This Little Light

by Lori Lansens

This brilliant new novel is an urgent bulletin from an all-too-believable near future in which the religious right has come out on top. And where a smart young girl who questions the new order is suddenly a terrorist. By the bestselling author of The Girls and The Mountain Story .

Taking place over 48 hours in the year 2023, this is the story of Rory Ann Miller, on the run with her best friend because they are accused of bombing their posh Californian high school during an American Virtue Ball. There's a bounty on their heads, and a social media storm of trolls flying around them, not to mention a posse of law enforcement, attack helicopters and drones trying to track them down. Rory's mom, a social activist and lawyer, has been arrested and implicated in her daughter's "crimes" whereas her dad (who betrayed his wife and daughter in a nasty divorce) is cooperating with the authorities. The story exists in a universe of gated communities, born-again Christians, Probationary Citizens (once known as "Dreamers"), re-criminalized abortion and birth control, teenage virginity oaths and something called the Red Market, which is either a Conservative bogey-man created to further polarize the "base" or a criminal network making money from selling unwanted babies to whomever wants them and fetal tissue to cosmetics and drug companies.
Rory is cynical and scared, furious and scathing, betrayed and looking for something or someone to trust. What she has to say about the dads and bosses and politicians lining up to keep women in their place, and about the ways women collaborate in their own undermining, is fierce, and funny, and sad, and true.

Genres: Fiction, Canada, Dystopia, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Contemporary, Audiobook

288 pages, Paperback

First published August 13, 2019

About the author

Lori Lansens was born and raised in Chatham, Ontario, a small Canadian town with a remarkable history as a terminus on the Underground Railroad, which became the setting for her first three bestselling novels. After living in downtown Toronto most of her adult life, she moved with her family to the Santa Monica mountains near Los Angeles in 2006. A couple of years ago she relocated with her family to Calabasas, California, home of the Kardashians. Her new novel "This Little Light" is set there.

Reviews

[Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a unique, timely, and spellbinding quick read! In its less than 300 pages, This Little Light is a genre-beading story set in the near future. The whole book takes place in just 48 hours.

This Little Light deftly tackles several issues, including immigration, women’s rights, religion, and politics. The story is intense, narrated by a 16 year old who thinks for herself navigating a privileged world, while those less privileged are far in her periphery.

If you enjoyed Vox or Master Class, this book should most definitely be on your radar. Lori Lansens has penned a thoughtful, important story of the haves and the have nots, and the repercussions of sharp income disparities, among several other hot button, critical topics. Just as with Christina Dalcher’s books, this felt real to me, like it could definitely happen. I also loved Rory, the endearing and smart main character. A well-done and powerful story that will appeal to fans of both adult and young adult fiction.

I received a gifted copy.

Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader

[Esil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Little Light is short but intense -- in a good way. The story is set in the near future, in a dystopian southern California. The narrator is 16 year old Rorie, who in real time recounts the events that led her and her friend Fee to become hunted fugitives. Rorie is a smart, independent thinking and mouthy 16 year old, living in a privileged gated world where abortion is illegal and girls are pressured into making a pledge to their fathers that they will not have sex before marriage. Meanwhile, outside the gated community, the world is populated by homeless people desperately seeking food and safe drinking water; they are largely made up of illegal immigrants. It's not hard to see where the idea for the novel comes from. What really carried it for me was Rorie's voice. At times, she is a petulant 16 year old and at other times she seems to be the only sane person in her crazy world. Lansens's prose really flows smoothly, adding to the intensity and immediacy of the story. And the end -- well the end is quite something -- but I can't say more without spilling the beans. This isn't my usual type of book, but it was well worth it. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could not put this book down because it was so good. I never knew what would happen next. Two teenage girls, Rory and Fee are hiding after a bomb explodes. Rory is blogging what is happening and what led them to this point. It keeps going back between the past in the blog and the present in a way that keeps you at the edge of your seat. This book was intense and brought up important issues from the eyes of a teenage girl.

Some of my favorite parts include Rory discovering Fee's secrets in the present day while blogging in a shed. I enjoyed the interactions with Paula, a 10 year old girl that ends up hiding with them. Fee is very closed off from her best friend Rory, but she bonded with Paula and was able to focus on something other than what she was dealing with personally.

Thank you Booktrib, NetGalley and ABRAMS for this book in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date August 11
Now available

[Lilli · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the not-so-distant future of 2024, 16-year-old Rory Miller and her best friend Feliza "Fee" Lopez are on the run evading the law. A twisted series of events leads the entire country to believe they were responsible for a bombing in their high school bathroom on the night of the "American Virtue Ball," during which they and the other girls at their private Christian school are meant to promise their chastity to their fathers until marriage. Hyperreligiosity has overtaken the nation and women's rights have been dialed way back, leading to an underground "Pink/red market," a network of underground doctors, nurses, and advocates helping girls and women to access birth control and safe abortions. The two girls are framed and accused of being deeply entrenched in this illegal activity.

While they are hiding out and running from the law, Rory, a very opinionated atheist who is unafraid to go against the grain on her blog, documents the events leading up to and immediately following the bombing. She is convinced the truth will prevail once the media circus surrounding their fugitive status dies down and more facts surrounding the crime come to the surface. Rory has been suspicious of the new girl, Jinny Hutsall, her relationship with the Christian rock superstar Jagger Jonze, and his motivations within their wealthy and tight-knit double-gated Calabasas community for quite some time, and she is determined to illuminate their role in the entire fiasco. But will her truth be enough to convince the rabid Christian crusaders that have taken over the country?

