About the Book:
Star-crossed lovers, against-all-odds friendship, and a brutally unforgiving world make this first in a trilogy utterly unforgettable.
We’re two songs joined. And there’s a word for that. A harmony.
Elsa is used to hiding the most important parts of herself—her feelings for Rye, her distaste for a world ruled by men, and, most crucially, her gift of songlight. She buries that secret deep inside. In Brightland, those with songlight are called Unhumans and are abhorred. Rye is the only other person Elsa has known with songlight, and their shared bond has brought them together.
Elsa’s world begins to fall apart one desperate, heart-wrenching day and she doesn’t know where to turn until a girl appears before her. But the girl isn’t really there—her songlight has been drawn to Elsa’s frantic grief.
Elsa lives in a remote seaside village; Nightingale, her new friend, lives in a city hundreds of miles away with her father, a government official responsible for rooting out Unhumans. The two never expected to connect via songlight. But when they do, and when they realize the extent of their power, they’ll be thrust in the middle of a war that threatens their very existence.
From an award-winning screenwriter making her novel debut comes this powerful, page-turning trilogy perfect for fans of Sabaa Tahir and Adrienne Young.
*Review Contributed by Rachel Feeck, Staff Reviewer*
Blending forbidden magic, endless war, and a historic feel, Songlight is a gripping start to a new dystopian series centered on Elsa, a girl from a small town whose entire life is shaped by her magic and the war’s demands on every citizen. With her brother soon leaving for the front, Elsa has accepted her unhappy fate as a soon-to-be bride for returning soldiers. However, when her secret magic is nearly discovered and her best friend Rye is taken away, she realizes she can’t afford to continue living life without questioning the systems hurting everyone around her.
This story is mainly about the characters, with chapters from the perspectives of Elsa, Rye, her brother Piper, and others, including a girl who’s voice reaches Elsa with magic from across the sea. All of them are super interesting, and I was drawn into how their paths intertwine while they’re each trapped by the war machine in different ways. The focus on introspection makes for some sections feeling repetitive, but every time there were external conflicts, I was hooked right back into the story.
The magic system is also super interesting. People like Elsa have the ability to speak to each other at a distance and experience the far away surroundings, in a sort of telepathy or spirit projection. The exact nature of it varies from person to person, and the Elsa sometimes describes the experience as hearing a secret song in the world, a music that not everyone can hear. I’m definitely looking forward to learning more about all the possibilities related to songlight as the series continues.
While this is a YA novel, readers should be aware of the intense content. The ruling society has systems of forced marriage and sexual workers. Content warnings include frequent swearing, allusion to sex, depictions of emotional and sexual abuse, and mention of non-consensual mutilation.
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