Publishers Weekly
★ 07/08/2024
In the oppressive patriarchal theocracy of Brightland, which is at war, officials intend to exterminate unhumans, who have access to powerful telepathic abilities called songlight. Eighteen-year-old Elsa and her secret boyfriend Rye live in coastal moorland village Northaven, constantly fearing being outed as unhuman. Rye’s looming deployment to the war front and Elsa’s impending marriage to a returning veteran complicate matters further. After Rye is jailed by Elsa’s older brother, Elsa makes chance contact through songlight with 17-year-old Kaira, who lives in the capital city of Brightlinghelm. Though the girls find solace in each other’s company, their burgeoning power attracts the attention of human supremacist faction leaders, who seek to escalate the war using forbidden technology and manipulative songlight abilities. In this stunning YA debut, play- and screenwriter Buffini expertly juggles a complex plot via five distinct perspectives. By playing off conflicting internal motivations to explore weighty topics of reproductive freedom, internalized homo- phobia, and state oppression, Buffini crafts a nuanced adventure, all the while dropping tantalizing hints of further conflict and hidden history broiling under the surface of this dystopian trilogy opener. Characters are described as having varying skin tones. Ages 13–up. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
"The multiple immersive perspectives and the anticipation this narrative will create in readers make this first installment in a planned trilogy unputdownable. Buffini captures the human spirit and all its messy and beautifully complex emotions. A brilliant character study that examines the effects of war, genocide, and misogyny.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Action-packed and simmering with fury, Songlight leads a chorus of fierce young narrators coming into their power. Like the hook in your favorite song, her melody will stay in your head long after you turn the last page.” — Michael Grant, NYT bestselling author of the Gone series
“With thoughtful nods to Atwood and Le Guin, Moira Buffini crafts a post-apocalyptic future that confronts harsh and timely realities, yet still shimmers with an empowering undercurrent of optimism and agency. Readers will eagerly await the next installment in this high-stakes trilogy featuring an unforgettable cast of characters. Sweeping, cinematic, and luminous.” — Rebecca Caprara, award-winning author of Spin
“A dark yet piercingly hopeful tale, Songlight imagines a dystopian world on the brink of revolution, courtesy of its teen protagonists who dare to love. Buffini’s ethereal prose and harrowing plot twists kept me reading long into the night.” — Lyssa Mia Smith, author of Revelle