It is clear that this book was inspired by the division evident in the US during the Trump presidency and the topics of abortion and women's right that took center stage then and continue to be hotly debated presently. This topic is timely and absolutely relevant, but I think it needs to be handled with more finesse than it was in this book. Since all of the characters except Paula (10/10 we STAN Paula) are completely unbearable asswipes, it is very hard to garner sympathy towards them and their plight. I haven't finished Handmaid's Tale but I have read enough of it and understand its place in the culture well enough to say it's probably a superior choice in terms of speculative fiction regarding women's reproductive rights and its connection with hyperreligious Christians. That being said, this book is clearly more teen-friendly, and I think it's appropriate for a high school audience.

Speaking of being teen-friendly, good Lord the attempts this author makes at writing like a 16-year-old Gen Z-er are so cringey at some points. There is a lot of bad writing in this book. Teenagers are generally not this stupid or annoying in my experience. Sure, there's a handful of them, but someone who is supposed to be as smart and well-educated as Rory, the daughter of two mostly liberal immigration lawyers—not to mention a SIXTEEN YEAR OLD HUMAN BEING, a person who can legally drive, a person who has presumably been able to read for a decade at a minimum—is not seriously going to be out here talking in this horrible sentence structure: "I told Fee to take a shower, because smell." "Calabasas is pretty famous, because Kardashians." Oh my GOD the book did this so liberally and often I wanted to tear my hair out. Because this book is written in the format of a blog post on her blog that has a pretty sizable following, shouldn't we assume Rory is a better writer than this? I think it has less to do with Lori Lansens' actual skills as a writer and more with her choice to try to lean so heavily into the voice of a 16-year-old that she comes out sounding like a 12-year-old that watches way too much TikTok. And there was one line that was honestly unbelievable (and in that amazingly stupid sentence structure, because bad writing) about one of the guys that Rory's friend was crushing on being "hot but kind of spectrum-y." Can we just... not say things like spectrum-y? Ever? Thanks in advance for never saying that again.

Rory is frequently grating as a main character, so firmly fixated on having open-minded beliefs that it often times makes her closed-minded and extremely childish. She had major only child energy so I guess that was effectively conveyed. But the real most annoying character was Fee. She was incredibly ignorant, naive, and honestly rude, mean, and essentially useless to Rory while they are going through this horrible thing together. While Rory is genuinely trying to think her way out of the situation, which is arguably Fee's fault when all the facts are exposed, Fee is content to completely give up with no concern about what it would mean for her, her best friend, or anyone else that has helped them along the way. It is also indicated that the way the book ends is also Fee's selfish dumbass fault. She drove me crazy and I had no empathy for her and her delusions, which is too bad, because empathizing with Fee in particular is pretty essential to connecting to the storyline in this book. The rest of Rory and Fee's friend group, "The Hive," all felt like caricatures with no depth to them and it was honestly appalling how fast they were willing to turn on their longtime friends. It just really made no sense to me; my friends in high school and I were so tight at that time and we would never. I also hated Sherman and thought that maybe we should have been given SOMETHING to like about him. There was nothing. I really enjoy books where you're meant to dislike the main characters (think My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh, People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd or The New Me by Halle Butler), but I don't think we were supposed to dislike them in this book, so feeling that way about them detracted from my enjoyment of this story.

I also think the discussion of Christianity in this book was too skewed in the "against" direction. I no longer consider myself a Christian but I was raised in both Catholic and more non-denominational churches and most of my family remains Christian, and while I understand that Rory's age and perspective are going to affect her views on the religion, I think that the small attempts to paint some Christians as good people should have gone a little further. Not every Christian is a fundamentalist. Many do adhere to the "do good" part of the religion and the other moral standards that make up the great parts of Christianity.

I was totally caught off guard by the ending of this book and can't decide if I like or hate the way that it ended. Without giving anything away I just want to say justice for Paula, the only character I cared about in this whole book. I suppose it probably was the most realistic ending but in a book that wholly challenges reality we didn't really need a realistic ending. I think I would have preferred to see the aftermath and get more answers than have such an abrupt ending, but I understand why the author chose to end this book the way that she did.

For all its problems, I was absolutely riveted by this book and couldn't put it down. I had to know what happened. I had to get the tea, sis! I looked forward to picking it up each time I had the chance to listen and enjoyed the narration by Nora Hunter. So I can't say that I don't recommend it, because it was well-paced with a really interesting premise that kept me hooked looking for answers. If it sounds interesting to you definitely give it a go! Particularly if you enjoy speculative fiction about women's rights or you liked The Divines by Ellie Eaton or The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir. Thanks to libro.fm's ALC program for a free copy of this audio!

[Cortney - Bookworm & Vine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a rough read for me... I definitely ended up skimming the memories and just read the parts that were happening now so that I could just get through it.

There was a good story in there, but the author's attempt to talk like a 16 year old was grating and pretty awful. "If Anne Frank were alive, she'd totally be an influencer." Ugh.

