First Light

by Rebecca Stead

Peter está entusiasmado - vai embarcar em uma expedição para a Groenlândia, onde seu pai estudará efeitos do aquecimento global. Terá de deixar a escola de lado, guiar um trenó puxado por cães e - o principal - compartilhar várias aventuras com o pai. Thea vive em uma comunidade sob o gelo, no extremo norte do planeta, sonhando em ver a luz do sol. Seu povo foi obrigado a fugir da Inglaterra e a se refugiar em um mundo secreto.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Fiction, Science Fiction, Adventure, Mystery

340 pages, Paperback

First published June 26, 2007

About the author

Rebecca Stead is the New York Times bestselling author of When You Reach Me, Liar & Spy, First Light, Goodbye Stranger, Bob, and, most recently, The List of Things That Will Not Change. Her books have been awarded the Newbery Medal, the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Fiction and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize.

Rebecca lives in New York City, where she is always on the lookout for her next story idea.

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first heard about Rebecca Stead from Ann Cannon at the King's English. She urged me to read WHEN YOU REACH ME, which had been one of her favorite books that year. She said it reminded her of the kind of book she used to read when she was a kid, that it was like reading A WRINKLE IN TIME for the first time. I read it, loved it, and agreed with her 100%. I also assumed that it was Stead's first book, since surely I would have heard of this fine author before! A few weeks later she won the Newbery Award for WHEN YOU REACH ME, and my cousin Amberlee said, gushing with me about how well-deserved the award was, said, "I want to read her other book now, too!"

Other book?

I looked, and there was FIRST LIGHT. Huh, I thought. It doesn't look like WHEN YOUR REACH ME. Look at that cover. And it's YA . . . ? Huh. And I put it on my to-read shelf and forgot all about it. Every so often I would come across it on my shelf, and think, Huh. Gotta try that. Then LIAR & SPY came out, and again the rave reviews. I read it immediately, loved it, bought a copy for my kids, remembered FIRST LIGHT, thought . . . Huh. One of these days . . .

Last week I went on a madcap holding spree on my library's website. I decided to put a bunch of stuff on hold that I'd been meaning to read "one of these days" and then read them in the order the library got them. One of those books was FIRST LIGHT. And I finally read it.

HOLY $#!& why don't people talk about this book more? When WHEN YOU REACH ME CAME OUT, what they should have said is not, Have you heard of this book? But: Did you hear that the author of the fan-freaking-tastic FIRST LIGHT wrote another great book?

I mean, yes, it's completely different. Completely. I honestly didn't read the flap copy or know anything about the plot, and I'm going to give you, dear reader, the chance to go into it blind as well. No plot points to be found here! I also didn't like the cover, I mean I didn't hate it, but I didn't really pay attention to it, either. But the cover is PERFECTION. And the story is also PERFECTION. What an amazing, tense adventure! What fun! What a fantastic premise! And so well-plotted and clearly well-researched! Arctic explorers! Polar ice caps! Sled dogs! Two intertwined stories! Amazing! I could have read on and on! Such a great book! I'm now kicking myself for not picking this up the first time I heard Stead's name!

The good news is, I'll be automatically buying her next book, as she is now 3 for 3 with me!

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been reading a lot of young adult and juvenile fiction lately. At its best, this category of fiction provides quick reads with fully developed characters in plots that are designed for a younger reader and therefore usually cleaner. Unfortunately, this book lacked the depth that I want from a book - whether juvenile or adult fiction.

Peter is a NYC teen who treks to Greenland with his glaciologist father and biologist/writer mom. His story is interspersed with that of Thea, who lives in an underworld glacial colony. The two eventually meet and the reader gets to see links between the two characters.

The concept for this book had great potential, but I thought it fell short time and again. I wanted to empathize with Peter and his alienation from his parents. This is a common feeling for children on the cusp of adulthood, but instead of capitalizing on where that can take you, Stead touched on it briefly and cleaned it up too nicely.

Likewise, Thea has many reasons to resent her family after uncovering a secret withheld from her for nearly her entire life. She struggles with it briefly and then (unrealistically) moves on.

