4.5 stars

Am I the only person who liked this book more than Last Night at the Telegraph Club? Don't get me wrong, LNatTC was good, but it felt a little... scattered. Ironically, A Scatter of Light was less scattered.

A Scatter of Light is about Aria Tang West, who was supposed to spend her summer in Martha's Vineyard before her nudes were leaked and her parents decided to send her to her grandmother's house near San Fransisco. While at her grandmother's, she meets Steph, a cute, boyish girl who piques Aria's interest. Through Steph, she meets a group of lesbians and starts hanging out with them. As the summer progresses, sparks fly between her and Steph... but Steph has a girlfriend. Aria knows what they're doing is wrong, but how can it be wrong when this is the most right she's felt in a relationship?

I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. This book is not a romance; it is a coming-of-age story that centers around grief and self-discovery. Aria's development throughout the book was amazing to read, from the way she discovers her queer identity to the way she processes grief, both for people she's lost and for her parent's divorce. As a child of divorce, her experience was very personal, and I found it well-written and touching.

While I probably won't reread this book, I definitely recommend it to people who like coming-of-age stories and themes of grief and recovery.

A SCATTER OF LIGHT follows Aria Tang West as she spends her last summer before college with her grandmother in California, during the landmark legalization of gay marriage. This story also shows a glimpse into Lily and Kath’s lives since 1955.

Malinda Lo has done it again, folks. A messy coming-of-age novel that explores sexuality, first loves, and first losses, A SCATTER OF LIGHT is a slow paced story that follows Aria’s entanglements with new people, new feelings, and old memories.

Aria is a messy, brave person that you grow to love with every turn of the page. Her love of astronomy, her relationship with her grandmother and her parents, and the longing she feels building up inside her for a certain gardener - it makes you crack open from the inside out.

Lo’s writing is well worth your time, and I highly recommend both this book and its predecessor, Last Night at the Telegraph Club.

TITLE: A SCATTER OF LIGHT
AUTHOR: Malinda Lo
PUB DATE: 10.4.2022 Now Available

My top reasons for enjoying A Scatter Of Light

🌈 It’s a charming YA queer coming of age story
🔆Set against the backdrop of the Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage
🔆 It’s a story of crushes and first loves, that is both sweet and bittersweet
🌈 It’s a story about learning from mistakes, in that twilight time between youth and adulthood

Malinda Lo writes some of the best teen and young adult LGBTQ reads. The Scatter of Light is a story that is poignant, heart breaking, and healing. Lo’s understanding of what it means to make mistakes, be understood, with that yearning angst and qualm. Fantastic read I enjoyed!

Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Wow I cried so much at the end of this.

A Scatter of Light follows Aria Tang West as she is sent out to live with her grandmother for a summer. Aria expects to be bored the whole summer, but then she meets Steph, her grandmother’s gardener. Steph brings Aria into her friend circle (which happens to be a bunch of lesbians) and shows Aria the queer scenes in Cali. Aria then begins to question her sexuality, especially when she can’t get Steph off her mind.

This book is a journey of questioning. Coming into who you are. Figuring who you are after loss. Navigating toxic friendships and forging new stronger bonds. I loved everything about this book. It had it all for me. The last 20% or so had me sobbing the whole way through. This one has small cameos of characters from LNATTC, but it’s not a full on sequel. Aria’s story is her own and it’s one I’m so happy I’ve read.

I don't often cry, but today I cried. This is a beautiful, heart-wrenching story about a young woman on her journey of self discovery.
I was really invested in our main character, Aria and her story. It's really hard to talk about this book without divulging a bunch of spoilers, but I can say it was fantastic. The pacing was great, and I loved all the artistic mediums described.

I read this book in one sitting and cried at the end. A Scatter of Light exceeded my expectations tenfold and I simply cannot recommend this book enough. It was the perfect snapshot of the queer community after the legalization of same-sex marriage. Complete with a sweet but complicated romance, a strong coming-of-age plotline, and amazing moments of family, this book is near perfect. This book is just so beautifully written. It made me feel all of the feelings: love, excitement, anger, fear, heartbreak, grief, and more. You don’t have to have read Last Night At the Telegraph Club to read A Scatter of Light, but it will make some parts of the book more meaningful. A must-read.

