I'm not sure about this. It was okay but there were no mysteries and I found it a bit slow and predictable. It's a story about family and what your willing to sacrifice for the ones you love. There were some moments were there could have been a lot of emotions but I didn't feel it. The book has some great reviews but for me it was just an okay book.

I was drawn to this book because of its premise - ghosts and gothic tales are right up my alley. The beginning of the story was promising and I was curious how Trevor's journey was going to unfold. Though initially positioned as adult Trevor telling the story through the eyes of his 14 year old self, I kind of wanted to experience more from the perspective of adult Trevor. Parts of the story were beautifully told but the middle felt too slow paced for my liking. I felt for Trevor and his desire to see his separated parents reconciled but I just never fully emotionally connected with the potential outcome of family's decision surrounding the house and estate. I think this was one of those instances where there was a disconnect between a beautiful concept and an execution I connect with on deeper level as a reader.

Grateful to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! Rating 2.5 rounded up to 3!

A SUDDEN LIGHT by Garth Stein is the enchanting story of Trevor Ridell's fourteenth summer. With his parents on the brink of divorce, Trevor travels to Seattle with his father to see Riddell House for the first time. At first, Trevor wants to help his father and aunt gain possession of the estate from his elderly grandfather so they can sell the land for development and make a ton of money. Soon, Trevor begins to learn about his ancestors, and their true desires for the end of Riddell House. Trevor must decide if he will help his father sell Riddell House, or if he will help the ghost of his great-granduncle return the house to the land.

This book had many aspects that I absolutely enjoyed. First is Riddell House itself. I really like novels where the house is, in essence, the true protagonist. I loved how Trevor got to explore this mysterious estate replete with history. Of course, who doesn't love reading about an old mansion with hidden passageways and journals from its past inhabitants? I wish I could explore Riddell House myself, and see all that it has to offer despite its decaying condition.

Similarly, I love multigenerational novels, and this one is written in such a unique way. Instead of just following different characters in a chronological timeline, readers learn about the Riddell family through oral history, found journals, and even ghosts. Stein does a fantastic job at incorporating the paranormal in this book. Not only does he make it feel believable that Trevor sees and interacts with ghosts, but the role the ghosts play in the book is so beautiful. While A SUDDEN LIGHT may primarily by Trevor's story, it encompasses the family history seamlessly.

Moreover, I adored the relationship that Trevor has with his grandfather. There is something so endearing about the cranky old man softening through the relationship he has with his long, lost grandson. Of course, Stein writes some added layers to this plot line to really thicken the intrigue. Despite his shortcomings, Grandpa Samuel is one of my favorite characters in the book.

Overall, A SUDDEN LIGHT is a hauntingly beautiful story. I was captivated from page one, and whenever I wasn't reading I kept thinking about the book. This novel ends up discussing many difficult topics, but in a quiet way. I hope to pick up a physical copy so that I can reread the book and notate it. I highly recommend this book.

Trevor Riddell travels with his father to their crumbling ancestral home in rural Washington state. It is the summer of 1990, and his parents are having a trial separation. Fourteen year old Trevor knows he has to do everything he can to help get their marriage back on track. The house lies in a huge estate, overlooking Puget Sound, and is reportedly haunted.

I was expecting this to be quite a tough read. It's author, Garth Stein, wrote the international bestseller The Art of Racing in the Rain which I always assumed would be wordy and literary. However the prose was great - cleanly written, atmospheric and unpretentious. Despite dealing with some very dark themes, it does feel almost like it's aimed at the YA (young adult) market. The setting is wonderfully evocative, rich in texture and atmosphere, with an interesting setup with just a few characters. the relationship between the various family members was intriguing, with the text hinting at secrets and a complex history. I really enjoying hearing about the history of the family, albeit some of the documents meant to have been written at the start of the last century (and the dialogue in some of the dream sequences or flashbacks) felt a little modern for that time.

A Sudden Light is an excellent coming of age story, one that isn't too demanding, yet with enough surprises and emotion to thoroughly enjoy it. There is a real gothic sense to the proceedings, with an underlying aura of tragedy. The house itself is almost a prominent character in the story. I'd definitely be interested in reading more of Stein's work. Recommended.

This is a very in-depth look at a family. It's generations and generations going far back into the settling days and the building of the first huge estate of a railroad and forest tycoon.
But this is also a story told by a 14 year old boy, with little life experiences and still so much to learn. It's a bit of mystery, as he tries to understand where he has come from and all the sins of the fathers, but this isn't written as a mystery - this is a story about a family and what it took to survive.

Boy oh boy, did I miss out by putting this read off for so long! Honestly, this book has been sitting on my TBR shelf for years, and I have only just got round to it! Now that I have read it, I really wish I'd picked it up sooner. It's the perfect Halloween read - ghosts, mystery, a huge house and family secrets. And, from start to finish, I was totally hooked.

The MC Trevor was likeable enough, but it was the characters he surrounded himself with that I found the most interesting. His jittery, secretive father; manipulative, beautiful aunt; and forgetful but often tender grandfather. I really enjoyed watching the story progress and following these complex characters as I learnt more about their pasts and built up a picture of their agendas. The atmosphere in this book was built up very nicely too, especially when Trevor would go exploring on his own and meet up with some spooky ghosts! Stein put a lot of work in building up the backstory prior to the setting of the book, and it showed!

My two slight upsets with this book stopped it from being a five star read. Firstly, Trevor was likeable but a bit bland. Whatsmore, he really didn't read like a fourteen year old POV. More like a thirty year old guy trying to pretend to be fourteen by shooting hints of teenage angst and puberty related erotic thoughts in there. The general voice was far too mature to be a fourteen year old, no matter how clever. Secondly, the pacing was just a tiny bit too slow. I was hooked by the mystery of it all, but nothing really happened until the very end! It suited me okay, but others will find this a little boring as a result, especially if you're looking to be scared.

a family narrative about a boy trying to save his parents' marriage. I felt drawn into this story line and enjoyed it a lot