OMG, why did I relate so much to a book despite not being in any kind of situation even remotely similar to the characters in this book? The story deals with loneliness and isolation and it just hit so close to home, I absolutely loved it. I couldn't even tell you what I thought was good about this so this is a review purely based on vibes.

Blue Light Hours was a bit of a slow burn, but it ultimately captivated me. Lobato's writing is beautifully introspective, delving into the complexities of memory and the passage of time. The story unfolds at a leisurely pace, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the protagonist's world. While some might find the lack of action a drawback, I appreciated the quiet power of Lobato's prose. The ending, in particular, left a lasting impression, reminding me of the bittersweet beauty of life's fleeting moments.

Many thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for providing me with an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have such warm feelings for this book. It feels so intimate, like one of those late-night conversations where everything feels more tender, more honest. There's a quiet depth to it, and Lobato’s writing is such a breath of fresh air—breezy, yet profound. She captures the contemplative, softer moments of life so effortlessly. This book truly feels like a gentle reflection, something you’ll want to sit with long after finishing.

What a quiet, lovely, heartfelt little novel. I read it in one sitting, but it didn't feel rushed at all. In fact, I felt it luxuriated in some of the quiet moments to great effect, evoking loneliness, homesickness, gratitude, and even connection in turn. This novel captures the conflicting feelings that come with going away to school — and I only moved 100 miles away, nowhere near 4,000. Both the mother and daughter characters felt real to me, and as someone who has spent thousands of hours on family Zoom calls, their interactions felt very true to life. This novel absolutely belongs on your fall/winter TBR!

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.