This is a beautifully observed novel about a close daughter and mother relationship. The daughter leaves Brazil to attend college in the United States and she and her mother connect by late night skype conversations. There is a poignancy to the loneliness that each faces as they live without the one person in the world that knows and loves them best. The first part of the book is from the daughter's perspective, the second from the mother's, and finally, there is a lovely section about their eventual reunion. I loved it.

This was a sweet, wholesome read about change, mother-daughter bonds, and home. I can’t imagine moving to a whole new country for school (which both my parents did) - I went a few states away & it was enough of a culture shock. I loved the perspective from both the daughter & mom’s point of view & how they both were sacrificing in different ways for each other. Now, I need to go call my mom.

Thank you to Grove Atlantic & NetGalley for the ARC.

A nice little slice-of-life that I think anyone who has lived far from home will see something of themselves in. Ultimately a little too sparse for my taste, though, but it's such a quick read that it's still worth one's time. (It did unfortunately include my top literary pet peeve: no quotation marks.)

As a second generation Brasilian America, this book holds a very special place in my heart. Bruna was beautifully able to capture the turmoil that accompanies following your own path and leaving a part of your heart thousands of miles away. Although, I was never fully separated from my immediate family aside from going to college in a different state, I related to the loss of a strong relationship with secondary family members such as my grandparents, cousins, uncles and aunts that many people have the privilege of easily maintaining.

This book allowed me to see a bit more into what my mother had to go through and still goes through when she decided to move to America with her son, leaving her own mother, father and all she'd ever known. Often we fail to understand how truly lonely, excruciating, and heart-splitting it can be to follow through with the decision to move from home as much as it is freeing, exciting and rewarding.
I especially loved the focus of relationship in this novel -- at the end of the day home really is just where your heart is; and sometimes it is found under blue light.

I loved this book so much, and I hope that other's read it and understand a little more about the nuances of the immigrant experience.

Blue Light Hours
Genre: Fiction, literary fiction (book).
Rating: ★★★★ (4/5)

I thank NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me with an advanced reader copy (ARC) of this book in return for an honest review.
***
"Blue Light Hours" was a beautiful novella. I loved the relationship between the protagonist and her mother, and the cultural aspects of the story were amazingly used, even when it didn't feel heavy. I'd recommend to students like me, who had to travel from their country to another. I found myself about to cry in some parts.

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for an ARC of this book!

This novel is an emotional telling of the mother-daughter relationship. This story follows the communication and changes of a mother living in Brazil and daughter who has just moved to Vermont for college. While the prose feels at time minimal, it speaks to the subtle changes that come to our routine with time.

This book was so beautifully composed, it made me want to call my mom after reading. The writing style is compulsively readable, making this a very quick 1 day read. The meditative tone of this book makes the reader reflect on their familial past, and the sacrifices that are made in the present for the future.

One element that I really enjoyed about this was the matter-of-factness allotted to the school setting. There is not a lot of page space given to the curriculum at the school, but the author is able to depict the experience of attending school as a distant memory. This feels like a highly realistic portrayal of life at that age of life, which I found very convincing as a reader.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a contemplative read!

This book was incredibly touching! As a Brazilian preparing to move away from the country, this book hit really close to home!

The writing was so beautiful and so captivating, the pacing of the story was perfect, the settings and the characters… I couldn’t tell you a single bad thing about this book!

Blue Light Hours is a story about a mother and daughter living separately for the first time with the mother in Brazil, and the daughter in the U.S. to study. They keep in touch through Skype calls as they try to adjust to this new chapter in their lives—a change which can propel their lives forward or a change to resist to keep tending to attachments outgrown.

The story is a glimpse into familial codependency and guilt, and it struck my heart as the eldest daughter and—once I graduated—breadwinner of the household. These are the kind of stories I wish to find solace in these days, even if it seems impossible in a situation where one can either be the heartless prick or the pitiful masochist.

The premise of the story caught my interest, but the execution fell short of my expectations. The ‘Sally Rooney’-esque style of writing just did not do it for me. It felt incompatible with the prose, and the plot is almost nonexistent, though this I could forgive for such a short read.

The codependency felt almost unnerving at times, but it can be excused for a daughter in her freshman year, living in a whole new country with no connections. Overall, I don’t remember much about the story, but it got me thinking about the many forms of love, and how the prevailing one in Asian and Hispanic households, is the love that holds tight. I thought about how this is both a remedy and poison, and how we may spend our whole lives submerged in this love, circling between its two forms, holding us back, and in the end, for what?

Reading Blue Light Hours was like holding a mirror to parts of my own life, especially in the way it portrayed the complex relationship between mother and daughter. Although I’ve never been in the exact same situation as the daughter, the way the book captured the experience of growing apart from your mom while trying to reconnect through video calls really resonated with me. The mother’s constant check-ins, the barrage of questions, and the ever-present worry felt so familiar—It was almost like I was reliving my own memories.

