This is a terrific debut novel. I don't rule it as a mysteries and there is a mystery here, but this was so much more. In spite of having to spend more time than I wanted looking up Russian words, I definitely recommend this heartbreaking yet hopeful novel. I will definitely watch for what Lydia Fitzpatrick will write in the future.

This was a great read. The novel stayed with me long after I put it down. Can't wait to see whatLydia Fitzpatrick writes next.

I wouldn’t really classify this as a true thriller. Although the story was had some surprising moments, it seemed like more of a general work of fiction than a thriller. Slow and painful for me.

This book is as close to perfect as any other novel I've read. From the first paragraph, with its almost-throwaway mention of how a hook had given a coat "a permanent hump behind the collar," it transports you with its authenticity. Every character is well rounded, fallible, utterly human; every relationship is relatable, and the bond between the protagonist, Ilya, and his older brother, Vladimir, is limned beautifully. There's a mystery that drives the plot, but even if there weren't, I'd have loved this book, so heartbreakingly true is its world. This is a must-read.

Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Press, for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 10% The timing isn't right for me and this book because of our current political climate. While the story seems interesting and the writing is skilled, I couldn't get into it. I was distracted by the name Vladamir, it kept making me think about current politics.

Passing through Arrivals at Baton Rouge airport, Louisiana, is the most significant moment in Ilya Alexandrovich’s young life. On one side of the door he can pretend that this is all still a dream: that he’s still just the bookish student in his remote Russian hometown, cherished by his teacher, mocked affectionately by his peers, with a vague prospect of getting to America one day. But, on the far side of the door, his reality must be faced: his host family, the Masons, who have agreed to let Ilya live with them for a year while he attends school, improves his English and assimilates to a Western view of life. Ilya is profoundly aware of his good fortune in coming here, in escaping the dead-end lifestyle that faces so many of his friends; but that isn’t only reason he feels unhappy. His guilt is sharper, more focused, for in coming to America Ilya has been forced to leave behind the person he loves more fiercely than any other: his troubled brother Vladimir, who has recently been sent to prison for murder – a crime that Ilya passionately believes he didn’t commit. This evocative, moving story asks us what it means to belong – what we do when we don’t fit in – and how we can redeem ourselves when all hope seems lost.

There was a time when Berlozhniki believed it was going to become great, but those days are over. A former gulag turned mining town, its economy now centres on the nearby oil refinery, where lights burn both day and night, eating up the spirit and the hopes of its citizens. It is, quite literally, at the end of the line. Anyone who can get out has gone, and the disaffected young people who remain divide their time between partying at the Tower – formerly the camp’s guard tower – and Kiril’s grotty kebab joint, which doubles as an internet cafe. This is Ilya’s world, bookended by his grim school building and the decaying Soviet flats (kommunalkas) in which he lives with his single mother, his grandmother, and Vladimir. Older and more worldly-wise, Vladimir is the centre of Ilya’s world. He’s a bad boy to the core – ‘skinny, wolfish, the sort that babushkas live to feed‘ – but he knows that his little brother has a gift, and that this gift could be their ticket out of Berlozhniki. It’s Ilya’s job to study, to learn English, to carve that path towards America, where one day Vladimir and he will become big bosses, like those in gangster films.

At first glance, nothing about Leffie, Louisiana – Ilya’s temporary new home – tallies with Berlozhniki, except the monumental presence of another refinery brooding on the horizon (Ilya’s exchange programme is sponsored by the oil company). His hosts the Masons are well-meaning, caring Evangelicals, whose church is made of glass and whose priest is more like a rock star. The house is always warm; there’s even a pool. Ilya’s sense of isolation is only compounded by the prosperity all around him, while he uneasily thinks of his mother and grandmother struggling with erratic heating and a bathroom shared with the entire floor. But, as time passes, Ilya finds an ally in Sadie, the Masons’ eldest, attractive, secretive daughter – an ally who shows him that Americans have troubles too. As Sadie and Ilya set out to discover the truth about the murders in Berlozhniki, and to prove Vladimir’s innocence, Ilya begins to understand the bittersweet realities of life, in which people will make any sacrifice to protect those they love.

