’s exactly where we’re fucking headed.
But disregarding the real-life similarities and pretending that this is just another book (in case it hasn’t been clear in my review so far, it is NOT), this was amazing. Tense, heart stopping, fast-paced from the start, and an incredible start back into the era of our high school days. I felt like I couldn’t breathe the entire time and I’ve never read something so quickly. Every single aspect of this was compelling AF and the chapters were short and always ended on a cliffhanger which just upped the stakes.
Read this for pleasure and because if we don’t get our heads out of our asses, this is coming for all of us. And yes I said that twice to make sure it’s understood that we CANNOT let this happen.
April 29, 2026
This is a ya book that comes out in 8/26. It’s a dystopian thriller about a girl who was cryogenically ally frozen but is thawed early. She awakes to a world that is radically different. Truly a page turner that kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat until the end.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I was a huge fan of dystopian novels as a teenager and while I acknowledge that I grew up ;), this novel did not bring back the spark in me nor would it have appealed to a younger me. The blurb and the opening chapters are very exciting but misleading: Ellie is unfrozen from a cryogenic sleep and wakes up an orphan, under a totalitarian government/anti-science and anti-women regime, and in a brainwashing center where her former boyfriend Ryan is now a convert to the system. Her chapters are interwoven with a POV of her brother Scott, whom she does not know did not enter hibernation and is now looking for her as a resistence fighter,, and Olivia's, a girl who seems a believer in the system but gradually regains her memories. Unfortunately, the most promising plot (Ellie's brainwashiing process: will she partially give in? Will Scott have to fight not only for her, safety but for her mind with Ryan?) ends abruptly and I wish it was explored more deeply as it was a hook that pulled me into the story. The chapters about resistence are a bit boring and a worldbuilding is not thought out. I lost focus with Scott's chapters very early and was looking forward to Ellie's, but then I lost interest in her as well. Olivia was my favorite side character, but I wish the brainwashing was explored more through Ellie's POV and not through Olivia. The regime seems to evoke the Handmaid's Tale hype but PG13 (even though I get that these are generically fascist elements, I miss dystopias that were not inspired by it to be honest), but we do not learn how the world became like this and the novel pulls back from topics that it could explore more deeply (i.e. racism in this world where all women are required to have platinum hair). Parallels with real-world politics might be appealing to some readers but to me felt superficial. Also, this is a part of the series and ends in a way that does not allow it to be stand-alone: however, I lost confidence in these characters actually abolishing the system.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
📖 ARC REVIEW 📖
Thank you @simonteen for an early copy of The Season of Light and Darkness by Jillian Cantor. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.25/5
Release date: August 4th, 2026
🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑
I was initially drawn to The Season of Light and Darkness by Jillian Cantor because of the intriguing blurb and the strong opening chapters. The premise of a dystopian society ruled by a dictator who has supposedly “reformed” the country feels eerily inspired by the current political climate in the United States, which made the concept especially compelling.
The story is told through multiple POVs. Ellie, who was frozen at her parents’ urging when Lyon rose to power; her younger brother Scott, who fled before he could be frozen; Mateo, their neighbor who becomes Scott’s found-family brother while surviving at camp; and Olivia, a ReAd who has recently regained her memories. I enjoyed seeing the story unfold from these different perspectives, but while the world itself seemed thoughtfully planned, the actual world-building felt a bit underdeveloped. I kept wishing for more context and depth, something I’m hoping will come in the sequel.
One of the main reasons this didn’t rate higher for me was the characters’ overall approach to their mission. Much of their struggle revolves around trying to save each other without a clear or cohesive plan. I understand that they’re essentially teenagers navigating life under a dictatorship, but I still found myself wanting a bit more strategy or forethought in their actions.
Overall, this was an entertaining dystopian read that held my interest, though it never quite had me on the edge of my seat. The ending does leave off on a major cliffhanger, raising plenty of questions that I’m curious, and hopeful, to see answered in the next installment.