Lo’s writing is so specific and clear, concise and tight, but you never feel like you’ve been given the short end of the stick when it comes to emotion. Instead, you feel as if you have been thrust into the worlds and the minds of these characters, feeling as they feel, seeing as they see. Lo has a gift for making her novels at once so specific to their time and place while also feeling universal in their emotions and moods.

In terms of how the two books are connected, I was worried going in that this would feel like an unnecessary sequel to a book I was head over heels in love with. But instead, there’s a light connection between the two that grants you the opportunity to see how the characters from Telegraph Club ended up while still feeling very much a part of this new story.

I’d also like to applaud Lo for writing a YA that feels incredibly mature while still being accessible to readers in the target age group.

Ahhh I loved these messy gays. I wish there was a little more closure with Steph and Aria (if not a happy ending) but that’s just the way I like things. The writing was great, the representation was awesome, and the dynamic relationships with parents/grandparents/lovers/etc were all done really well. I felt like we could have spent a little more time getting to know other characters outside of just Aria’s opinions of them (eg her parents) and a little less time with Steph’s friends who basically just disappeared at the 50% mark anyway. Again, though, just personal preference. I think this book was touching and will impact a lot of people.

Malinda Lo strikes again with a powerful queer coming of age story set during pivotal times in recent history.

Aria’s summer plans are dashed after a disaster during her last weeks of high school. Some boy posted topless pictures of her on tumblr and the whole school has branded her a slut. Aria’s parents decide that she shouldn’t be spending the summer with her friends at the beach, but rather she would benefit from stay with her grandma Joan in Northern California instead.

All of this is happening in 2013 as gay marriage is legalized nationwide.

Plot: 3/5
The structure of this plot is solid and well developed. Things come full circle in all the right ways. However the plot largely centers around cheating which is really uncomfortable to read.
And all of this centering around the death of a family member feels kind of wrong. Life doesn’t stop when loss happens but how Aria was handling it all was really strange.
However I loved the subtle connections to Last Night at the Telegraph Club!

Characters: 4/5
Aria is overall a very passive person, it seems like she just lets things happen to her. She reminds me an awful lot of Lily from Last Night at the Telegraph club. She is definitely an 18 year old making lots of mistakes that’s for sure. She’s also exploring her queer identity for the very first time. Parts of her are relatable but it felt like she was always experiencing her own life from the third persons view.

The love interest, Steph, had a whole host of her own problems. It’s really weird to read a character with your own name too that’s actually a first for me.

Writing: 5/5
Malinda Lo’s writing is deeply engaging. I was sucked into this book so quickly. I am a fan of her style and the way she sets her stories with historically significant backdrops.

Overall: 3.75/5
This story is well done without a doubt, if the ending had been any different I might have taken issue with the message. But Lo resolved everything perfectly. I found a lot of the major plot points very difficult to read, from an emotional level, so I won’t recommend this lightly but I think plenty of people will enjoy this story and what A Scatter of Light has to offer.

Representation— bisexual women, genderqueer people, polyamorous relationship (side characters), Asian and half white half Asian characters

Trigger warnings— cheating, death of a family member, hospitalization, being in the closet, virtual sexual harassment, bullying, toxic relationships, painful coming out stories

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/3809b65d-2119-4e44-8879-47e0919c277a

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4835753087

Malinda Lo worked on her latest novel for basically a decade.

In the acknowledgments of “A Scatter of Light,” Lo writes that the novel was conceptualized in 2012 and that she began writing it in 2013. In 2013, I was in sixth grade. This fact is not here to make anyone reading feel old — rather, I’m trying to illustrate just how long Lo spent on this book.

After reading it, though, I am quite certain that “A Scatter of Light” was just the right novel for this point in Lo’s career.

Poignant and reflective, taking place just when gay marriage was legalized in California, “A Scatter of Light” is told from the point of view of Aria Tang West, a biracial Chinese and white teen from — where else — Wellesley, Mass., who goes to live with her white grandmother in California over the summer after an incident at school that drives a wedge between her and her friends. There, she discovers the queer community for the first time thanks to her grandmother’s gardener, Steph.