Even in a book for a younger reader, I think it would have been worthwhile to explore these scenarios more deeply. I think a young reader could benefit from seeing both Peter and Thea struggle with being individuals who are still a part of families. One thing we all have to learn as we mature is how to walk the line between what is best for our entire family and what is best for us as individuals.

I have another book by this author that I picked up at a used bookstore. I'll still give it a try, but I'm hopeful it will offer a bit more depth than this book.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Light was written by Rebecca Stead who has written many more amazing books. This book mostly takes place in Greenland and New York. The two main characters are Peter and Thea who know nothing about each other and who live in different parts of the world, but nearing the end you’ll realize that they’re very close to each other. Peter’s father is an ice researcher and he worked in Greenland while their home is in New York. Thea lives in Greenland in a village called Grace Hope which was built in the ice where there is a freshwater lake. It is an unknown place to most people except to the ones who live there and to Peter’s mother.
I was amazed at how somebody could write a book like this, it would have taken a lot of imagination and thinking. I don’t think I would ever have as much imagination as Rebecca Stead had to right that book. If you love reading books then First Light is a must read, it’s a book in a category of its own. I felt like I was in a dream while reading this book. I hope you feel the same when you read it. This book is too good to be rated only 5 stars so I’ll have to give it a ten or more.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Light was hard for me to put down. Peter Solemn's world is rocked in the very first chapter when his father, a glaciologist, announces the family is going on a research trip to Greenland. Two chapters later, we meet a second main character, Thea, who lives under the arctic ice in a society created generations ago by a group of people fleeing persecution in Europe.

What I loved most about this book was that it plunged me into not just one, but two fascinating new worlds. Greenland itself really qualifies as an alien landscape of sorts, and Stead's rich details bring it to life. (Is there really a Volkswagon Road there where the company tests new models? So cool!) Thea's world beneath the ice is painted vividly as well with terrific techno-details about the innovations of that new society called Gracehope. I've added Gracehope to the list of imaginary places (along with Hogwarts and Narnia) that I long to visit some day.

I'm not giving too much away if I share that Peter and Thea cross paths along the way. Their stories intertwine in ways that are surprising but perfect and believable at the same time. First Light is a great read -- a fantastic mix of science fiction and adventure with plenty of real science mixed in, too. Teachers looking for titles to integrate with earth science and environmental units will especially love this one.

[Práxedes Rivera · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given Stead's novel four stars had the first half not dragged on so much. She spent an avalanche of ink setting up the second half, where the real action begins. That being said, it is quite good for a first novel.

The themes of discovery, persecution, and hope intertwine over and over, creating a gripping action spiral (in the second half of the book) that binds the reader. I found it hard to put the book down. I also enjoyed the perspective shifts between the two main characters, Peter and Thea, as they narrated the story. I was seamless and clear throughout.

I am donating my copy to the Library's Young Adult section! Hopefully there will be a sequel.

[Reem · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my type at all. At first there was some act of realistic fiction but then it changed to sci-fi and I'm not a fan of that genre. Sorry to all you sci-fi lovers, if you do like sci-fi, this book could be a good fit for you. The three main characters to me are Peter, Thea, and Mattias. First Light takes place in the cold areas. I don't want to spoil so that is why I'm not really saying parts of it. If you like Sci-fi, you should add this book to your want to read list.

[Frankie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book is fine. As I read, I kept comparing it to Steads other works (when you reach me and liar and spy) which are two of my favorite books, and first light just didn’t hold a candle to those. I think the particular weakness of first light is that the kids are just not very likable? Thea in particular just makes remarkably bad choices and then doesn’t really face any consequences for them? The family relations were also a little hard to follow (could use a diagram). Also, it felt like we had to spend a LOT of the book explaining the world of Gracehope, which I guess is typical for sci-fi, but didn’t feel charming. So overall, it’s alright, but it is NOT the entry point to the Rebecca Stead canon.