Thank you @simonteen for an early copy of The Season of Light and Darkness by Jillian Cantor. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.25/5
Release date: August 4th, 2026
🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑
I was initially drawn to The Season of Light and Darkness by Jillian Cantor because of the intriguing blurb and the strong opening chapters. The premise of a dystopian society ruled by a dictator who has supposedly “reformed” the country feels eerily inspired by the current political climate in the United States, which made the concept especially compelling.
The story is told through multiple POVs. Ellie, who was frozen at her parents’ urging when Lyon rose to power; her younger brother Scott, who fled before he could be frozen; Mateo, their neighbor who becomes Scott’s found-family brother while surviving at camp; and Olivia, a ReAd who has recently regained her memories. I enjoyed seeing the story unfold from these different perspectives, but while the world itself seemed thoughtfully planned, the actual world-building felt a bit underdeveloped. I kept wishing for more context and depth, something I’m hoping will come in the sequel.
One of the main reasons this didn’t rate higher for me was the characters’ overall approach to their mission. Much of their struggle revolves around trying to save each other without a clear or cohesive plan. I understand that they’re essentially teenagers navigating life under a dictatorship, but I still found myself wanting a bit more strategy or forethought in their actions.
Overall, this was an entertaining dystopian read that held my interest, though it never quite had me on the edge of my seat. The ending does leave off on a major cliffhanger, raising plenty of questions that I’m curious, and hopeful, to see answered in the next installment.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The concept of this book immediately grabbed me. A teenage girl waking up from cryogenic sleep years too early into a heavily controlled America where conformity is survival is such a strong premise, and the story starts off with a lot of tension right away.
Ellie’s confusion and isolation in those opening chapters were probably my favorite part of the book. Waking up to find out the world she thought she escaped has somehow become worse was genuinely unsettling, and I liked the constant feeling that nobody around her could fully be trusted. The atmosphere throughout the book felt tense and uncomfortable in a way that worked really well for the story.
The pacing also kept me reading quickly. The short chapters and multiple POVs made it easy to move through, and I liked seeing different perspectives of this society instead of staying locked into only one character’s experience. Scott’s storyline especially added urgency because you could feel how desperate everything had become outside the controlled environment Ellie is trapped in.
Where the book lost me a little was in the depth of the world-building. There were so many interesting ideas introduced — political control, memory manipulation, forced identity, the science behind the freezing process — and I kept wanting the story to spend more time exploring those things. Some of the darker themes felt like they were only scratched at instead of fully developed.
I also think this reads very much like the first installment in a series rather than a standalone novel. The ending leaves a lot unresolved, but it did leave me interested enough to want to know where these characters go next.
Overall, this was an entertaining and fast-paced YA dystopian read with a really compelling setup and enough suspense to keep me invested the entire time.
3.5 stars rounded to 4
Ellie’s confusion and isolation in those opening chapters were probably my favorite part of the book. Waking up to find out the world she thought she escaped has somehow become worse was genuinely unsettling, and I liked the constant feeling that nobody around her could fully be trusted. The atmosphere throughout the book felt tense and uncomfortable in a way that worked really well for the story.
The pacing also kept me reading quickly. The short chapters and multiple POVs made it easy to move through, and I liked seeing different perspectives of this society instead of staying locked into only one character’s experience. Scott’s storyline especially added urgency because you could feel how desperate everything had become outside the controlled environment Ellie is trapped in.
Where the book lost me a little was in the depth of the world-building. There were so many interesting ideas introduced — political control, memory manipulation, forced identity, the science behind the freezing process — and I kept wanting the story to spend more time exploring those things. Some of the darker themes felt like they were only scratched at instead of fully developed.
I also think this reads very much like the first installment in a series rather than a standalone novel. The ending leaves a lot unresolved, but it did leave me interested enough to want to know where these characters go next.
Overall, this was an entertaining and fast-paced YA dystopian read with a really compelling setup and enough suspense to keep me invested the entire time.
