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A review by sergek94
The Lighthouse by Christopher Parker
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Beacon Press for a free advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Amy, who has just hit adulthood and left her teen years behind, was recently struck with the unbearable trauma of losing her beloved mother to a tragic car accident. Her father, Kevin, who works with the police, equally struck by this tragic event, has found himself at a loss, unable to bridge the chasm this event created between him and his daughter. At his brother's suggestion, the two leave Portland and head to a town called Seabrook, where Ryan, our second main character in the story, is dealing with his own dilemma, trying to survive severe financial difficulties that could cost him his family ranch, while taking care of his ill father. The lives of these two characters intertwine, impacting each other in profound ways.
This book does a great job hitting the reader in all the right places to get them to experience the heavy emotions it was trying to convey. It deeply explores grief, an emotion we all experience at one point in life. It does a great job showing us how grief can greatly damage our mental health, making us believe that there is no realistic path forward after an irreversible loss, even though there is always a way out of that dark tunnel, if one changes their perspective, and allows time to slowly make the wound hurt less. We walk with Amy through this dark path, and get to see how Ryan shines a beacon of light in her life that allows all of these shadows to start losing their influence on her. We get to experience the simple purity of kindness that Ryan embodies through his character, which is a very refreshing breath of air, since this kindheartedness is very difficult to come across in our day to day lives.
The setting of the story was described quite nicely, and reading this book felt like a very vivid journey into Seabrook, and I was left feeling truly immersed in the atmosphere of the world. I could vividly imagine the town square, the hotel, the ranch, the beach and the lighthouse, and it was a very cozy atmosphere. When I think of Seabrook, I get a pleasant and nostalgic feeling, and it is a town I would like to re-explore one day.
The story is very character driven, and it is imperative to like the characters in order to enjoy reading the book, since we spend a great portion of it exploring the psyches of our main characters and reading about them hanging out with each other. There were surprising twists in the book that took the plot to places I wasn't initially expecting, and it did a good job making me want to turn the pages to find out what happens next.
One critique I would have would be related to the characters themselves, specifically their dialogues which felt a bit too one-dimensional and without much variability. Their expressions felt too artificial and not too realistic in terms of what you would expect from people in real life. To give a vague idea about what I mean without quoting the actual book, most of the dialogue was similar to things like "Oh, I'm so glad you did that!" or "Oh, jeez, that does sound so very terrible!.. with a lot of "cliche stock expressions" and punctuation that make it clear that this is a work of fiction with the characterization not being very realistic. This aspect of the book negatively impacted my immersion, however, some people might see it as a positive form of escapism. Due to this aspect of the writing and the softer romance aspects, I would classify this book as more of a YA work and not so much as an adult book as it was marketed under, so having this expectation in mind while reading it might lead the reader to have a more positive experience and not be taken by surprise because of it. I would have also preferred if Amy's character was developed a little more, since she felt a bit bland in some aspects and vivacious in others, in a manner that was a bit inconsistent despite her grief.
Overall, this was a pleasant book to read. The developments at the second half of the book made me appreciate the story as a whole, and rereading the book one day knowing the full picture would be an interesting experience since I would notice the little hints planted at the beginning. The topics explored tug at your heartstrings, and Seabrook is a very heartwarming place the reader will likely appreciate their stay in. I would be curious to see more works by this author!
Amy, who has just hit adulthood and left her teen years behind, was recently struck with the unbearable trauma of losing her beloved mother to a tragic car accident. Her father, Kevin, who works with the police, equally struck by this tragic event, has found himself at a loss, unable to bridge the chasm this event created between him and his daughter. At his brother's suggestion, the two leave Portland and head to a town called Seabrook, where Ryan, our second main character in the story, is dealing with his own dilemma, trying to survive severe financial difficulties that could cost him his family ranch, while taking care of his ill father. The lives of these two characters intertwine, impacting each other in profound ways.
This book does a great job hitting the reader in all the right places to get them to experience the heavy emotions it was trying to convey. It deeply explores grief, an emotion we all experience at one point in life. It does a great job showing us how grief can greatly damage our mental health, making us believe that there is no realistic path forward after an irreversible loss, even though there is always a way out of that dark tunnel, if one changes their perspective, and allows time to slowly make the wound hurt less. We walk with Amy through this dark path, and get to see how Ryan shines a beacon of light in her life that allows all of these shadows to start losing their influence on her. We get to experience the simple purity of kindness that Ryan embodies through his character, which is a very refreshing breath of air, since this kindheartedness is very difficult to come across in our day to day lives.
The setting of the story was described quite nicely, and reading this book felt like a very vivid journey into Seabrook, and I was left feeling truly immersed in the atmosphere of the world. I could vividly imagine the town square, the hotel, the ranch, the beach and the lighthouse, and it was a very cozy atmosphere. When I think of Seabrook, I get a pleasant and nostalgic feeling, and it is a town I would like to re-explore one day.
The story is very character driven, and it is imperative to like the characters in order to enjoy reading the book, since we spend a great portion of it exploring the psyches of our main characters and reading about them hanging out with each other. There were surprising twists in the book that took the plot to places I wasn't initially expecting, and it did a good job making me want to turn the pages to find out what happens next.
One critique I would have would be related to the characters themselves, specifically their dialogues which felt a bit too one-dimensional and without much variability. Their expressions felt too artificial and not too realistic in terms of what you would expect from people in real life. To give a vague idea about what I mean without quoting the actual book, most of the dialogue was similar to things like "Oh, I'm so glad you did that!" or "Oh, jeez, that does sound so very terrible!.. with a lot of "cliche stock expressions" and punctuation that make it clear that this is a work of fiction with the characterization not being very realistic. This aspect of the book negatively impacted my immersion, however, some people might see it as a positive form of escapism. Due to this aspect of the writing and the softer romance aspects, I would classify this book as more of a YA work and not so much as an adult book as it was marketed under, so having this expectation in mind while reading it might lead the reader to have a more positive experience and not be taken by surprise because of it. I would have also preferred if Amy's character was developed a little more, since she felt a bit bland in some aspects and vivacious in others, in a manner that was a bit inconsistent despite her grief.
Overall, this was a pleasant book to read. The developments at the second half of the book made me appreciate the story as a whole, and rereading the book one day knowing the full picture would be an interesting experience since I would notice the little hints planted at the beginning. The topics explored tug at your heartstrings, and Seabrook is a very heartwarming place the reader will likely appreciate their stay in. I would be curious to see more works by this author!