The book is structured into spliced sections that swiftly show the progression of the daughter's relationship with her mother. The steady buildup of yearning, emptiness, and guilt was so skillfully written that it felt like my heart was being squeezed tighter with every page. So much so that I literally ended up crying twice while reading. It was just so painfully beautiful.

Overall, Blue Light Hours is a poignant and wonderfully crafted novella that touches on the nuances of long-distance mother-daughter relationships. Despite a few moments where the writing felt a bit too mechanical, the book’s emotional honesty and relatable experiences make it a beautifully honest read. It's the kind of story that stays with you, long after you've closed the final chapter.

Firts of all, thank you so much Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for this beatiful ARC. Out October 15th, 2024.

I just finished reading the book and immediately decided to write a review. The ending almost made me cry, not because anything terrible happened, but because it was full of so much love, hopes, and dreams.

This is a fairly short novel, but still powerfully written, even though at times it can feel like nothing much is happening. It focuses on the mother-daughter relationship and how they are trying to stay in touch for a very long time, being so far away from each other.

Sometimes we can blame technology, social media, etc. for taking away our “real life.” But after reading this novel, I became incredibly grateful to the creators of laptops and online calling because it helped our characters stay connected and be there for each other.

This book is heartwarming, full of immigration experience, and it will make you want to call your family, trust me.

A melodious peek into a mother-daughter relationship frayed by distance, and of the process of reweaving that tapestry with those we love most. Dantas Lobato is able to pack all this in in a lovely short read that flows wonderfully and plays around with who narrates. And all while also encapsulating through her writing how those moments of self-doubt when fully entering adulthood in the college years feel — with the added pressure of being from another country.

This work really resonated with me, having grown up with a single mom and also having been a Latin American international student at a U.S. university, but I'm certain this mellifluous work will enrapture others all the same.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
“Blue Light Hours” is about a mother and daughter who are only able to talk to each other via Skype for several years after the daughter’s move from Brazil to the US for college.
Exploring themes of cultural differences, womanhood and loneliness, this book was sad at times but ultimately felt like a warm hug.

A wonderful look on the relationship between mothers and daughters, cultures, and connections. This story perfectly encapsulates the loneliness both physically and mentally that comes from growing into womanhood away for the familiar and comfortable and the guilt that can come from it. Both comforting and devastating at times you can't help but connect to daughter, especially in a post Covid world, and the longing, fear, and guilt she carries with her. I took off a star only because I felt a bit lost in how the story was set up a few times, especially towards the end.

It’s been weeks since I finished reading Blue Light Hours, and I’m still grappling with how to write a review that does justice to Bruna’s work. How do you critique something that mirrors your own life so closely?

Blue Light Hours tells the story of a daughter who moves to another country for her studies, leaving her mother behind with only Skype to bridge the distance. Bruna offers us a slim, ‘Sally Rooney-esque’ novel that delves into the questions every mother and daughter have likely pondered: How long can a mother hold on to her child? How do you reassure your mother in the face of inevitable change? How do you show that, despite the distance, you’re still her little girl who needs her guidance?

Unlike the daughter in the novel, who is portrayed as quiet (not shy, but introspective), I am an active and outgoing daughter. I make friends easily and dive into new experiences without hesitation. Yet, whenever it’s time to leave home—whether for college or work—I find myself overwhelmed with emotion. I think about how my absence disrupts our usual routines, and how my mother will cope with the empty side of the bed in the middle of the night.

Putting aside my personal connection to the story, I want to highlight how beautifully the novel addresses cultural differences and the immigrant experience. The second half of the book is my favorite, particularly the shift in writing style that captures the bittersweet reunion between mother and daughter, and the inevitable sorrow of parting once more. The portrayal of the single mother and daughter dynamic is something I’ve longed to see in literature, and Bruna delivers it with poignant realism.

I was also captivated by the evolving symbolism of the blue light throughout the novel, but I’ll leave that for you to discover on your own.

Thank you Bruna & Net Galley for the ARC!

The writing here is crisp and engaging, and I loved the way Dantas Lobato handled the movement of time. The ebbs and flows of seasons and snowstorms in Vermont, the pattern of a school year, and the hours on Skype or entire days away from the video chat were all beautifully evoked. My favorite part, though, was the doubling and tripling she employed in each examination of parenting (the mother having lost her mother, the daughter trying to mother her mother, the drinking together as friends, the way that caretaking is folded around each scene in new ways). Each of those scenes, and particularly the tender examination of caretaking over time at the end of the novel, made me want to linger in the quiet hours of this story.

Blue Light Hours is a quiet, emotional novel that tackles the complicated bond between a mother and daughter as the daughter breaks away to find her own independence and sense of belonging in the world. Exploring the intricacies of immigration and cultural identity, Lobato's writing is both haunting and immersive. Through lyrical prose, readers are able really sink themselves into the complicated dynamics of this family and the relationships existing between them.