3.5 stars rounded to 4
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
A gripping dystopian tale follows a teenage girl who enters cryogenic sleep to escape an oppressive regime, only to awaken too soon and find her parents gone and the same brutal system still firmly in control.
Ellie wakes up confused and alone, as the sole survivor of the freezing attempt. Ellie's now being paraded around in the papers as a victim of science as the new regime tries to tighten its stranglehold on the population. Ellie's confusion with the new world she finds herself in helps the reader, as it allows the other characters to explain what happened to her. I would have loved a little more depth, but the second book will hopefully allow the author time to develop the world further. I can't wait to get more details!
Ellie soon finds other survivors - her boyfriend, now a regime soldier who tells her to just go along with everything; childhood best friend Mateo, who's always had a crush on her and has now joined the resistance; and brother Scott, who fled the cryogenic freezing to end up in the same resistance camp. Together, they fight to survive the regime, with the bonds they share proving stronger than anything else.
This book has a great pace and sets up an interesting dynamic with Ellie's two competing love interests. The resistance proves largely ineffective at driving systemic change, though they do succeed in saving individual lives. With Ellie and Scott now unexpectedly in the spotlight, it will be fascinating to see whether their newfound fame can finally tip the balance. This is one where I will read the sequel the second it's available!
Thank you to the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Ellie wakes up confused and alone, as the sole survivor of the freezing attempt. Ellie's now being paraded around in the papers as a victim of science as the new regime tries to tighten its stranglehold on the population. Ellie's confusion with the new world she finds herself in helps the reader, as it allows the other characters to explain what happened to her. I would have loved a little more depth, but the second book will hopefully allow the author time to develop the world further. I can't wait to get more details!
Ellie soon finds other survivors - her boyfriend, now a regime soldier who tells her to just go along with everything; childhood best friend Mateo, who's always had a crush on her and has now joined the resistance; and brother Scott, who fled the cryogenic freezing to end up in the same resistance camp. Together, they fight to survive the regime, with the bonds they share proving stronger than anything else.
This book has a great pace and sets up an interesting dynamic with Ellie's two competing love interests. The resistance proves largely ineffective at driving systemic change, though they do succeed in saving individual lives. With Ellie and Scott now unexpectedly in the spotlight, it will be fascinating to see whether their newfound fame can finally tip the balance. This is one where I will read the sequel the second it's available!
Thank you to the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Pulse for providing access to an early review copy of this title in exchange for my honest feedback.
I NEED the Sequel!!! - It was very compelling. The story features numerous twists and a cliffhanger ending.
This dystopian narrative is told through multiple points of view:
Ellie (16): who has just been awakened in a ReAdmission center after being cryogenically frozen for three years.
Scott (16): her younger brother, who is now one month older than her and has been living in a camp in the mountains.
Matteo (19): their neighbor, who has been residing in the camp with Scott.
Olivia (17): a ReAd, but now experiencing memories from her life prior to her current circumstances.
Ryan (19): Ellie’s high school boyfriend — a ReAd and a Lyon soldier.
Under President Lyon's leadership, the world has changed drastically from the one Ellie knew. She remains uncertain about whom to trust.
Scott and Matteo are working to rescue her from the ReAdmission center before she can be brainwashed like many others who were not captured and have either "disappeared" or joined resistance groups.
Content warning: includes themes of murder, death, dictatorship, brainwashing, and some profanity (sh, gd)
I NEED the Sequel!!! - It was very compelling. The story features numerous twists and a cliffhanger ending.
This dystopian narrative is told through multiple points of view:
Ellie (16): who has just been awakened in a ReAdmission center after being cryogenically frozen for three years.
Scott (16): her younger brother, who is now one month older than her and has been living in a camp in the mountains.
Matteo (19): their neighbor, who has been residing in the camp with Scott.
Olivia (17): a ReAd, but now experiencing memories from her life prior to her current circumstances.
Ryan (19): Ellie’s high school boyfriend — a ReAd and a Lyon soldier.
