From the moment I finished the first page, I was drawn right into this dystopian Florida and Wanda's story. Told from four different time periods, Brooks-Dalton's prose and ability to create a vivid world full of hardship, water, and a desire to survive made this one of my favorite reads this year.
As I read, I found myself wondering how I would react both as a parent and woman in the face of catastrophe and destruction of home and civilization, which for me is a definite indication that the work is making me think and relate to the characters as more than simply letters combine on a page.
4.5 stars! Readers that enjoy dystopian fiction, literary fiction, survival, hope, or simply a really good story will enjoy this work.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the dARC of this work in exchange or my honest review

I finished this book a few days ago and it is still weighing heavy on my heart. It was such an incredibly sad story. The message is so powerful and realistically, it could happen in the not so distant future. I think that is what scares me the most!

The book is broken into four parts - power, water, light & time. It takes place in Florida where the Lowe family prepares for Hurricane Wanda. Frida, the mother, is very pregnant and something keeps telling her to go north for safety but her husband, Kirby, is against it. He is a lineman and he feels obligated to stay to restore any power outages that come with the destruction. Tragedy hits the family leaving Kirby with a newborn (Wanda) to raise on his own.

As Wanda gets older she experiences so much heartache and loss. The state of Florida has eventually ceased to exist. Wanda decides to stay behind with her neighbor Phyllis where they live off the grid for several years. Once Phyllis passes, Wanda is left to survive on her own. While there are still others in the area, Wanda does not know if she can trust anyone…not even the girl from her past.

This book really is beautifully written. It definitely gives me some Where the Crawdad Sings vibes in the way that Wanda and Kya have to learn to survive on their own. The characters are relatable and the story is a very heavy, realistic topic. I did feel like there were parts (mostly in the second half) that seemed to drag on a bit. To me, there are so many unanswered questions…I mostly want to know what happened to Lucas.

Thank you NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing and Lily Brooks-Dalton for the Advanced Readers Copy of this book for my honest review!

The Light Pirate is a powerful story for our times. When you finish this book, you will be left truly wondering if the plot is in our immediate future.

As someone who holds Florida near and dear in my heart, this story really struck a chord. My parents were in Florida during Hurricane Ian and their town took a direct hit. Thankfully, they were far enough from the beach and stayed safe, but they witnessed firsthand the power of a cat 4 hurricane. Reading The Light Pirate brought all that back for me, and was incredibly eye-opening.

This is a hard one to review simply because I think it's an important story for all to read. The writing is beautiful. The story is moving and powerful, and will really make you think about our world.

Thank you Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC!

Resilience, survival, adaptability. Hope as light in the darkness. These are all themes of this novel told in four parts -- power, water, light, time. Wanda Lowe is named for the catastrophic storm that opens this memorable novel. She is born in a not-too-distant future Florida, with its power grid and social fabric unraveling. As Wanda's personal losses mount, we see what she gains in the spaces that remain. I keep returning to imagery and themes in this powerful book, with its hopeful tone despite its civilization's devastation. The blip of magical element in the book had me scratching my head at first. Was it really necessary? As I reflect upon its impact on the narrative, my answer leans yes. Because, again: Hope is light in the darkness. The author has done her homework in creating a post-climate-disaster Florida and surviving/survivalist characters making do with what and how the world changes. I'll forgive her for using the words 'row' and 'oar' so many times when referring to paddling a canoe.

[Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy and share my opinion of this book.]

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this enthralling book!

This book kept me reading non-stop (with a little break for sleep!) from beginning to end. The book begins with a hurricane - the anticipation, the denial ("oh, it won't be such a big deal, we don't need to evacuate"), the fury of the hurricane itself, the consequences on the characters. I was on the edge of my seat, not sure what was going to happen.

And, we then move on to a slightly quieter form of terror, as the state of Florida starts to fall apart. Nobody can keep up with what's happening, as water rises, hurricanes get worse and worse, and cities and towns can no longer survive. The most notable is Miami, which is essentially shut down, with relocation benefits provided to its residents. Soon, however, more and more places just shut down, and residents are on their own to leave or somehow find a way to survive. While this book focuses on what's happening in Florida, it becomes clear that it's also happening, although more slowly, elsewhere.

It's terrifying as we watch characters react in ways that are too familiar. "Oh, I can stock up my pantry, put up solar panels, strengthen my house against hurricanes and rising water, and I'll be fine." "Oh, I'm sure that the consequences of climate change could be grim, but we've got plenty of time to figure it out."

And we do see a dystopian near future, and it's scary. At the same time, we see some hope in human communities of love and caring, so it's not all doom and desperation.

It's a powerful book, and it's actually, despite the terrors, a really good read.