The ending was good, but not enough to raise my 2 star rating.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kudos to Ms. Lansens for writing a different genre but her contemporary fiction (The Girls) and her historical fiction (Rush Home Road) are two of my all-time favourite reads.
This Little Light takes place over 48 hours in the year 2023. They live in an exclusive gated area where abortion is illegal and girls must pledge to their fathers that they will not have sex before marriage.
This is the story of 16 yr old Rory on the run with her best friend because they are accused of bombing their upper-class Californian high school during an American Virtue Ball. There is a bounty on their heads and they hide as law enforcement, helicopters and drones try to track them down.
Told through Rory's blog writings of the events that occurred it is also about women's rights, abortion, immigration, religion and friendship.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin/Random House Canada for a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know I can be too much with all my opinions, and my cursing, and I'm aware that my friends aren't always ready for or interested in my tirades about women's rights, especially abortion, and black lives and immigrant issues, or whatever. In seventh grade, Delaney, who's the most tranque of us all, because she takes twenty milligrams of her antidepressant every morning, called me relentless. The word had been on our vocab test. Relentless. Too true. I never shut up. I never give up. I ask too many questions. I'm a contrarian. So I started my blog, This Little Light.

In the near future of 2023, there has been a further political entrenchment of America's alt-right, and in the wake of the recriminilisation of abortion and the restriction of access to birth control nation-wide, rumours abound about the shadowy Pink Market – that works underground to connect women to safe abortion providers – and the even more nebulous Red Market – that has allegedly found ways to monetise this illegally-sourced fetal tissue. Growing up in this environment is Rory Ann Miller: A now sixteen-year-old Malibu gated-community rich kid (who had been in middle school and “just starting to see the world through her gender and to question her default Christianity” when abortion was officially outlawed), and when a super-devout Christian “Crusader” moves onto her street, Rory finds all of her friends gravitating to this beautiful young woman and the fundamentalist brand of Christianity that she promotes. When the Crusaders stage an American Virtue Ball (in which daughters pledge chastity until marriage to their fathers in an official ceremony) at their private Christian high school, something happens in the hours just before the narrative of This Little Light begins, and Rory and her bestest best friend, Fee, are sent fleeing into the Malibu hills, chased by drones, personal 'copters, the police, Crusaders, and bounty-hunters seeking the million dollar price on the girls' heads. Safe for now in a friend-of-a-friend's shed, Rory has access to a laptop and determines to write a long blog post about everything that happened to bring her to this point, and as a format, it works really well. While I don't know if I loved the intermittent, “Oh my God you guys, I think I hear something in the woods”, and then after a paragraph break, “Okay, it was just ________”, overall I liked the urgency of Rory writing the narrative as it happens and the mysteries that are hinted at early but aren't revealed until she gets to those points in her backstory. (Note: I read an ARC and passages quoted may not be in their final forms.)

In order to remain calm-ish, I'm going to write our side of the story. I'm afraid we'll be tracked to the shed if I post entries in real time, so I won't submit until I know we're safe. This old lap-top has had a long-life battery upgrade, thank God. I could write all night. Maybe I will. Wouldn't be the first time. Won't be the last. Writing? It's the only way I've ever been able to make sense of my life.

So, obviously, there is a lot of tension in this plot – waiting to learn what is going to happen to the girls in the present and just what the something was that happened at the ball – and as Rory is a slight outsider in her group of friends (her parents are non-practising Canadian Jews, partners in a do-gooder law firm until Rory's dad left for another woman, who sent Rory to a Christian Academy because it was the best local school), she is able to nearly objectively comment on their shared lavish lifestyle and record how horrified she was to watch this formerly Christian-by-culture group of girls morph into fundamentalists who would be willing to restrict their own freedoms if an influential beauty queen and a rock star Reverend told them it was God's will. This all gives the author, Lori Lansens, plenty of space to comment on everything from megachurches to #MeToo – and especially because Rory is writing in the blog format and trying to record conversations and her own opinions about everything – and This Little Light, as a result, feels completely of our moment.

Because Rory is sixteen, Lansens writes in her young voice, saying things like, “We live in Calabass, California, which is famous because Kardashians.” (This “x because y” is used a lot, and I understand it's authentic to the informal writing of people younger than me, but it's still annoying...but still admittedly authentic...) Rory writes things like, “My menstrual cramps are gnarl” and “My mom would be totally cope”, and between the vibe of the vocabulary and the level of debate (teenaged girls can believably sit around and try to develop their opinions on abortion access and discuss just what kind of message those booty shorts are trying to send, while grown women have opinions based on experience that goes beyond what is touched on here), This Little Light has a real YA feel to it (which is not a complaint, just an observation). If I did have a complaint, there is only one male character in this book who isn't a user/controller/womaniser/moral hypocrite, and in the end, he's too good to be true (and to be fair on the flipside, while the fundamentalist Christians are all pretty evil – hoping to gun down a couple of teenaged girls, for a bounty, in a trumped-up Holy War – there are some characters of faith who do the right thing because it is the right thing – and because they haven't been corrupted by organised religion) . But ultimately, I did enjoy the writing:

It was only hours ago, and with everything that happened afterward it should feel like a blur, but I remember every detail from the second we walked into the ballroom – the twinkling fairy lights strangling the pillars near the stage, the flames from hundreds of candles dancing on either side of the long aisle where we'd stand to take our vows, the bleached tablecloths and gleaming dinner plates, snowy roses in porcelain vases and clouds of pale gardenias on pedestals around the dance floor. Girls in gowns. Celestial. But even before anything went wrong, I could sense a vein of malice slicing through the whiteness of it all, hiding, like a razor blade in snow.

So, overall: I liked the sentence-by-sentence writing and the plot tension that the format allowed for, and I thought that Rory was a strongly written character with an authentic teenaged voice. The publisher's blurb calls This Little Light, “an urgent bulletin from an all-too-believable near future”, so a reader's enjoyment might be tied to just how believable and horrifying this particular future seems. As for me, I couldn't quite buy into many of the the details of the plot, nothing that Rory and her friends discussed pointed to something I hadn't considered before, and I had a believability problem with most of the secondary characters. Not really for me.

[Jypsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you The Overlook Press for a complimentary copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

This Little Light
By: Lori Lansens


REVIEW ☆☆☆☆☆

Let's set the stage for Lori Lansens' This Little Light. It is 9:51 p.m. on 11/27/2024. In this not so distant future, things have changed, yet things haven't changed at all. Religion and politics don't mix, immigration has not been reformed, and the gap between the haves and have nots is vast and continues to widen. Abortion is again illegal, and women's rights are shrinking. Religious groups are very vocal, and sometimes violent, in their beliefs. Our lead characters, Rory Miller(16) and Feliza Lopez(16), are caught in a volatile situation.

"We're trending...Those pics..in your feed
and on TV over the past few hours? Two fresh-faced teens in bridal couture on the arms of their daddies at tonight's American Virtue Ball? That's me and Fee, my best friend...They're calling us the Villians in Versace...The truth is that Fee and I did not try to blow up the chastity ball at Sacred Heart High tonight...We're being flayed in the media. Convicted by social. And now we're freaking fugitives, hiding out...in the mountains overlooking Malibu...We've been accused of being "runners" doing dastardly deeds for the Red Market...Everyone knows there's a Pink Market out there helping minors access birth control, and morning-after pills, and getting them to underground clinics and all. But the Red Market? Supposedly it's a baby-stealing mafia that supplies product to illegal stem cell research labs."

How quickly social media will crucify anyone about anything is astonishing.
Truth is irrelevant compared to likes and follows, especially in the bubble where the girls live. Rory, Feliza, and their friends (The Hive) live in Calabasas, California, "which is famous because Kardashians." It's a life of luxury and privilege for these girls.

"My friends and I lead such confusing lives. We write essays about Jesus's love for the poor and disenfranchised then go shop Louis and Prada. We laze around our pools snarking on those who have not, idolizing those who have a shit-ton."

"..my town isn't a town the way people think of towns...There's no smoking in Calabasas. No styrofoam. No plastic bags. No straws. No fast food. No trash on the streets. No homeless. No ugly, basically...a stunning backdrop for the photos we post. We post a lot. From the outside we must look like assholes. Maybe from the inside too. We have too much. We are too much."

Too much is an understatement, better excessive bordering on disgusting. How, then, did two teenage girls in this insulated environment end up on the run? Together, the girls attend Sacred Heart High, a private Christian, but progressive, school. Rory describes herself as "the atheist blogger with opinions." She "started to see the world through.. gender and to question..default Christianity." Her friends accept her without issue, until a new girl moves into the neighborhood and cunningly places doubt and dissension in The Hive.

"Jinny Hutsall? This whole...nightmare started when she blew into Oakwood Circle...the second Sunday in September."

Jinny tells them she is a Crusader, a zealot about anti-abortion. At the Crusaders forefront is Reverend Jagger Jonze, and his American Virtue Ball, which, coincidentally, Jinny is a huge proponent of. Within no time, The Hive are in Jinny's house, drinking fresh lemonade and eating cookies,watching an AVB video, and hanging out with her five gorgeous brothers in the pool (all of this in a house that no one actually lives in yet). The girls agree to host an American Virtue Ball at their school, and Rory, caving to peer pressure, agrees. She is the only one who sees through Jinny's schemes. From the start, Jinny vehemently attacks Rory and twists everything Rory says to make her look ridiculous in front of her friends. Why?
There exists a deep divide over the legality or illegality of abortion. As an atheist/heathen Rory is at odds with Jinny, the righteous. This is a big problem.

"They're saying that what happened at the Virtue Ball tonight has ignited an "American Holy War."..And the host of tonight's ball, Reverend Jagger Jonze-the one that put up the million-dollar bounty after everything went down...He's rocketed to superstardom. Just like that. Jagger Jonze is the devil."

Coincidence or something more? Rory is intelligent and begins to wonder if she was framed as a holy example of what a heathen will do. Fee refuses to believe that Jinny and Jonze would do such a thing. As the girls plan their next move, Rory continues to tell their story in a real time blog to be posted once they are safe and not traceable. Rory fills in background information as she goes, and the irony of the situation is not lost on Rory.

"I have to say, it would be tragically lame to die in a Holy War when I don't even believe in God."

As events progress, Rory and Fee encounter unlikely allies, surprising enemies and shocking revelations. This journey takes so many turns, and I never knew what to expect. From the first page, I was captivated by the writing style and realistic voice of a sixteen year old girl. I read this book in one sitting, and it has stayed in my mind since. There is such remarkable beauty and stunning brutality in these pages. I was speechless at the end of this impactful story. I urge everyone to read This Little Light.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lori Lansen’s latest novel takes place in the near future, during a time when abortion has become illegal in the States, birth control is hard to obtain, and the rights of women, immigrants, and minorities have been slashed. When a small bomb explodes at an exclusive high school’s “virtue ball”, 16-year old Rory is immediately suspected as being the perpetuator and a bounty is put on her head and that of her best friend. Rory takes to her laptop to document events as they happen, and also to record the past six months of her life so that if she doesn’t survive, at least the world will know what really happened.

