A Case of Literary ADHD

Rose Christo’s Gives Light Review

I’ve been itching for something light to read, so when I realised I’d bought a book titled “Gives Light” it seemed a no-brainer. I couldn’t for the life of me remember why I had bought it,  which I absolutely loved because I had no idea what to expect.

In the beginning, the book was capable of smoothing out the wrinkles of a shitty day.

Halfway through, it became apparent that I will not enjoy the book. Rose seemed to have had a bunch of various ideas which are perfectly OK, but she really should not have put them all in one book. It’s just too much, and the book ends up being about nothing and everything and about no one and everybody. It’s all over the place and no character is given proper attention due to this literary ADHD.

I will list all the things that were not given proper attention in Gives Light. And no, I do not care that it is the first book of a series because a series is a series, and a book is a whole in its own right.

1. Skylar St. Clair is a mute teenager who got his throat slashed by a man who had killed his mother
2. His father has disappeared without a word and Skylar is put in a custody of his paternal grandmother who lives on the Nettlebush Reserve
3. Skylar’s mother was murdered on the Nettlebush Reserve by a member of the tribal council
4. He was in fact a serial killer who had murdered several women
5. The son of the murderer, Rafael Gives Light, lives on the reservation
6. Native American customs and history are interspersed throughout the book
7. For the first time Skylar becomes a true member of a community and makes friends
8. Skylar’s new friend Annie has to take care of her two siblings because her mother is in the Army and her father is useless (it is mentioned somewhere that he had a stroke)
9. Rafael Gives Light becomes one of his best friends
10. Skylar’s father turns out to be a criminal who brings illegal immigrants into the country
11. FBI and social services regularly visit the reserve and threaten the fragile stability of Skylar’s new life
12. Skylar slowly falls in love with Rafael and Rafael returns his feelings
13. Skylar is briefly conflicted about his feelings for Rafael – briefly because there’s so much shit going on in the book he has no time to deal with it for a longer period of time.

Imagine all this (and more – I avoided spoilers) crammed onto 285 pages, and do not forget to include descriptions, internal monologue and musings of a teenage boy who uses words such as “vociferous“.

Let’s go general and explore topics.

1. Dealing with severe loss and monumental change
2. Facing painful past experiences and achieving personal growth through adversity
3. The treatment of Native Americans in modern society
4. The importance of preserving the culturally and spiritually rich Native American customs and way of life
5. Dealing with the fact that you are different and learning that “normalcy” is a matter of perspective/upbringing
6. Treatment of crime and punishment in different cultures

I’m sure I could come up with more but I think this is enough to illustrate my point.

It’s a shame, really, because the book is well written. If the first list was cut down and one or two of the topics given proper prominence, I believe it would have been a really good book and I would have probably been half way through the second part of the series.