Skylar hasn't had a voice since he was seven. That was when a murderer entered his house, killed his mother, and failed to kill him, the incident that lead Sky to be raised off the reservation, away from his family, alone except for his father. But when his father disappears and Sky is placed with his grandmother, he befriends the son of the man who killed his mother and nothing will ever be the same again. This is a delicate weaving of morality vs legality, of sweet romance against the odds, of two lonely boys finding a home, of speaking without a voice.
Gives Light effortlessly evokes empathy for Native people and teaches the truth about the way the government treats them without ever feeling forced. It's not a history lesson, it's simply an irrevocable part of living on an Indian reservation, and of being a foster child. There's minimal angst derived from the relationship; it's mostly them against the world, against unjust laws, clinging to their family and sorting out complicated emotions.
I only heard of Rose Christo because she wrote the infamous My Immortal, but I'm so glad I did, because the Gives Light series goes up there with Matthew J. Metzger books. Yes, it's a series: the first of six. I read all of them within three days total. They're just that good.
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