Rory is a great character: brave, strong, and scared, yet furious at how women’s (and others’) rights have been eroded in the short span of her life. She frantically records everything that’s happening to her in real time, which lends real tension to the story as it unfolds over the space of only 48 hours. Lansen has created a character who truly sounds authentic, so although I can’t knock her for that, it’s a part of the reason I can’t give the book 5 stars. Rory, even by her own admission, swears too much. It’s just my personal taste, but I’m not a fan of excessive profanity. I know that’s just me, but still. Rory also speaks (writes) in a very teenage voice which, again, kudos to Lansen for capturing Rory’s teenage tone, but as a result the novel almost seems to belong in the young adult genre. Nothing wrong with that: as a young adult novel, it would be very strong and I’d definitely recommend it to teens.

Having said that, I’d still recommend the novel to all readers because I did enjoy it and the message is one that we all need to hear and remember as we embark on the rather scary times that I think lie ahead for us. I just think it might appeal to a slightly younger audience but then again, who better to reach out to in order to stand up for our rights?

And that ending. Wow.

[Pauline · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not sure if this book is meant to be ridiculously over the top to put across the point that making abortion illegal is also ridiculously over the top, but the book seems like a bad teenage flick. The part when Chase shows up and Rory is so happy about him kissing her...seriously at that point in the novel it does not fit. Appreciate the message the book is sending, but needed better execution.

[Kayla TM · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is written in blog format by sixteen year old Rory Miller as she and her best friend Feliza Lopez are on the run after being accused of setting off a bomb in a school bathroom during a purity ball. The story takes place in 2024, in an America where abortion has been criminalized and birth control is essentially nonexistent, except in underground, illegal networks. While the premise is good, I feel like the setting should be a little more in the future: a lot can change in four years, sure, but I feel like it would’ve been more believable if it had been ten years from now, or even twenty. Rory would’ve grown up in the world where abortions are illegal, but she could still hold on to her dissenting opinions. Being twelve, or so, when it was made illegal doesn’t make her old enough to understand the shift that would’ve occurred during that time, or how people would’ve reacted. The blog format, while informative, creative, and a good way to see exactly what Rory is feeling and seeing, is a bit one sided. I feel there are a lot of open ends that could’ve been closed up. There’s a lot of speculation made by Rory that never is proven or even wrapped up, instead its a sixteen year old, with no world experience, making guesses. Rory is a strong, wonderful character: she stands up for what she believes in, even when none of her friends are supporting her, but really there’s not much that’s dynamic about her. The story is the driving point of the book, and it is engaging and intriguing. I just feel that it’s lacking the facts that could’ve been included if it wasn’t simply the blog format. The ending is a disappointment. I feel like it could’ve been so much longer and more in depth. There could be a sense of finality, and justice, but it’s just not there. I did enjoy the book for the most part, but I think there are a lot of glaring issues that could be bettered: 3 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and goodreads for my copy.

[Christine Picard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolument frappant. Un roman qui se lit d’un seul souffle.

[Maude · Rating 5 out of 5]

la jeune cousine hip de la servante écarlate. 4,5 ⭐️

[Nursebookie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a riveting read about the not so distant future and frightening reality over the course of 48 hours, as told through the authentic voice of our 16yo heroine, Rory Miller. Set in a posh California community where religious zealots and social media dominates as does social class, politics and women’s rights - which are left in jeopardy.

Lansens writes with urgency and passion in this edge of seat read. I really enjoyed this one. Don’t let the peaceful and demure cover fool you. This one is quite the enthralling and thrilling read.

[Magdelanye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cognitive dissonance the confusion that arise in a person when what they believe and understand about life doesn't line up with what's happening in front of their face. p29

In theory I was so right, but I felt so wrong. p42

Cheeky as heck, astute and critical, outspoken: of course Rory was a target at her exclusive private girls school. She gets away with her antics because she is a part of an elite, confident of her superior place in the world. Only she is not. There is a plaintive note that runs through her inner dialogue. Aware of disparity, questioning authority, at 16 she has a missionary zeal to expose the hypocrisy she encounters in her social set.

If a person says, "not to be offensive," they're about to offend. If they say "not to be racist," whatever they say next will totally be racist. p122

...not everybody starts life with the same degree of privilege. p239

So how did she end up with her estranged father at the high-tone Virginity Ball?
And what about that bomb in the bathroom?

Once I had gotten over my culture shock and my aversion to shopping, and mastered the vernacular, I began to enjoy this racy and surprisingly delightful and bold examination of the sticky topics of faith, loyalty and virginity. Some people will have a hard time with book, because, language.

Where the hell is God? Doesn't He see...pain and despair? p75
Even if I don't believe in Him, God is not an asshole. I guess. I don't know. Maybe secretly I'm hoping I'm wrong, and He's somewhere in the atmosphere, answering...prayers. p111

The setting for this book is the near future. If it seems a bit far fetched and chilling, think about it. Unless we begin to examine the way fundamentalism erodes religion, and make some necessary changes, it's just, a hop-skip- and-a jump away.

I am so done with violent religious people. p142

[BG · Rating 1 out of 5]

So disappointed in this story. It lacked depth and substance. And what’s with the use of the word “prolly”??? I appreciate the attempt at creating a story that exemplifies the superficiality in society and how social media plays a role in this. But, I think Lansens could have done this with more depth. Instead, it felt rushed and basic. Good introduction of the character Paula. I would have liked to learn more about Paula.

[Delainie · Rating 1 out of 5]

After further thought, this book was so ridiculous and over the top and RIDICULOUS a that I am giving it 1 star. Spontaneous god-gifted ejaculation?!?! This is so dumb. All of it.