This book is a continuation of Lo’s previous book, “Last Night at the Telegraph Club,” in spirit — it is also a queer coming-of-age novel set in the Bay Area — but also in that you’ll actually see what ended up happening to Lily and Kath decades after their book ended.

I’ve been sitting here for a while, trying to figure out how exactly to describe this book, and I’ve determined that there is no way of describing what it’s like to read it. You’ve just got to read it yourself.

This is the story of one girl’s very eventful summer. Aria discovers so much about herself through her relationships with Steph’s friend group and the experiences that they give her. As a group of queer people in their twenties, they take Aria under their wing, and she inevitably gets tangled up in their drama even though she knows she shouldn’t.

I am not an artist, but “A Scatter of Light” feels like a love letter to the art community. As much as Aria is a STEM person (she’s going to MIT in the fall!), her and her grandmother’s love of creating art and looking at other people’s art permeates the pages.

It takes talent to craft such a quiet but powerful story. Lo has made me feel all the emotions Aria feels through the course of the novel as she experiences so many different highs and lows. It’s weird; the book is actually pretty slow in pace and lingers on a lot of details I didn’t expect. But I think that makes it all the better.

One last thing: “A Scatter of Light” has a lot of crossover appeal. That is to say, if you typically read a lot of adult novels, you’ll still want to pick this up, and if you read lots of YA, this might be a gateway to adult fiction for you. So please pick it up. Seriously.

“A Scatter of Light” comes out on Oct. 4, 2022. I received an early copy from the publisher, Dutton (an imprint of Penguin Random House) in exchange for an honest review. I would also like to take this opportunity to publicize Lo’s book launch event at Porter Square Books’ Boston location on the release date! Please go!

Oh how I wish I could have read this book when I was seventeen! It’s rare to feel so thoroughly seen by a novel, but I truly saw parts of myself in Aria’s story. The tumult of first love and coming to accept one’s self at the same time come across so earnestly throughout the novel and Aria’s sometimes questionable decisions. Malinda Lo’s writing conveys such heartwarming honesty. Reading this book feels like curling up under your favourite blanket and having someone tell you that you and your journey are valid. I wasn’t sure how A Scatter of Light would measure up to Last Night at the Telegraph Club which I loved so thoroughly, but it more than holds its own. The update on Lily and Kath’s story was also so cute and appreciated! If you enjoy cozy, queer, coming-of-age stories with imperfect characters, this is one you do not want to miss.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m an absolute sucker for books that center messy characters especially when it comes to coming of age stories with queer characters, and Malinda Lo absolutely delivers in A Scatter of Light.

This story follows Aria Tang West who is forced to spend her summer with her grandmother (Joan) in San Francisco after nude pics of her surface following the night of her graduation party. All Aria wants is one last summer with her friends before she’s off to MIT in the fall.

Aria is a hot mess but instantly relatable. She starts off so sure of her future and place in the world until she meets Steph Nicols. From that moment on, we see Aria question everything about herself from from exploring her queerness and new labels to her biracial (half Chinese half white) identity to life after high school.

Now I did say this book is messy and that’s because Aria and Steph make all sorts of questionable decisions without always thinking through the consequences. But that’s what makes this so great because it mimics real life. It was so hard not to root for these two no matter what.

And since this is a companion novel to The Last Night at the Telegraph Club, I loved how the author fit Lily and Kath into this storyline and getting an update on their lives.

A Scatter of Light is the companion novel to Last Night at the Telegraph Club. Lo posits the story in the present day and features a nuanced coming of age narrative that is rarely seen in YA. At time heartbreaking but also beautiful, A Scatter of Light is a remarkable piece of literature.

Malinda Lo knocks it out of the park again with this one. A Scatter of Light is loosely connected to Telegraph Club, but stands entirely on its own. Aria is spending the summer with her grandmother, Joan, just outside San Francisco. Through her summer, she comes to terms with her identity through various relationships with people, as well as through art and science. The writing is gorgeous, and the story is so relatable.