It WAS the book that I had been thinking of for years.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting science fiction story about a secret world under the glacial ice in Greenland. Thea has never seen the sun, but dreams of the "Wider World" her people escaped from long ago. Peter lives in New York City with his scientist parents who study glaciers and DNA. The stories of these two young teenagers are told in parallel story lines until the two narratives converge in a surprising twist to the story. If you enjoy Madeleine L'Engle, then you will certainly enjoy "First Light."

I did have a few "technical concerns" about the plot, especially since this is really science fiction, and not fantasy. There are hundreds of people living inside of a glacier. They are at the very bottom where there is a fresh water lake and enough sand to grow trees along the edge, but where do they dispose of the human waste? They do use "dog manure" to fertilize crops, and the Japanese have used human " night soil" for fertilizer, but if you aren't used to it the food grown that way can make you sick. It is never explained how they grow enough food for all those people, even though it is mentioned that food is in short supply. Not to mention a lack of sunlight. They have a way of making "light" that is similar to the way fireflies do it, but that is not the same as sunlight. It is also mentioned that they are extremely careful about not contaminating the lake because it is their only supply of drinking water.

The main protagonist is the female leader of the people, who has kept the location of the passage to the "wider world" a secret for many years. The only real reason she is cast as "the bad guy" is that she doesn't want the people to be able to leave the under ice world because it would be dangerous, which is entirely true. A group of people living in isolation for hundreds of years would certainly be vulnerable to every germ they came in contact with, and exposure would likely kill most, if not all, in a very short time. Even though Rowen is a control freak, she is right on this point.

It is an interesting premiss and the the story is engaging, but I felt it would have been better if some of the technicalities had been explained better. It might not be noticeable to children, who are the target audience, but it was very noticeable to me.

[Lightreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little book about a boy who travels with his parents to study global warming in Greenland and encounters a girl from a secret civilization under the ice.

A bit of a disappointment, after her wonderful When You Reach Me. This book is a little younger, a lot simpler; the adults are too competent and the conflicts too reductionist, so a lot of the tension just deflates.

Still, there’s something about the way Rebecca Stead writes. She has a gift for figurative language simple enough to make sense to kids, but interesting enough to also appeal to me. I’m a very synesthetic thinker, so it probably won’t make sense to anyone else, but I think of her metaphors as bell tones. They are clean and clear, simple but pleasing. And when done right, they get me from the chest out.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one....rather magical

[Steve lovell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whilst our politicians dither and deny, global warming marches on. Soon whole countries will disappear under the Pacific, the weather will become even more eccentric, sea wall building will commence, Tony Abbot will bury his head in sand for real and Gracehope will disappear. Gracehope???? Did you not know another peopled land exists under the Greenland icecap???? Well Rebecca Stead does and she puts together a very fine ya novel with this tale of parallel worlds.
This was Stead’s first foray as a published writer predating her Newbery garnering and quite sublime ‘When You Reach Me’, one of my favourite reads of ’10. That book cries out for a wider readership here in Oz.
‘First Light' does not have the same WOW impact, but like light reflecting from frozen water, in its own way it dazzles. It features ice worlds on and below the surface of a huge misnamed island, an eye-adept boy from NYC, an ear-adept girl from Stead’s imagination and a mother with a secret – in fact secrets abound in this book. The work also has dogs as central – dogs that are far more than helpful or mere pets. It is also about where science can take us. The fulcrum is this century’s ‘cold war’, not against each other, but the human modified forces of nature. Our planet is truly under threat.
Graceheart is a matriarchal society where women possess the power and the wisdom, and maybe this is what is wrong with our own world. Stead’s feisty female heroes display the pluck we wish from our pollies. We live in hope that our own first lady PM could unencumber herself from male spin and focus groups to do so. At least she, along with Stead, is making a statement on the topic. It may be too late to save Gracehope, but maybe not the planet.

[Annabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

ooh!
I like it.
It is different.
It has zing.
It has coldness.
Because it's in Greenland.
I like it!
ooh!

[The Lil' Ghost · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF...
Okay-
I finish books.
Even when I don't like them.