The thing which surprised me most about this book was that Berlozhniki was a fictional place. It feels so real and tangible – far more bullish a presence than Leffie, for all its bayou appeal. Admittedly, I’ve never been to a struggling town in the far north of Russia, but Fitzpatrick creates something that feels utterly convincing. My heart throughout the story was with Ilya and his friends and contacts there – who all feel just as real as their shabby, half-forgotten town: the motivational English teacher, Maria Mikhailovna; Ilya’s wonderful grandmother; Vladimir, the bad boy who doesn’t let anyone mess with his little brother. It shows us what a town can become when all the wealth flows directly from the refinery into the hands of Fetisov, its oligarch owner, and the struggle that normal people face on a daily basis to keep their dignity alive. It’s so much of a struggle that some of the younger residents can’t even bear to face it, choosing instead to seek out the artificial highs of dangerous, cheap new drugs. This is the other face of the ‘new Russia’ we read about in the papers, and it’s sobering stuff. I don’t know how much research Fitzpatrick did for the novel. She doesn’t say in her afterword whether she ever actually went to Russia, but her storytelling rings true, and the bleak but determined community in Berlozhniki feels almost pugnaciously concrete.

Part coming-of-age story, part family saga, murder mystery, thriller and sensitively-done culture clash, this is a poised and accomplished novel by a writer who has her finger firmly on the pulse. The murders are not the most important part of the story by a long way – and you’ll probably have your own suspicions long before we find out what seems to be the truth. What’s more important is the light that they throw on the way things work in Russia, and the way that Ilya’s journey to the States unexpectedly gives him the status to make a difference – as well as giving him the courage to step out, at last, from Vladimir’s compelling shadow. A wonderful, heartfelt book, well worth a read – though I’m especially keen to hear what Russian readers make of it. Is Berlozhniki as real and convincing to them, I wonder, as it seems to me?

For the post, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2019/10/05/lights-all-night-long-lydia-fitzpatrick/

LIGHTS ALL NIGHT LONG by Lydia Fitzpatrick is a story of two brothers from Russia: "For fifteen years Ilya had lived with Vladimir, who lived for attention of any sort, and Ilya's personality had been shaped by Vladimir's need. Ilya was used to observing from the edges." In fact, when Ilya arrives as an exchange student in America, he acts at first as though he does not speak English, giving him a chance to observe his host family near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Simultaneously, Vladimir is trapped in a Russian jail, accused of murders his younger brother is sure he did not commit. Well-written and complex, the story shifts in time and between the US and Russia. Fitzpatrick spends much of this debut novel creatively relating Ilya's musings: "Ilya woke the morning after the windstorm with the last bits of a dream melting in his mind the way sugar melts on your tongue." Brooding literary fiction coupled with suspenseful mystery, LIGHTS ALL NIGHT LONG, received a starred review from Booklist.

This was a stunning and compelling novel that transports you into a completely different way of life. Lights All Night Long by Lydia Fitzpatrick is a remarkable immersive coming-of-age story.

Ilya Alexandrovich is a fifteen-year-old teenager who is living in an extremely poor town in Russia. He lives with his mother and his older brother, Vladimir. Ilya is highly intelligent and begins to learn English by watching American bootleg movies. As part of an exchange program, Ilya is chosen to go to America. Before he leaves, Ilya’s life in Russia begins to crumble all around him. His brother, Vladimir, has stopped going to school, becomes a drug addict and no longer comes home. With a broken heart, Ilya leaves for America.

When Ilya arrives in Effie, Louisiana, he finds out that his brother has confessed to killing three young women and is now sitting in prison. It’s now up to Ilya to gather proof of his brother’s innocence so he can get him out of jail. But thousands of miles away, Ilya questions whether his brother is being framed or can he really be guilty of murder?