Wanda was born during the biggest hurricane Florida has ever seen and in the midst of her arrival, family members were taken by the storm. Her father, Kirby, is a lineman in the small town of Rudder. With each passing storm, Rudder is sinking deeper and deeper into the ground. It’s only a matter of time before the hurricanes completely wipes the town off the map. Grocery stores are closing, people are leaving but Wanda and her family have stayed because Kirby is destined to keep the lights on.

When funding is cut off from the county, Kirby considers moving out of state but Mother Nature has other plans.

This was a beautifully written story about love, loss, and survival. I felt so many emotions while reading this book. I don’t usually re-read books but I can’t stop thinking about this one and see myself reading it over and over throughout my life.

A poignant novel about loss and finding yourself within nature. I would call this a cross between Where the Crawdads Sing and The Vines. The plot is interesting and the characters are relatable. While it seems a bit formulaic, it is an engaging and entertaining novel.

I do love an apocalypse novel, especially one that seems beyond realistic, in this case, driven by climate change. This one is also very character focused, which I am also a fan of. In Light Pirate, we meet a woman who is very pregnant at the start of a major hurricane- one of many that have hit the area in recent years, and certainly not the last of the violent storms we're to see. Freya is scared, and finds herself alone, and about to deliver her baby while a storm named Wanda wreaks havoc on her home.

The story undergoes many time jumps from there, as we follow the aptly named baby Wanda throughout her life. She is basically born at the point of no return for society- when people can no longer go on pretending that life will ever return to "normal". I really enjoyed reading Wanda's story, and that of her family, as they come to terms with the new world they can no longer deny. Interestingly, Wanda faces a lot of the same struggles as many kids, though she faces them in an extra difficult world, one in which today's creature comforts keep becoming fewer and farther between.

I absolutely loved how realistic this world felt, how the author did a wonderful job of painting a picture of how our lives would change as the grid collapses. I also loved reading the generational differences between those who had been used to the world Before, and those like Wanda who only knew the new, broken world.

There is an element of magic/light fantasy included, which I won't lie, kind of threw me off a bit? But I just kind of ignored it and went about my reading and it was mostly fine. Maybe it will make more sense to you, but if not, it's pretty easy to overlook.

Bottom Line: Always here for an apocalypse novel that feels realistic, both in world and character.

The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton

Wow, this book is beautiful. The writing, the story, the characters - just incredible. It is a heartbreaking story that makes you think about the past, present and future. Its main focus is the power of mother nature, the strength she has over everything and just how small humans are in the world (and how despite our best efforts, we can not control her). The strength of family, community and how even though we can't control everything around us, we can surround ourselves with support and love.

Kirby is an electrical line worker in Florida, where rising sea levels and devastating weather are wreaking havoc. His wife gives birth during a catastrophic hurricane, Wanda, who she names the baby after - on a day where Kirby and the town he lives in suffer from unimaginable devastation. As Wanda grows, Florida continues to fall apart, as does the life Wanda knows. When she loses her family she finds herself surrounded by a community helping her seek love and purpose. At times the message feels a little political, but I didn't find it done in an offensive way. No matter how you feel about Climate Change and the politics that surround this, I believe that this book will be enjoyable.

A breathtaking story about love, loss and the power of nature.

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

Wow. What a beautiful book full of such detailed imagery, enhancing prose, and characters who will literally melt your heart.

Wanda was born during the hurricane she was named after. However, this hurricane was in earlier days and the start of many. As she grows, she is surrounded by a world of destruction and solitude, as disaster and heartbreak surround her. However, she does have one magical gift - a light that shines within her in even the darkest places.

This was not my usual style of book, and I wasn't sure how I would like the magical realism combined with the sci-fi/futuristic aspect. However, before I knew it I was completely engulfed and had read over half the book! It was so beautifully written I was just pulled in. I found myself completely connected to the characters, imagining myself in a futuristic destructive Florida, and aching for Wanda's survival and happiness. The Light Pirate superseded all of my expectations in its refreshingly beautiful story of survival and strength.

Thank you to Grand Central Pub and NetGalley for my DRC in exchange for an honest review!

✨ Review ✨ The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton

This is one of the most beautiful and also the most challenging books I've read this year. As the world dramatically changes after Hurricane Wanda slams into Florida, the book shows the dire consequences of climate change that are not so slowly creeping up on us. With more frequent and less predictable extreme weather events, along with the breakdown of our nation's governance and aging infrastructure, the small Florida town and all of the U.S. fall into different levels of danger and despair.

Watching the evacuation of Florida cities and the raving of a nation (and the world), this book is DEPRESSING and HARD TO READ. This dystopian world doesn't feel too far off (especially after seeing widespread temporary infrastructural collapse during the recent major Texas storm), and in some ways was more painful for the ways that this world felt close to our own. This book is filled with sadness and loss.

But it's also filled with beauty and connection between the characters, with nature, and in the gorgeous writing of this book. Without a doubt, this would have been a top contender for best of 2022 lists had it come out earlier this year!

