WHAT LIGHT, by Jay Asher

The story: Sierra's family grows Christmas trees in Oregon, then makes the 900-mile trek to central California to sell them each year. But sales are down, and she knows that this might be their last year. Even more upsetting, she meets and falls for Caleb, all the while knowing she'll have to say goodbye to him when the lot closes on Christmas morning--and even worse, there's something weird and scary in Caleb's past. How could something that could turn out so wrong feel so right?

June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG; Violence PG; Sexual content PG; Nudity G; Substance abuse PG; Magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes (domestic violence) PG; overall rating PG.

Liz's comments: This is a sweet little holiday love story, just fine for readers of Kasie West or Jennifer E. Smith. What's weird is that this is the same author who wrote "Thirteen Reasons Why", about a girl who commits suicide and her reasons for doing it. The books are complete opposites--except for a message that people can (and should be allowed to) change, there's no kind of social commentary here. So don't buy this book thinking it'll be the same kind of novel as 13 Reasons. It's a lot more like Asher/Mackler's "The Future of Us", but without the sci-fi twist. (Too bad. I kinda liked that.)