Where the Light Goes
Binding: Paperback
Imprint: Walker Books
Age 14+
Family & Home Stories General Fiction
A heart-wrenching exploration of grief from a bestselling YA author, set in a landscape corrupted by fame and the scrutiny that comes from living in the shadow of a star.
To the world, Lizzie Beck is a superstar: famous, talented and beloved.
To Emmy, she is simply Beth: her brilliant older sister, her idol.
But then Beth takes her own life, and all the light in the world disappears.
Now Emmy is lost. Amidst the media storm and overwhelming public grief, she must fight to save her own memories of her sister – and find out who she is without her.
Creators
Sara Barnard lives in Brighton and does all her best writing on trains. She is a bestselling author of seven novels for young adults. Her debut Beautiful Broken Things was a Zoella Bookclub pick and she went on to win the YA Book Prize with her third novel, Goodbye, Perfect. Where the Light Goes is her latest novel with Walker Books. Sara believes that sad books are good for the soul, and happy books lift the heart. She hopes to write lots of books that do both.
Reviews
This book is a work of art. Where the Light Goes by Sara Barnard is one of those books that has the power to move you to tears.
Books Up North
Barnard’s writing is beautiful and evocative, capturing the mood and atmosphere of the novel perfectly. The themes of family, grief, and self-discovery are handled with insight and sensitivity, and the story is both heart-wrenching and, ultimately, hopeful. Overall, Where the Light Goes is a stunning novel that will resonate with readers who have experienced loss or who are interested in exploring the complexities of human emotion. Highly recommended.
The Writing Greyhound
You find yourself caught up on the emotion and pain and yet sympathetic, which can only show how incredibly well this book is written! This heart-breaking book is raw, devastating and yet beautiful.
Blue Fairy Tales
It is an incredibly eloquent exploration of grief, loss and fame. Heartbreaking, poignant, beautiful, devastating, engaging and raw. Just read it.
Mary Judy
This book was such an easy delve into and I honestly couldn’t put it down. I empathised with Emmy as she grieved the death of her sister. Whilst I definitely did not agree with how she coped with the loss, it was something I could understand. I loved her friends for being so supportive during that time. I also saw how fame and influence impacts people and how that influenced Emmy’s view on the world around her. This was so well written and I loved the various media within the book
Kaitlyn's Library