I also love this piece of the synopsis: "Told in four parts—power, water, light, and time—The Light Pirate mirrors the rhythms of the elements and the sometimes quick, sometimes slow dissolution of the world as we know it. It is a meditation on the changes we would rather not see, the future we would rather not greet, and a call back to the beauty and violence of an untamable wilderness."

While I adored the inclusion of magical realism here, it also made it harder to figure out how to classify the lessons learned, as it blended fiction and reality and possibility and the impossible. I adored this book, but also it shook me deeply. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time to come.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: dystopian, magical realism, literary fiction, f/f romance
Location: small-town Florida
Pub Date: out now!

Read this for its:
⭕️ thoughtful literary style
⭕️ beautiful writing that mirrors the flows of nature
⭕️ discussions about climate change and climate justice

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and #netgalley for an advanced copies of this book!

I have complicated feelings about this: on one hand I think it's important that we talk about climate realities, but on the other hand this was absurdly depressing/anxiety-inducing to read. I also wish the book had centered more of the communities that are made out of change theme, as that really only came in the end. So would I recommend this book to other people? No, but I would recommend that you critically engage with media that discusses climate change in meaningful ways, and I wish there were more fiction cli-fi books that talked about communities of care! Thanks, also, to Grand Central for providing me with an early copy-- The Light Pirate is available now!

My 3rd five star book in a row! Thank you @netgalley and @grandcentralpub for the advanced ebook, I absolutely loved it. I actually read it in one day.
Beautiful writing and amazing character development. Wanda will have you pulled into her world and loving her to the very end. Great read, highly recommend!

Rating: 4.5/5⭐️
Pub Day: 12-6-2022 - Out Now!

Set during hurricane season in Florida, this is a very raw and intense climate fiction. The timeline jumps decades at a time, then stops to address the dramatic changes happening to the main character’s life and surroundings.

This incredibly compelling story has gripping and poetic writing that takes the reader on an emotional journey in the near apocalyptic future. Even though this is a very emotional book, it is so wonderfully written. It grabbed my attention and my heart and never let go.

One thing I didn’t expect after reading this dystopian novel was to leave the book with a feeling of hope. This is a truly impressive sophomore novel from Brooks-Dalton, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

Named for the storm that left her motherless, Wanda lives in a Florida battered by increasingly violent hurricanes and rising waters. After the state's abandoned by the government, those remaining compete—sometimes violently—for ever-diminishing resources. But Wanda's babysitter Phyllis, a former park ranger and biologist, teaches her charge how to survive in a changing world. Harrowing and hopeful, Pirate reveals an all-too-possible future.

This book is a devastating look at what climate change could do to our country if rising sea levels and stronger and stronger storms continue to rock our coasts. In The Light Pirate, Florida in particular is being submerged and we meet one family dealing with the consequences - Kirby, his pregnant wife Frida, and their two sons, Flip and Lucas. But as the book opens, a terrifying hurricane is barreling their way and Flip and Lucas have disappeared, and Frida has gone into premature labor, giving birth to an unusual child named Wanda. What follows, and for the rest of the book, is absolutely heartbreaking, eye opening, and somehow, also full of hope.

The Light Pirate is one gut punch after another and an all too real possibility of what our lives could look like in the future. Told in four parts, Power, Water, Light, and Time, we get to know these characters who are just trying to survive an ever changing world. The author puts us right into the water-filled trenches with our main characters and makes us viscerally feel what they are feeling.

This is climate fiction at its best, in the vein of books like The Displacements and The Age of Miracles, but with a family at the heart of it all that you won't soon forget.

This book will be featured on episode 70 of the Reading Through Life podcast in January 2023.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC. What a story! So much detail written into this book. Great character development. So many emotions hit me while reading. Will recommend!

The Light Pirate describes a post-climate-change world. The state of Florida becomes submerged after hurricanes become common events. Eventually, so many people have left the state that the government gives up, and Florida officially closes. But there are those like Wanda who remain, surviving because they're in tune with nature and its rhythms. Survival comes with great cost—loss of loved ones, security, stability, and planning—but also has its own rewards, such as the discovery that she is not alone.

4.5/5

It’s a cautionary tale with big messages of hope and perseverance through terrifying circumstances. And this book does something special - it seeps so so much beauty within the horror of its pages.

Thank you for this opportunity!

Dystopian? Climate fiction? This is not something I would ordinarily pick up. However, a friend recommended it highly so I jumped in thanks to advanced copies I received. . This book is beautiful. Yes it’s about the devastation caused by climate change but it’s also about family, loss, love, and survival. The writing is superb. The chaos, destruction, and heartbreak are partnered by a sense of hopefulness. This is so well done. The book is a GMA Book Club and Book of the Month pick for December.