What Light

Gr 9 Up—Asher delivers a light contemporary romance here, changing course from his best-selling Thirteen Reasons Why. Sixteen-year-old Sierra lives 11 months of the year on her family's Christmas tree farm in Oregon. Once Thanksgiving arrives every year, she and her family relocate to California to sell Christmas trees at a lot owned by their family for generations. For a month, Sierra sells trees, attends school online, and hangs out with her California best friend, Heather. This year she falls hard for Caleb, a good-looking guy with a troubled past. Everyone, from Heather to one of Caleb's classmates to her overprotective father, warns Sierra about Caleb, but the two are drawn together despite knowing their time together is limited. Will their relationship survive? Mandy Siegfried narrates and is spot on for Sierra's voice. Sierra's happiness and youthful enthusiasm are apparent in Siegfried's rendering and reflect the feel-good tone the book projects. While the girls' voices are done well, Siegfried performs Caleb in a husky whisper, which can be disconcerting at times.