This story is set amongst the backdrop of both Brazil and the United States. Lobato does an incredible job at describing these landscapes in a way that is both cathartic and atmospheric, making you feel almost as if you are in a dream. I loved the way this novel meandered and didn't aim to be anything that it wasn't, allowing the "slice of life" styled narrative to take its time and immerse you as it develops.

I am very excited to see where Blue Light Hours takes Lobato in the future as this debut novel is truly a stunning piece of work.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for allowing me the opportunity to read and give advanced praise for this debut.

Blue Light Hours will be published on October 15th, 2024.

This book beautifully explores the bond between mother and daughter while also telling the story of separation of best friends. Blue Light Hours follows a daughter's experiences at a university in the U.S., where she stays connected with her mother in Brazil through Skype.
This novel was so heartbreaking at times. I was particularly struck by its accurate portrayal of the challenges of many international students: adjusting to a new country and culture, dealing with the guilt of experiencing a new life while having left loved ones back home, and the longing to embrace family so far away. The novel's simplicity in writing made it so nice to read, as it fully immersed in the characters' daily lives.
Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

First of all, a huge thank you to NetGalley, Grover Atlantic, and Bruna Dantas Lobato for sending me this ARC.

Overall, while I enjoyed the premise of this book and the story it describes I felt like there was something a bit missing from the story. The book describes a mother and daughter dealing with being separated from each other, the mother living in Brazil and the daughter being an international student in America. They connect using Skype and the story details the loneliness and struggles that comes with the distance between them, as well as some heartwarming moments of connection.

What I liked about this book:
I think this book did a really great job on the descriptions of the setting within the book, especially the way the author is able to describe various rooms and houses throughout the book. One of my favorite descriptions was

“My favorite desk, a dark chestnut table with ornate legs, had a hand-crank pencil sharpener mounted on it, which I liked to turn even when I had no pencils to put in it, because it helped me think, as though putting my hands to work would make my brain work too”.

I also enjoyed how the author conveyed how difficult it can be to live far away from your parents and the difficulty of only being able to talk through phone calls, Skype, and post cards. There were many conversations throughout the story that demonstrated how frustrating, deeply sad, and lonely it can feel to have these distant conversations and the yearning that both characters are experiencing for the in-person connection. A few of my favorite quotes from this story that describe this yearning:

“ In her curly handwriting, she wrote, my Sweet sweet daughter.
You gave me a beautiful pond. I want you to have the ocean.”

“What good would it do anyway? To have so much of someone like me?”

What I didn’t like:
The writing style in this book was hard to get used to. The dialog felt Sally Rooney-esque with the lack of quotation marks and a more minimalist plot. There were parts of this book that felt robotic and incomplete, like it was being oversimplified to help the point get across easier. There were sections of the dialogue that felt a bit cold and unrealistic, with other parts that felt like they were being told over and over again throughout the story but in slightly different ways while still being oversimplified. This minimalist style left me wanting more from the plot of the book, especially since the blurb of the book was so enticing.

A quiet, mundane story about a Brazilian girl and her mother who have to adjust to their new normal, where the daughter is away in New York for college and the mother is an empty nester. As the story solely focuses on this plotline, the progression is slower and subtle. The mundanity is sweet at times, sleepy at others.

Thanks to Netgalley and Grove Press for providing me with the e-ARC/DRC in exchange for an honest review.

What a wonderful surprise! In Bruna Dantas Lobato's debut novel, Blue Light Hours, we witness the challenges faced by a mother and daughter living continents apart for the first time as the daughter moved from Brazil to America for higher education. Both grapple with this major change and how it alters their sense of self. Surrendering to this journey beyond time and space, the daughter and mother rediscover their identities amidst blue screens, audio delays, and pixelated images. Becoming a daughter again, becoming a mother again. Even though they are apart, their souls remain connected.

Grappling with subjects that could easily become over-sentimental, Blue Light Hours is a quiet and contemplative meditation on loss, loneliness, desperation for connection, independence, love and hope. I truly appreciate the author's concise writing, which beautifully weaves in lovely details and thoughtful connections.

I started reading this novel at 3 am at the 24-hour Haneda Airport café, legitimately jet-lagged and already missing my family and friends. It reminded me so much of my experience when I moved from Portugal to Japan almost eight years ago. While I was lucky to secure a great job opportunity and have incredible new experiences, there were moments when I felt adrift and isolated on the opposite side of the world. The ongoing struggle between staying and departing will never find a peaceful resolution within me. Maybe Saudade is not just a word but a way of living.

Many thanks to Grove Atlantic | Grove Press, Black Cat and Bruna Dantas Lobato who kindly provided me with an advanced reading copy via NetGalley.