*cough* Divergent *cough*


But this book was just-too much. Too much of what you might ask? Nothing. Legitimately.....nothing. I was around 75-85 pages in, and at that point (and only at that point) did something mildly interesting happen.
A dog giving birth.
You read that correctly.
A dog giving birth.
Of course, a dog giving birth would be a lovely and large event in real life, but for what I expected (a girl living in the center of the Earth and all that jazz), it feels a little flat.

This book started off promising, but quickly transitioned into a flat, sci-fi book full of manufactured drama which didn't keep my interest in the slightest. Everything was so shrouded in mystery you couldn't even understand what was happening.

I think Rebecca Stead must've peaked at When You Reach Me because this just wasn't it for me.

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This first novel is the third book I’ve read by this author. I really enjoy this author’s writing, her writing style, her stories, and especially her characters. I adored When You Reach Me; it made my favorites shelf, and I really loved Liar & Spy too, though I think this one is now my second favorite book by Rebecca Stead. I’m a huge fan of all three books and will happily read any future novels she writes.

I was greatly moved as I read this book. Reading it was among the best of book vacations. I was reminded of the “your e card” that says: “I sometimes pretend to myself that I have insomnia when what I really have is a good book and inadequate respect for tomorrow.”

I particularly loved the dog characters, including Sasha, Feet, and Peg. I enjoyed the people very much too. Thea and Peter and everyone in their worlds was interesting and they all made sense and I was engrossed, attached, and involved with them and their lives. I loved how Thea’s society is a matriarchal one.

I really liked the global warming theme and other scientific material.

The story was completely engaging. I loved the intertwining stories, and the mystery that I almost guessed early, but not quite because there was a bit of a twist.

I’d have loved an included map of Gracehope and Peter’s family’s campsite, and family trees for Thea’s and others’ Gracehope lines. I love maps and family tree charts in books, and I’m sure I’d have read them and then referred to them at times as I continued reading.

I’d have adored this book when I was 9-13. I think it’s a perfect book for tweens as the young characters in this book end up so empowered. I’ll be thinking of many of the characters. I think they’re going to stick with me and I’ll be thinking about how all of them might fare in their futures.

[Jamie Dacyczyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmm, I this is my least favorite book by this author so far. The story, writing, and characters were mostly fine (though lacking the charm of those in her later books)...but I had a hard time with believing the world building.

The basic idea is that there's a colony of people who've been living in caves under the ice sheet of Greenland for centuries, living alongside a subterranean freshwater lake, and never surfacing in all that time. Hm. The population has grown to six hundred people and an equal number of dogs. They've planted trees, have greenhouses for food (where presumably they grow all of their food including fruit and wheat), and have inventions like a water wheel that pumps air from the surface and a machine that can melt a hole through a wall of ice in minutes. Hmmm. We're told that their founder was able to invent a way to "seal" ice to make it permanent, and they make a lot of objects out of this unmeltable permanent not-cold ice. Hmmmm. Ok, well, even if that were possible (and we'll just go along with it for the sake of the story) what about everything else? How are they keeping trees and plants alive without sunlight? We're told that they have artificial light using bioluminescence, but that won't provide the light that trees need. Did they somehow invent UV grow lights? And what could they have made them out of? What about that ice melting machine, where did they get the parts for that? Or the materials to make ice skates for 600 people? None of that came over on two wooden whaling ships centuries before. How do they dispose of all of their human and dog waste? They mention using the dog manure for the gardens, but they stuff really needs to compost well before it can be used....so how are they doing that without contaminating their freshwater lake?

So...I feel like the world building isn't strong here. Even though this is a book for younger readers, it still needs to be believable. Either the author didn't think all of this stuff out, or she hoped we wouldn't question too deeply. Kind of a bummer, because there was a lot if discussion if other real-life scientific stuff like global warming and mitochondrial DNA.