[SRK · Rating 1 out of 5]

It really makes me sad that there are enough prominent "Christians" out there that Ms Lansens could think that the rest of us are really like those she portrays in this book. We don't judge all Muslims by ISIS do we? Jesus taught love, selflessness and kindness, not rules and rigidity and judgement. The only people He judged and got upset with? The religious rulers of the time. The type Lansens portrays in this book. It's unfortunate that she chose to only portray stereotypes. It certainly does nothing to ease the vitriol running rampant in society today.

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having this written via an in the making blog-diary-post? Aweful. Nothing wrong with the plot, but having everything explained as a series of flashbacks intermingling with "oh this just happened", sucked all of the action and suspense right out of it.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, so it took me a while to get into this book, but once I did, it just took off!
Set in the near future, where abortion is illegal in the US, and the right wing evangelicals seem to be on the rise, a 16 year old girl, Rory, and her friends get caught up in a situation that spins out of their control. A new girl moves into their privileged cul-de-sac and upends life long friendships as she attempts to indoctrinate the girls with her religious fervor. Rory isn’t buying it, especially when she promotes a chastity ball where the girls pledge their virginity to their fathers (ew!). When a bomb goes off near the ball, somehow Rory and her friend Fee are blamed. They are hunted by the police, the right wing “Crusaders” and anyone who is trying to earn the $2 million bounty on their heads. As they hole up in a ramshackle shed, Rory documents everything on her blog in real time, hoping to hit “Send” when they are safe.

Rory is a spunky, intelligent and impulsive 16 year old, with the vocabulary of a drunken sailor. I wish I wasn’t as put off by the language as I was, since I have been known to drop snd F-bomb or two…or twenty, but Rory’s potty mouth was way overdone. The entire story is told from Rory’s POV over a 48 hour period when she and Fee are hiding. It also gets into everyone’s backstory, which eventually explains a lot about the characters.

The story examines a lot of issues, all from Rory’s POV: race and class; immigration; homelessness; fundamental religions; abortion and women’s rights; the haves vs. the have nots; crass materialism, and entitlement. That’s a lot for a 16 year old to unpack.

If the story drags a bit for you, and it might, please hang in there until the very end. All I can say is WOW!

A definite recommend.

[Mom_Loves_Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fans of 'Vox', 'Handmaids Tale' or 'Red Clocks' will really dig this coming-of-age, YA-feminist, thriller! Written in Rory's voice as she blogs (but not in the style of blogging you would expect per say), this is dubbed post-apocalyptic/dystopian fiction, but it takes place in 2024, & it's not really apocalyptic, just slightly on the fringe of our present & where it seems to be heading at times.
.
'This Little Light' is a riveting, intense, & captivating story about how social media can become the judge, jury & executioner w/out knowing all the facts, & one girls fight for what she believes in: honesty, humility, & humanity. And an ending that will make you gasp! My only hope is that by 2024 teens don't talk the way they do in this book, w/ half words, offensive words, & incomplete sentences; but the book was quite engaging!

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Preeeesque 5 étoiles.
Comme d'habitude, j'ai adoré ce que Lori Lansens avait à raconter.

[Marilou Frenette · Rating 5 out of 5]

WoW! It’s was intense and full of truth! The end tho…

[Cassidee Lanstra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a powerful book. I’ll get to it right off the bat, this was a 4.5 star book to me, rounded up to Goodreads. I’ll be honest though, if you fall as a very far right conservative, especially due to religion, you probably won’t enjoy this book. There’s the challenging of a lot of ultra conservative ideals. I can say that Overlook Press and Abrams Books KILLLLLLLS it with these powerful releases. I think they might be my favorite publishers outside of fantasy, I have enjoyed every book sent my way or purchased from them. This Little Light by Lori Lansens was no exception.

Let us start with a short synopsis. Rory and Fee are on the run after their Christian school is bomber during an Abstinence Ball where they are all pledging their virginity. They perform a cringe-inducing ceremony where they pledge to their fathers to abstain til marriage. Rory is an atheist and decided to partake since all of her friends did and it was an excuse to wear a beautiful dress. The newest addition to their school, Jinny is a Crusader, and has it out for Rory for not believing. When the school gets bombed and Rory gets blamed, Fee ends up along for the ride. While on the run, Rory journals her experience in unpublished blogs (as you not give away their location) and tries to figure out if Jinny set her up.

This all too realistic near-future novel starts out in ultra rich Calabasas (think Kardashians) where fanatical religion and hypocrisy walk hand in hand. The US has become obsessed with virginity and religion, women’s rights are being stripped, birth control and abortions are banned even in the most serious if circumstances. The country is afire with bounty hunters, seeking out those running underground services for women to receive safe womanly care. The bounty on Rory and Fee climbs in the millions. Everyone is obsessed with religion and purity, though they don’t practice what they preach behind closed doors. Affairs, fake celibacy, sexual aggression towards minors, scoffing at the poor when passing by them on the streets. Fake activism, writing passages about the huddled masses and how Jesus loved the poor, but calling them free loaders, wishing death upon the homeless “dirtying” their streets, and not stopping to help but scurrying last disdainfully.

“We write essays about Jesus’s love for the poor and disenfranchised then go shop Louis and Prada. We laze around our pools snarking in those who have no, idolizing those who have a shit-Tom. We’re jumping back and forth all day long—spiritual double Dutch—-and it makes me seriously dizzy.”