Under President Lyon's leadership, the world has changed drastically from the one Ellie knew. She remains uncertain about whom to trust.
Scott and Matteo are working to rescue her from the ReAdmission center before she can be brainwashed like many others who were not captured and have either "disappeared" or joined resistance groups.
Content warning: includes themes of murder, death, dictatorship, brainwashing, and some profanity (sh, gd)
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing company Simon Pulse for this arc.
Listen, this might just be a me problem. Let me start by saying that the premise is so fascinating. Gives me Fallout vibes that the protagonist and her family go into cryo to escape the world and the dictator. I was excited on that alone, as well as the idea of dystopian in general. But it is very young adult. I mean, very. If you are expecting to go into this and think about this world in a deep and meaningful way, learning how science gone in a world would lead to destruction, don't bother. The writing tells you what people are feeling and that's about it. No meaningful conversations or thoughts about the world. It also doesn't go into detail about how the world changed so much in under three years, which I personally thought would be important. Again though, this might just be me. I would still recommend you check it out, just know that you are walking into a heavily YA written story.
Listen, this might just be a me problem. Let me start by saying that the premise is so fascinating. Gives me Fallout vibes that the protagonist and her family go into cryo to escape the world and the dictator. I was excited on that alone, as well as the idea of dystopian in general. But it is very young adult. I mean, very. If you are expecting to go into this and think about this world in a deep and meaningful way, learning how science gone in a world would lead to destruction, don't bother. The writing tells you what people are feeling and that's about it. No meaningful conversations or thoughts about the world. It also doesn't go into detail about how the world changed so much in under three years, which I personally thought would be important. Again though, this might just be me. I would still recommend you check it out, just know that you are walking into a heavily YA written story.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC version of this book!
It might get old reading about dystopian novels while practically living in one, but apparently it doesn't to me. Maybe it's just a distraction from real life? Either way, this book really hit too close to home. I've read a few other reviews and they are spot on in that we cannot let things that happen in this book happen in real life.
This story starts off with Ellie and her family choosing to be cryogenically frozen after an election goes awry and President Lyon is elected. All intellectuals (doctors, nurses, scientists, etc.) are rounded up in the first few waves and appear to have been killed. The family was supposed to be frozen for 10 years, but Ellie wakes up after only 3.
This book was really a page turner. Lots of cliffhangers. So much so that I am really looking forward to the sequel.
It might get old reading about dystopian novels while practically living in one, but apparently it doesn't to me. Maybe it's just a distraction from real life? Either way, this book really hit too close to home. I've read a few other reviews and they are spot on in that we cannot let things that happen in this book happen in real life.
This story starts off with Ellie and her family choosing to be cryogenically frozen after an election goes awry and President Lyon is elected. All intellectuals (doctors, nurses, scientists, etc.) are rounded up in the first few waves and appear to have been killed. The family was supposed to be frozen for 10 years, but Ellie wakes up after only 3.
This book was really a page turner. Lots of cliffhangers. So much so that I am really looking forward to the sequel.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Starting off, I thought this was a very interesting read! I liked the dystopian feel of it, along with the political environment. It felt as if I was watching a movie on the big screen! The multiple POV’s were nice, however, I feel like one was randomly thrown in until we started getting who they were to the main characters. I wish there was more of the background of how life was prior vs now, it would’ve been easier to have more feelings invested towards the characters and what they deal with. I enjoyed how the plot held throughout, but seeing more of the science part and maybe more inner thoughts of the MC’s would be better. The ending fell flat for me unfortunately, it left me wanting a lot more as I know it was a cliffhanger but something was missing on it for me!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is a YA dystopian novel with different POVs that make it dynamic. Having different points of view, in this particular case, helps build a fast paced narration.
The story follows Ellie, who wakes up from cryogenics into a world she no longer recognizes. Her confusion and the tension of piecing together what happened to humanity are handled very well. It’s easy to root for her right from the beginning.
