The Dark Light by Sara Walsh - ADVISABLE

Walsh, Sara The Dark Light, 483 pgs.  Simon Pulse, 2012.  $16.99 

Language: PG-13 (24 swears; 1 God); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG-13. 

Mia is in high school and lives with her bum of an uncle and her sweet ten year old brother.  Her father ran off and her mother died, but other than that, Mia doesn’t know anything about them.  At school there is a boy named Andy who likes Mia, but Mia can’t stop thinking about the new guy, Sol.  Sol has a large bird tattooed on his back, but the weirdest part is that her brother has the same tattoo on him.  While Mia attempts to find the connection between Sol and her brother, a light shows up and tempts her brother to the edge of a cliff and then he disappears.  Mia learns that there is a whole other dimension to this world and that Sol might be the best person to help her find her brother. 

This book was a bit slow at the beginning, but once the mysterical light was uncovered it became a lot more interesting.  The cover doesn’t really fit the story either because it seems more fantasy than supernatural and I think the type of young adult that would pick up this book might be disappointed in the otherworld elements.  That being said it was a great story and had interesting characters.  The driving force to the action was to find Mia’s brother and that made it entertaining as well.  I liked this book and would be interested if there were more books in the series that might take place in this world. 

MS, HS - ADVISABLE.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.