A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

In the class of the high school English teacher she has been haunting, Helen feels them: for the first time in 130 years, human eyes are looking at her. They belong to a boy, a boy who has not seemed remarkable until now. And Helen—terrified, but intrigued—is drawn to him. The fact that he is in a body and she is not presents this unlikely couple with their first challenge. But as the lovers struggle to find a way to be together, they begin to discover the secrets of their former lives and of the young people they come to possess.

4.5 stars

I'm ashamed to admit that I almost stopped reading this book. Chapter 1 just did not draw me in. But something–possibly a spirit named Helen with an affinity for literature–pushed me forward. And from Chapter 2 onward, I never wanted to stop reading.

The points of view in this book were so interesting–how we saw Jenny's life from Helen's point of view and Billy's life from James' point of view. It gave us some teenage drama without completely engulfing us in the woes of adolescence.

And what a beautifully written book. Each description felt intentional and meaningful. I adored how the characters threw themselves into their love [and their lust] with such reckless abandon. The pace of their relationship might have felt unrealistic in another story, but their ‘circumstances' just made it even more romantic.

EDIT: I wrote this review at 1am as soon as I finished the book, and twenty minutes later, I already feel like it's vague, awkward, and doesn't fully capture my feelings, but I'm gonna leave it stand until I write something better.

I adored this book, and read it extremely quickly (for me). It fits a lot into 200-ish pages, and has some truly gorgeous writing, and yet still felt streamlined and efficient.

This is an odd review for me because, on the surface there are quite few things about this novel that shouldn't work, and it feels strange to be writing 5-star review mentioning what might be considered flaws, but something about this book was more than the sum of its parts, and everything that worked and and spoke to me outweighed any quibbles I might have had.

There are definitely some parts of this book that could have valid criticism laid against it. Some may find certain messages a bit heavy handed, and there could be a lot said about consent and bodily autonomy, and while I didn't need some of the messy ends to be tied up, I can see it bothering others. I think these grey areas were handled in such a way that reading those parts felt appropriately and intentionally uncomfortable, though maybe a little easily dismissed. But overall, it all hung together just so, for me personally.

The supporting characters around Helen were written with varying degrees of depth and complexity, but given the economy of the book's length, they all served their purpose. James was likeable, but was kept at enough of a distance that I was never 100% sure of his intentions, which I thought was quite well done and clever, and really served to add to the build of tension. But, Helen herself was wistful and charming, and her observations of her hosts in particular were bittersweet and heartfelt.

Ultimately, I thought it was a beautiful story, and it's ruminations on loneliness and grief touched me in particular.