If you liked The Testaments or The Grace Year, you should definitely pick this up. It has a similar oppressive atmosphere and social commentary. I didn’t like those books so much, hence my rating :(
Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for this ARC of The Season of Light and Darkness, to be published on August 4th, 2026.
The story follows Ellie, who wakes up from cryogenics into a world she no longer recognizes. Her confusion and the tension of piecing together what happened to humanity are handled very well. It’s easy to root for her right from the beginning.
If you liked The Testaments or The Grace Year, you should definitely pick this up. It has a similar oppressive atmosphere and social commentary. I didn’t like those books so much, hence my rating :(
Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for this ARC of The Season of Light and Darkness, to be published on August 4th, 2026.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Wow, okay I DEVOURED this book. Immediately, I was drawn in. I absolutely need book two now.
The Season of Light and Darkness is told in multiple POVs from Ellie, Scott, Mateo, Olivia & Ryan. Ellie and Scott are siblings whose family decided to freeze themselves once a dictator rose to power. However, Scott never actually froze himself and ran off to join the rebels. Ellie is accidentally thawed after three years, not the full ten her family planned on. There is so much happening throughout this book that you just want to keep turning the pages. I have so many unanswered questions. I honestly can’t wait for the next.
Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for an arc!
The Season of Light and Darkness is told in multiple POVs from Ellie, Scott, Mateo, Olivia & Ryan. Ellie and Scott are siblings whose family decided to freeze themselves once a dictator rose to power. However, Scott never actually froze himself and ran off to join the rebels. Ellie is accidentally thawed after three years, not the full ten her family planned on. There is so much happening throughout this book that you just want to keep turning the pages. I have so many unanswered questions. I honestly can’t wait for the next.
Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for an arc!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to Simon Schuster and NetGalley for this ARC. Dystopian fantasy has become my favorite genre lately. This story is centered around Ellie who, along with her family, made the decision to be cryogenically frozen when the country elected a madman, anti-scientist, for president. They decided to have it last for ten years in the hopes that the country will have had time to revert back from the craziness that was coming. Brought out of the frozen status early, Ellie learns the country is as bad as it was expected to become. Ellie began trying to navigate the new world and reunite with any family that might be remaining. Don't want to give anything else away, but I will just say that this book ended and I immediately went to look up when we can expect Book two!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Season of Light and Darkness is a dystopian novel about a girl who is cryogenically frozen with her family when a dictator like president is elected in the United States. Three years later, she is "thawed" and finds her family gone and the world completely foreign to the one she left. The story is told in multiple points of view, all of which rang too much the same. I found the story to be disjointed and the writing tense awkward. While I enjoyed the idea of the story, the execution was not exciting and did not capture me as I had hoped. The book is clean and appropriate for middle school on up.
I received a free advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.
I received a free advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
The Season of Light and Darkness by Jillian Cantor is a chilling YA dystopian about a girl who wakes from cryogenic sleep to a world ruled by authoritarian power, where resistance is dangerous and truth is hard to find.
If you love stories with rebellion, high stakes, and moral gray areas (think The Handmaid’s Tale × Divergent vibes), keep this one on your radar.
Huge thanks to @simonteen for the advance copy.
If you love stories with rebellion, high stakes, and moral gray areas (think The Handmaid’s Tale × Divergent vibes), keep this one on your radar.
Huge thanks to @simonteen for the advance copy.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
I liked the idea of this, but the execution was not my favorite. It lacked nuance. There was little explanation to how the world got to this point so fast beyond a surface explanation.
Want to Read
May 2, 2026preread:
02/05/2026 — hehe so i got the arc and im sooo excited to start this! and the cover looks gorggg asf too, hello??
30/04/2026 — ya distopian thriller??? sign me the fuck up!!
02/05/2026 — hehe so i got the arc and im sooo excited to start this! and the cover looks gorggg asf too, hello??
30/04/2026 — ya distopian thriller??? sign me the fuck up!!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Definitely feel like I was transported back to being in my dystopian era and I am NOT mad about it...
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