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before the masterful When You Reach Me and the equally excellent Liar & Spy, Rebecca Stead published First Light. It is a somewhat interesting fantasy with a predictable family expectations vs. individual goals conflict and a little bit of science fiction thrown in to keep the action going. It starts out as two stories that merge halfway through the book. Peter is brought to the glaciers of Greenland by his scientist father. Peter spends most of his time alone exploring the glaciers. Thea lives deep beneath the ice in a strange secretive community where questioning the rules is not allowed. It almost seems as if Stead had trouble deciding where she wanted the story to go. Much of the first half of the book is devoted to describing Gracehope, Thea's community, its numerous troubles, and life there, but much of that turns out to be irrelevant to the rising action. Of course, Thea decides to break the most important rule, which immediately changes the tone and pace of the story. Thea and Peter have a chance encounter which obviously was coming. Of course, this encounter leads to trouble. Of course, there turns out to be a connection between Thea's community and Peter's family. Of course, only a couple of the adult characters know the answers to the mystery, and of course they aren't talking. Good critical readers will solve the mystery before Thea and Peter. Most readers will be surprised. The start of the story may be too slow for reluctant readers, but those who stick with it will be rewarded with lots of action. First Light seemed to be set up for a series, but so far, there has not been a sequel.

[Irina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, I stayed up until nearly dawn and finished the book earlier this afternoon. I didn't want the story to end. Rebecca Stead put together a very credible story with very strong young female and male characters mixed in with a bit a science and very early settlers similar to the pilgrims but in the Arctic Circle.

The plot is well woven with intricate patterns that come together to create a beautiful tapestry of words. The book has humor, adventure and some danger as well. The conclusion doesn't disappoint.

Rebecca Stead is a gifted storyteller. I recommend this book to boys and girls who love adventure, sledding dogs, a bit of science and lots of snow.

I forgot to mention, the dogs are awesome. I had no trouble following their names and whose companion each one was assigned to. I loved how the runt chose with whom to belong.

[Yoda97 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I literally read it this fast... after i had it on the desk for a few days...

After reading this great book all i could think of was getting to skip school for a week, ride dogsleds, live in a giant blue tent and explore glaciers in Greenland every other day. Until i returned to my reality...

I once read a review of this book that said "for people who slow to warm to books, First Light could be just the thing to fire the curiosity in them" and this book certainly did that!

Yoda97

[Jean-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this one with my 12-year-old for a library book club. We liked it, but it was a little slow for our taste. There were some teasers in the beginning that didn't amount to much in the end. Weren't you expecting more from mom's trance-like journaling in the secretive red notebook, giving her headaches and physically draining her of her energy? We were hoping for a little more science/global warming in the story. This is not a read I would recommend to everyone. It's okay but not a must-read.

[Chance Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are glimmer's of Stead's brilliance -- writing that came to full shine in When You Reach Me and Liar & Spy -- but First Light's divided structure spreads the narrative too thin.

The story follows Peter, who lives in New York and travels with his father, a glaciologist, his mother, and his father's grad student to Greenland. If there were any hope at all of this book turning into Call Me By Your Name on ICE! I would have kept reading, but there isn't.

The other POV character is Thea, who lives in a glacier, I guess? in a fantastic society where people skate on ice skates and remind me of the bouncy little polar bear things from Super Mario Odyssey except for the fact that women are breeded like dogs, but in a way that feels less icky in the context of the writing than my writing it out here. I am curious to see how that idea gets explored, but not enough to continue. I'll find a summary to read online.

After 100 pages, the stakes for the characters are still unclear, and I think I'll donate this book to the library and move on.

[Donalyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Peter's dad, a scientist who studies global warming, wins a grant to explore Greenland, Peter and his mother jump at the chance to travel with him. Little does Peter know that there is a hidden civilization of people who have lived in a city under the ice for generations.

This book switches narrators between Peter and Thea, a girl who lives in the iceworld. Eventually their paths cross and secrets are revealed that change both worlds.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It reminded me of City of Ember with a unique twist (that I won't reveal!). A good read for a cold winter day.This book is also on this year's Lone Star list, a source of reliably good books for my students and me over the years.

[Monica Edinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally read this when it was published and remember enjoying it. Now having read and reviewed the author's subsequent two novels, both of which have a very striking and original authorial voice I wanted to reread this to see if it was there too. One thing I noticed was that she definitely likes plot twists! In all three books there are big ones indeed. And she loves NYC, especially small neighborhoody places. In this one she mentions a few before the action shifts to Greenland.