This book was amazing and beautiful, yet sad and immersive. I felt I had really discovered something I’ve never read and seen before. The two differing places really showcased the fringing of both characters. From the remote and desolate town in Russia, to a small poverty stricken town in Louisiana — the mirroring of these settling’s struggles and difficulties were eye opening.

What really drew me into the book were the characters, they were captivating and heartbreakingly sad. The connection Ilya and Vladimir have is beyond beautiful but desperately somber. I couldn’t praise Lydia Fitzpatrick’s work more. She certainly out did herself with this unbelievably poignant and memorising novel!

Simply put, Lights All Night Long by Lydia Fitzpatrick is a thought-provoking, intense and gorgeously written book that was difficult to put down and left my heart breaking. If you’re looking for a compelling and lyrical novel that will stay with you days later, look no further than Lights All Night Long. This novel is literary fiction at its best!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Press and Lydia Fitzpatrick for an ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very captivating story about two Russian brothers as different as night and day from each other but who share a dream of going to America and a deep love of one another. The story unfolds in alternating chapters taking place in two small towns--one in Russia and the other in Louisiana -- and shifts back and forth in time adding intrigue for the reader.

Ilya, the younger brother is bright and excels at learning English. He finds a way to go, as a foreign exchange student in a Louisiana town. Vladimir loves to live life on the edge, hangs out with the wrong people, and becomes addicted to drugs. Just before Ilya goes to live with an exchange family in Louisiana, Vladimir is accused of murder. From America, Ilya tries to help solve the murders as he doesn't believe his brother is guilty.

This twists and turns in the story and the character development held my interest from the beginning. The novel deals with family, loyalty, connection, love, drug addiction, isolation, and corruption. This is more than a typical crime mystery and a great debut novel.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a story about two Russian brothers- one of time the smart and motivated one who earns a trip to America to be an exchange student. The other brother falls into drugs and gets himself into trouble.

This story was just okay for me. I couldn’t find myself caring what happened to the characters. It felt like maybe there were a bit too many characters and none really well developed. Same with all the different stories. This made the story slow for me since I had no interest in the side stories.

Overall this had some good writing but not enough to keep me interested.

This was an involving story of brothers who have a bond, and nourish and sustain each other. The writing is beautiful and the characters well defined.
Many thanks to Penguin Group and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Lights All Night Long begins with fifteen-year-old Ilya’s arrival in America. He is oddly detached, walking past his host family’s welcoming sign twice before stopping. He pretends he does not understand them and doesn’t speak English leaving them puzzled why he was chosen to participate in this exchange sponsored by the refinery companies in his hometown and theirs. The next morning, he apologizes and explains that he is struggling because his brother recently died.

This is not true. In fact, his brother has just confessed to murdering three women and is awaiting trial and sentencing in prison. It seems so appropriate that Ilya’s hometown was once part of the Gulag. The story goes back and forth from the past in Russia and the present in Louisiana. One thing unites both cities, the refineries and their bright lights that illuminate the sky all through the night, the lights all night long.

In the past, we see how close and how different the brothers are. Vladimir is older and protective of Ilya. Ilya is studious and bright, Vladimir struggles with school, reading with difficulty. Vladimir skips school, takes drugs, and runs away from home, squatting in an empty building. Ilya is recommended for an exchange program while everyone has given up, more or less, on Vladimir.

Except Ilya, who is determined to prove his brother’s innocence even from Louisiana. He enlists his exchange family “sister” Sadie in his research, hoping to find an American missionary who suddenly returned to America, perhaps a witness, perhaps the killer. Sadie has secrets of her own and the two are drawn together by their shared difficulties


Lights All Night Long is brilliant on many levels. It works as a coming-of-age story as Ilya learns more about the brother he loves so much and as he explores his first real love. It works, too, as a story of someone new to America, the initial discomfort and confusion of a new country but it avoids making that into a joke. It also works as a mystery, the slow, almost tortuous work of looking for a rather common needle in the American haystack.