As a huge fan of Last Night at the Telegraph club, i had been waiting for this book. I kid you not, i closed LNATTC and emailed penguin teen for an arc! But guess what, i wasn't disappointed. I loved getting to know the characters and felt a deep connection to them. I think the time era that this was written in deserves some credit for that, but also what the main character was feeling. This book is all about Aria's self-discovery when it comes to her sexuality, and the journey she takes. I truly appreciate the fact that she is exploring it, because not many books potray the exploration of sexuality. I personally related to it a lot. I loved the romance in this book, and it shocked me in the end. So much so i CRIED! As we know with me, that's a huge bonus. I truly loved this book so much and it's the perfect sapphic summer read :)

GO READ IT!!

I enjoyed this one more than I enjoyed LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB, and I think its mostly because with this second novel, Lo's literary and prose voice has developed more. Great read!

last night at the telegraph club was an underlying panic. a worry of being caught for who you are during a time when that was a danger in itself. a scatter of light is a quiet but ever growing hum. a sureness. the increasing acknowledgment that you are something more than you originally thought. and finding a way, someone who you trust, to explore that facet of yourself.

if you asked me to describe this book, i’d have no other way to than by saying it feels quiet. whole. it’s a warming silence that fills my soul with love and hope. while we all know that this book is meant to be a companion to last night at the telegraph club, as i’m sure others have and will continue to mention, it stands incredibly capable as it’s own entity. these two books, in many ways are so opposite of each other, i forget that they essentially accomplish the same goal. it’s a story about a young girl, who learns about her sexuality. it is not a coming out story, but so much more.

it’s aria’s self-discovery that we follow. it’s meeting steph, and mel, and lisa, and experiencing the modern queer arts scene in san fransisco through them. it’s an acknowledgement of decades of queer history and activism in the background, guiding these characters through this 2013 summer. it’s a connection between steph and aria, one that they explore in the serene nature (and pick up trucks) of the northern californian landscape. truly, they have a relationship that, while so much happens, it feels like their time together is so insular. so intense. and i see myself so much in both aria and steph that it hurts a bit and leaves me feeling raw. it all feels so… liminal, in a way.

and, it’s a slow book. it feels like i’m moving as fast as aria did. gradually increasing speed as events and relationships begins to develop. but truly, i will not be able to explain the place in my mind where this book holds strong, adjacent yet opposite to its’ predecessor. i just— i think that’s why it all feels the way it does, a calming force to enrapture my mind. an eternal flame, if you will.

i guess, finally, before i somehow find a way to talk in circles more, i’ll leave with this. this book is so beautifully written that i wrote down so many quotes that resonated with me. but i’ll only share two. two opposite statements, but both ones that set the mature tone we see quite well:

“she might have been kneeling before me, but i was the supplicant”

“i wanted to remain here on the edge between my two selves, double exposed, all hunger and heart”

i hope others resonate with this story and its companion in the way i have. i hope these characters can help other queer teens find the love and acceptance they deserve. to the end of time, you’ll see me shout about these incredible novels.

Just like Last Night at the Telegraph Club, Malinda Lo writes another absolutely brilliant book that is worthy of all the attention it as started to garner. ASOL takes place a lot closer in time to a lot of it's readers, in 2012 (or 2013 I can't remember) just as gay marriage is starting to get legalized in the United States, but only on a state-by-state basis. Aria, who has never questioned her sexuality until meeting Stella, is a wonderfully relatable protagonist whose anguish, confusion, and love flows right off the page and into your heart. I am struggling on how to find the words for how much I loved this book and how much it means to me. It is also very clear how much Lo cares about these character's and their stories and I hope when you pick it up, you do too.

A Scatter of Light tells the story of 18 year old Aria Tang West who finds herself spending her last summer before college with her grandmother, instead of with her best friends, and not by her own choice. Aria ends up learning a lot about herself, her family, and creativity. It's hard to say too much more without giving spoilers, but suffice it to say this is an excellent coming of age story, and finding yourself in unexpected places.
Just like Last Night at the Telegraph Club, this book feels like a delicious gift from Malinda Lo to all of us. I am so glad I got to read Aria's story, and I'm so glad it will soon be out in the world where other readers can find it too.

This new book (out in October!) is lovely--absolutely lovely. I connected so much more with the characters in this book than her previous book, Midnight at the Telegraph Club. Love, heartbreak, and everything in between made me a happy reader.