I have to say I was surprised how compelling I found it as a reread. I vaguely remembered aspects of the plot, but not well and so got to a point where I had to race through to find out the specifics.

Well worth reading for the first time or second or third.

[ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was conceptually very interesting and full of both world-building and real world details that are extremely rich and enjoyable as well as characters that I was invested in and liked spending time with. It did a nice job alternating between the two pretty likable leads and keeping me interested as their stories began to intertwine. The reveal wasn't particularly surprising, but that's usually a sign that a plot has been really well laid out, which I think is very characteristic of Rebecca Stead's books in general. I'm not generally a fantasy/scifi reader, but I know I'd read more of this universe if the opportunity arose so I think that's a sign of an enjoyable read!

[Mart R · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when I was in elementary school. That's 10+ years ago, and I still mentally visit the setting that Stead dreamed up. I can feel the ice on my breath, and the wonder at being a visitor to another person's habitat and culture. I feel this book planted the seeds in my brain to respect indigenous peoples homes and spaces.

[lucy black · Rating 5 out of 5]

really cool book. reminds me a lot of the giver by lois lowry. i like the way she describes spaces and rooms and small day to day details of things. i also like how the family dynamics aren't all the usual stereotypes.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter's life changes first when he begins to have the strange headaches his mother gets, and second when his father decides that a 6-week stay in Greenland would be good for his mother. Life in such a snowy environment is quite different, but Peter enjoys the sled dogs and the newness of everything. Elsewhere, a girl named Thea lives in a strange world where she can communicate with dogs and there is no sun, no electricity. They skate to get from one place to another. How do these two worlds connect?

I had a hard time trying to figure out what genre this book is. It doesn't fit neatly into any category. Peter's story is more like one of survival and adventure, while Thea's story seems to be more of a dystopia or fantasy world. I wasn't expecting how the two worlds related to each other, AT ALL. This was an odd little tale. The world-building for Thea was nicely done, and fairly easy to understand. All I can say is that this story is really odd, and I can't quite figure out if I liked it or not. It's definitely different. I went in thinking this would be part of the new genre called "cli-fi" (kinda like sci-fi but about climate change) but it wasn't... it was more about witchcraft. So, interesting and would be worth a read if you're looking for something a little different.

[Naadhira Zahari · Rating 3 out of 5]

First Light is a story about adventure and temporarily moving to Greenland, of discovering the vast area of snow and ice. Until one day, Peter uncovered a mystery that may change his life and the lives of the people in Gracehope.

I honestly find this book boring and draggy. I couldn't really get into the story and was constantly directing my attention elsewhere instead of actually sitting down and reading this book. It was only in the second half of the story where things finally got interesting but it was too late, because I was already looking forward for this book to end.

Sure, the plot is interesting where there's a whole community of the people of Gracehope who moved years ago to live below ice. It was also about researching and creating awareness for global warming and a lot of sci fi stuff which I'm frankly not all that interested about.

Still, this book was quite well written especially for children as its imaginative and creative enough for them to be captivated. It's a story unlike any other I've read before yet I still wouldn't recommend it. I'm just glad that I'm done and over with this story of Peter and Thea.

[watermelonreads · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whenever the exciting part comes, it didn’t hit the mark and was underwhelming. Things were over dramatic...it wasn’t realistic.

It felt patchy and I couldn’t find a link between some parts. At times, I asked myself “what’s the point of everything then?”

I thought the part on the science-y environmental bits was interesting but we only had a small part of it -> such a waste honestly!

The dog prophecy thingy didn’t make sense even till the end of the book.

Overall, what did I just read? 😑

[emma ♖]

Used to be one of my fav books (that i reread like 4 times back when i didn't have enough money to buy more books) but then I completely forgot that it existed and forgot the title and author. I kept thinking of the story but couldn't remember the name until a friend finally found it for me!! I really want to reread it now.

[Sagar Castleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very enjoyable but it was definitely my least favorite of Rebecca Stead's books. Her second book, When You Reach Me, is definitely the best of them, and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.