Author: Kali Fajardo-Anstine
Publisher: One World
Released: June 7, 2022
Received: Own (BOTM)

I’ve said it before, and I’m going to say it again (sorry, not sorry) – I love that BOTM tempts me into picking up books that I may have missed out on. I grabbed several books for June, including Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine.

Luz Lopez has been left all alone, though not by choice. Her only remaining family, Diego, was run out of town by a violent (and very white) mob. Now it’s just Luz. Perhaps this solitary moment is the spark her ancestors needed.

Four generations of Lopez came before her, and Luz is going to see through their eyes and experience the past. By seeing the past, she will finally understand everything they have gone through and what threatens them so gravely.

“This could be your family, Celia shouted. Your brother, your son, your father. This could be your loss. But it’s not. It’s mine, and you might think you’re lucky, but for every lucky person, unluckiness arrives. Our existence shouldn’t depend on luck. It should depend on justice, what is good, what is right.”

Before I dive into my review, I want to state that I feel awful for not enjoying Woman of Light more. I went into it hoping to fall in love, but I didn’t – though I don’t regret reading it if that makes sense. Maybe it was the mood I was in at the time; I’m not sure.

For me, the best part of Woman of Light was the prologue. Reading about Luz and her life was fascinating and set the tone for the whole book. Again, that’s just my take on the matter. But I would have gladly read another hundred pages with that perspective.

Once we move on (which technically means going back), things get a bit fuzzier. On the bright side, it was still an extremely informative (and heartbreaking) read. I think that Woman of Light is an important read for this reason, as the events that played out in this book are based on real life and should be something we discuss more often.

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