There’s a large look at the way the ultra rich hide behind conservatism fiscally, and how that can outweigh morality. People that are okay with their taxes and money being used to help the downtrodden get called bleeding hearts or libtards (which is thrown around in this book). Conducive to many instances in real life, this novel highlights the way greed can overshadow the love that religion is supposed to teach. The longing to control women, preaching abstinence to them while turning a blind eye to whatever the men do. Measuring the length of their skirts or shorts because they are supposed to be your idea of pure, which in theory itself is ridiculous, because no woman’s body is the same. These guidelines, checking for fingertips against shorts, using a yardstick for “skirting” in religious schools, are objectionable not only because clothes lay different on our bodies than the next person, but because a woman’s body shouldn’t be surveyed for how appropriate we deem it. The swell of a breast is immodest? Your thigh? These are social constructs and Lori Lansens highlights what happens when we let people run away with commanding women and their bodies.

Rory talks and thinks like a teenage girl, if not an intelligent one. Though she’s an atheist and a free spirit, she’s also afraid to fully break away from the crowd. Her friends go to a Christian school, so she does. Her friends attend an abstinence ball, so she does. They follow the Kardashians and like expensive clothes, so she does. She isn’t a perfect character. She’s an utterly believable teenage girl. She has hidden biases even though she’s more accepting than the other girls. She’s Jewish and her mother is an immigration lawyer, so she is more accepting of people of different culture and religion, as she’s been exposed to a wider worldview. She also understands that she has a lot to learn about racism, feminism, and privilege.

“The thing is, I don’t want to be a dick. The racism thing? The white privilege thing? The white feminist thing? I want to understand it all, and acknowledge it beyond the obvious, and I actually wanna get this shit right.”

I loved the juxtaposition of Jinny, a devout “virgin” used to market the Crusader cause while being this very sex kittenish bombshell. It really highlights the way women are salivated over for their virginity and the unhealthy obsession with it. It reminded me of how Britney Spears was marketed as this virgin sex icon to sell records, even though it was later found out that she wasn’t (and it shouldn’t matter what she was doing with her own life anyway).

The virginity pledge was straight creeeeeepy too. They essentially pledged to keep their virginity to their dads until they are married, but the way that it was done reminded me of certain weird politicians and celebrities that fawn over their daughters’ sex appeal and ability to be chaste. This happens closer to home, too, it’s just easy to cite people that are in the public eye. The fascination from men about their daughter’s sex life is really unhealthy and concerning, when they are fine with their sons doing whatever they want.

“You are my light. You are my love. And I promise Heaven up above. That I’ll keep you pure as the driven snow, till the day I have to let you go. I’ll always be your daddy. You’ll be my baby girl. One day I will share you, but until then you’ll wear my pearl.”

Makes you feel icky, right? Lori Lansens touches on everything; gaslighting victims, women’s reproductive rights, fake activism, hidden biases, fanatical religion, fiscal vs moral responsibility. I devoured this book over the span of a few hours. It was very easy to read, intelligent, witty, and important. If you were a fan of The Handmaid’s Tale, you might enjoy this one too. I find that it is a middle ground between our current reality and the severity of that book/show. The character of Chase was a bit too neatly wrapped up and more thoroughly introduced right at the end, but I enjoyed it alla. This Little Light came out earlier this month and you can purchase it now. Thank you to Overlook and Abrams for sending me a finished copy for an honest review!

[Alena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Wow. Wow.
This book took my breath away. By the end I was literally on the edge of my seat and, if I'm being honest, reading through tears in my eyes. Yes, it was that emotional for me.
Published in 2020 but taking place in a "future year 2024," the setting is Calabasas in a reality that is just over the razor's edge from what we are living in 2025. A world where women's control over our bodies has been legally limited and where a charismatic conservative christian leader leads a Crusade for white christian girls to vow celibacy to their fathers the social media trend with dangerous undertones. The narrator is a 16-year-old girl on the run blogging her experience. Honesty, the setting and pace of this novel felt so real, it made my skin itch.
I don't want to say much more about the plot because the suspense and plot twists are part of what power my 5-star rating. The narrator's palpable voice and the gut-punching emotional resonance drive the rest.
I've read and liked several of this author's books. This is my favorite.

[Nancy Brooks Bourne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. The voice or the main character was perfection and the way she slowly unraveled the story/back story for you though her blog post. The setting was only 5 years from now but what a scary look into what the future holds if old white male politicians (continue to) dictate what is to happen to womans bodies and rights.

[Penny Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kept seeing Lori Lansens’ This Little Light described as a dystopian novel, so I was excited to give it a shot. Dystopia, especially young adult dystopia, is a genre that has been done to death. Starting with The Hunger Games, there were years of YA dystopian novels being pushed by publishers, most of them not worth your time.

I would love the genre to make a comeback, however, so I’m always on the lookout for something new. This Little Light is a very light dystopia, where Christian fundamentalists have gained power and abortion has become illegal.

Two teenage girls, Rory and Fee, are forced to flee after an explosion at the American Virtue Ball they’re attending. The novel is told from Rory’s perspective, as she live-blogs the entire situation.

The first thing I want to mention is that events like the American Virtue Ball actually happen. The point of these “Purity balls” is to promote abstinence and to promise your fathers and god that you’ll abstain from sex until marriage. Just like in This Little Light, fathers present their daughters with some kind of gift (ring, necklace, etc.) in exchange for their daughters promising a vow of chastity to their fathers. I’m not going to get really deep into this, except to say that it creeps me out, women are not possessions of men, and that abstinence doesn’t work.

The blog format was interesting. On the one hand, it propels the narrative forward and portrays a sense of panic to the reader. At the same time, however, I found it irritating. Rory would write things like:

“Holy shit. Just heard something, and it wasn’t the wind. There’s a truck on the road, and it’s coming this way.”