Perhaps what I liked best about the story is how well-developed even the minor characters were. Take the host parents Cam and Jamie. They are on the surface pretty stereotypical Southerners, full of boosterism and religious devotion. Their lives center on their church. Yet, when push comes to shove for Ilya and for Sadie, we see so much strength and flexibility. Jamie, in particular, comes through as an amazing woman. So, too, Ilya’s family and his teacher. There are no flat characters. They inhabit the story so fully I can imagine them living lives outside this story.

This is a story overflowing with love, not just Ilya’s for his brother, but his mother and grandmother’s love. Ilya and Sadie and how thye come to love each other through their fears and secrets. Cam and Jamie’s love and how it grows and forgives. Even the love the communities have for their people. This is a story of people with good hearts who struggle with demons as best they can. I really loved it.

I received an e-galley of Lights All Night Long from the publisher through NetGalley.

★★★★★

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Press for my early reader ebook copy of Lights All Night Long By Lydia Fitzpatrick!
This was totally out of box as far as what I normally read. I do love a good mystery, but not so much the thriller side of those. This book is also set in a different country for parts, with a lot of references to Russian language and culture so I learned a bit, but it also made it harder for me to grasp.
While the plot was interesting, the characters and sequencing were hard to follow. There was a lot going on at once. The overall story was definitely a good thriller and left me guessing. I did have a hard time connecting myself to it all, the characters and the neighborhood felt a bit far fetched with their elaborate backgrounds and life stories.
Three stars from me. I really enjoyed Amber Crowies use of twists and descriptive nature of writing. I just had a hard time following story lines and deciphering.
I would love to continue to read more of Fitzpatrick’s works!

I love a book with a creative and unique premise, as in this book: the story of two towns, linked by a refinery (hence lights, all night long) and a teenager, Ilya, who is a Russian student sent to Louisiana as an exchange student. Although the story can be sad (Ilya's brother, Vlad, is an addict, and life in Russia is bleak and hard), what I loved about this story is that the characters are so redeemable and likable, yet they feel real. Ilya's host family is open-hearted and kind, the students in Ilya's American school are accepting, Ilya's mother and grandmother are steady and strong women. We get the best of each person, even if the circumstances of their lives are challenging. This is overall a hopeful book, and for that reason---and the high-quality writing---I strongly recommend it.

I absolutely adored this book so much I got in touch with the author and hosted her on my literary blog. The writing is spectacular, and the whole scenario of the Russian exchange student and his troubled brother left behind was moving and fascinating. I think this is the beginning of a most brilliant career.

Thank you to Penguin Press and Netgalley for the advance reader copy of this upcoming novel. This was not on my radar until I read a favorable Kirkus Review. It’s an interesting story of two different Russian brothers, one of whom gets the opportunity to study in the United States. The book alternates between the brothers’ hometown in Russia and the U.S., and also alternates in time, leading to a mystery solved. I especially liked the ending and thought it was well done.

Lights All Night Long by Lydia Fitzpatrick is a highly recommended heartbreaking coming-of-age novel.

This is the story of two Russian brothers, Ilya and Vladimir, who take different paths. The novel opens with fifteen-year-old exchange student Ilya arriving in Effie, Louisiana, from Berlozhniki, a small village in Russia on the edge of the Arctic Circle. This should be an exciting time, a dream come true, but as he left Russia, he left his older brother Vladimir behind - and Vladimir has just been thrown into jail and charged with the murder of three young girls. Ilya knows Vladimir is innocent, but how can he prove it while living in America?