I find it to be unrealistic that someone would type that instead of just jumping up to investigate, especially when they’re literally being hunted by bounty hunters. I understand why Lori Lansens went with this format because, again, it does add a sense of urgency to the story, but it would have worked just as well as a more typical first-person narrative.

The biggest issue I had with this novel is that the reaction to the book’s inciting event is excessive and it requires a suspension of disbelief. There’s a small explosion at the American Virtue Ball (where no one is killed) and the person running the show (whose name is Jagger Jonze, by the way) puts up a million-dollar bounty to track Rory and Fee down. There’s no real evidence that they’re responsible for the explosion, and I found it hard to believe that the entire nation would rally behind this and start tracking down two teenage girls. For this level of reaction, something much bigger and more important should have occurred.

I don’t know if this is because I’m getting old, but I struggled with Rory’s vernacular. The author is 58 years old but is writing from the perspective of a 16-year-old. Lansens uses a particular sentence structure over and over again that really annoyed me:

“We live in Calabass, California, which is famous because Kardashians.”

Maybe young people today do talk like that, but it bothers the crap out of me. Obviously, this is a personal preference, so it might not bother you at all, but “a because b” is not proper English.

All of the characters in This Little Light are incredibly rich and privileged, which usually turns me off of a book. So I really appreciated that Lori Lansens wrote Rory to be hyper-aware of her privilege and how lucky she is compared to the majority of the world. It made her character a little easier to stomach.

This isn’t a book that I can recommend. Much better options would be Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale or Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, both novels that are highly deserving of your attention. I appreciate what Lori Lansens was attempting to with This Little Light, but it ultimately fell flat.

[Laurie • The Baking Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This compelling story takes place in the near future and features relevant issues, a tense plot, a strong main character and a shocking ending. The intensity grows throughout the story, which is set over 48 hours, as two teenage girls flee for their lives when they're accused of bombing their high school's 'Virtue Ball'.

This is a Dystopian read where issues of socio-economic disparity, immigration, climate change, the power of the government, media and fundamentalist religion are at the forefront. Abortion has been recriminalized and birth control is hard to obtain, which creates an underground 'Pink Market' for these services. The rights of women have been whittled away to the point where teen girls are told their place in society, which includes declaring a chastity promise to their fathers. That's a whole lotta issues, but it works.

Rory, as the protagonist, is a breath of fresh air. I love her strength and conviction as she voices her opinions and relentlessly questions the way things are being done (her outspokenness often being blamed on her being half Canadian! Atta, girl!). She's one small voice in a sea of media, Christian fundamentalists and politicians who want to control the rights of women and keep immigrants 'in their place'.

This story has a strong Teen vibe to it which is great, but unexpected. The only thing I didn't love was the teen speak which felt contrived and often grating. For example, "I wanted to tell Fee to go up and have a shower because smell .." This kind of dialogue occurred a lot and felt awkward - like the author was trying too hard to sound like a teen.

Overall, this was an engaging, eye-opening read that handles some big issues within a compulsive story that shows the importance of people questioning how things are done and not just accepting what you see in the media as fact. This is, obviously, a good pick for people itching for books with a Handmaid's Tale feel to it.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Random House Canada for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Noah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is, genuinely and without exaggeration, one of the worst books I have ever read. I do not mean to be rude to the author; I’m sure she’s a lovely person and seems to be a good writer otherwise. But WOW—this was terrible. At the halfway point I stopped reading it to read it and started reading it to laugh at how bad it was.

This review contains spoilers, but the book is so awful that you (hopefully) won’t be finishing it anyway so does it really matter?

The premise was actually interesting! I was excited to read this book, expecting it to provide me with something feminist and profound, reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale. I was so, so wrong. Here’s what I got instead:

- A protagonist who is trying a little too hard to be sympathetic to the reader.
- Constant overuse of “teenage” slang that was, frankly, absolutely bizarre for a book that is supposed to take place in the very-near-future.
- Pages upon pages of dialogue that, due to the above factor, felt cheesy and contrived.
- The most ridiculous scene I have ever read in my life, involving a man being jacked off by the invisible Jesus Christ himself in front of five teenagers. It’s not often that I read a scene, think to myself “Hmm, what story-building purpose does this serve?” and then am completely lost for an answer, so props to the author for that one, I guess.
- This is pedantic, I’ll admit, but a surprising amount of spelling and grammar errors—and not in the intentional way.
- An incredibly poorly-executed ending involving the main character’s death that could have been so much more satisfying than it was.

All in all, yikes.

It’s important to write about sex, Christianity, fundamentalism, power, and the ways each of these intersect relative to people who aren’t privileged. But if you’re looking for meaningful discussion of any of these topics, this is the wrong book for you.
If, however, you enjoy gratuitous usage of the word “spoo,” go for it. I sincerely hope you have more fun reading this book than I did.

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 well-deserved stars!! I loved this book!! I was a little bit tentative at first because the narrator is ~15 and speaks very much like a 15 year-old. The language took a bit of getting used to, but before long I was really into it. What an incredible story! In this one book Lori Lansens covered several 'issues of the day' and she did it remarkably well! The adventure began immediately and didn't let up until the very last page. The ending ... it came about very suddenly, and shocked me. I had grown quite fond of the characters. The sadness stayed with me for quite a while.

I loved the way the narrator told the story - through her online blog - which was genius! This is a tremendously well-written book - the kind that really makes you stop and think about things. That's always a good thing. It's another wonderful novel from Lori Lansens. I hope she publishes another soon!

I won This Little Light through a Goodreads give-away. My sincere thanks to the author.