The story alternates between the Ilya's past in Russia, leading up to the present day, and his time in America, where he finds an ally and help from his host family's daughter, Sadie. The two brothers were always close, but Ilya has always been the studious one, excelling in learning English. As Ilya studied and prepared for the exam that would allow him to be an exchange student in America, Vladimir descended further into drinking and the local drug culture. Now Ilya and Sadie find a way to help Vladimir from afar.

The alternating chapters serve to contrast the poverty in Russia and the abundance in America, but also served to show, as Ilya learns more, some of the similarities in both countries and cultures. The novel does start out slow and it takes time to get a better feel for Ilya and establish some sense of connection to the characters. The connection with Ilya does improve as the novel progresses and his character becomes better developed, but the slow start to the narrative does serve to impede any immediate connection. Sadie, the oldest daughter of the host family, is developed as a character, but the rest of the family are never really developed beyond caricatures. Mostly, this is a tale of two brothers, their bond, and the very different lives the two live.

This is a well-written, compassionate, compelling account of Ilya's life and family and an impressive debut novel. The mystery, solving the murders, does reach a satisfying conclusion which is aptly tied into the plot. The focus is really on the relationship between the brothers and the lengths you will go to help those you love.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Penguin Random House.

http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2019/04/lights-all-night-long.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2773752538
https://www.librarything.com/work/22465486/book/167418313
https://twitter.com/SheTreadsSoftly/status/1113496653900722177

This will linger in your head. The story of Ilya, a bright young Russian and his brother Vladimir, who is felled by drugs, it's so wonderfully written I had a hard time putting it down. The novel opens with Ilya arriving in the US as an exchange student but bearing a heavy heavy burden- his brother confessed to the murders of three women but Ilya does not believe it. Ilya's facility for English was able to catapult him away from his dying town in the Russian Arctic Circle. Both his home in Russia and his new home in Louisiana are shadowed by refineries and by drugs. In Vladimir's case, it's krokodil. The image of Vladimir's leg- and of his mother and grandmother- will tear at you. Ilya sets on a quest to prove Vladimir innocent; he hunts down Gabe, an American who lingered in their town for years. Gabe gives his a clue which ultimately breaks things apart. The characters- Ilya, Vladimir, Mama Jamie, Sadie, Maria in particular- are wonderfully drawn. The images of the towns, both in Russia and in Louisiana, are incredible. There's a mystery here, for sure, but more importantly, this is a story of two brothers who are devoted to one another. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Highly recommend.

Lights All Night Long is about two brothers from Russia. One is tangled up in all the wrong things while the other is sent to America as an exchange student to better himself. Even though the brothers are so far apart they still care for one another and want the best for each other. Ilya (the younger brother in America) will make it his mission to clear his brothers name back in Russia.
I love how this book flips from when the brothers were together in Russia then to Ilya life in America. Lydia writes a touching novel about the bond of brothers and how lives are changed forever.
I look forward to read more from Lydia

An amazing book, quite enjoyable and surprising. I didn't think this was going to be a mystery but there was a bit of that in this book. It was mainly about this smart Russian kid Ilya and his older brother Vladimir. They grow up in a small oil refinery village in Russia, a place where no one goes. Ilya, the smart one, learned English easily, and with some luck was able to go to the United States through an exchange program with the oil refinery company in Russia and one in Louisiana.

The book is split between Ilya's time in the U.S. and his time in Russia, mostly of the last year or so. Ilya loves and looks up to his brother immensely and when the book starts Vladimir is in jail in Russia. Ilya knows that the crime, three murders, were not done by his brother despite the fact that Vladimir confessed. Ilya become obsessed with trying to solve the murders even while in the U.S.

A new drug called krokodil appears in Russia and seems to explain much of Vladimir's behaviors, but there is more to it. The book reveals more and more as you read. My only complaint is that the book kept going after the reveal of who did kill the women. Sometimes it's a good thing to give a little more, an epilogue or coda, but actually I think it would have been left at a shorter point than it did.

Overall an good book. And while it is about teenagers I would not call this a YA book. Then again, I'm not of that age anymore.