Second Chance Summer

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A Scatter of Light is focused on Aria the summer after graduation. After compromising photos of her are posted online she ends up being sent out to the Bay Area to spend the summer with her grandmother, an artist. The summer marks a turning point in Aria’s life when there is a lot of self discovery happening. Lo definitely nails this part of the book in that she explores Aria finding an interest in artwork and photography that she really hasn’t touched since her childhood, as well as still having a deep love for astronomy. In addition to seeing her interests evolve, she meets Steph, her grandmother’s gardener, and has an immediate attraction to her. This is difficult for Aria to reconcile both because she’s never been attracted to another girl or woman before-and because Steph is already in a long term relationship. I think it’s great that Lo puts the emphasis of the relationship on the attraction Aria has to Steph as a person, exploring more than just gender, but purely that there’s something special about another person that supersedes the accepted relationship norms of society. There are certain scenes with Steph’s groups of friends that seem to take up too much of the book without moving the story forward, as well as ones where Aria “reconnects” with her deceased grandfather by watching recorded classes he taught. The reader will notice some of these lulls. I also didn’t really love how some of the relationships between some of the characters didn’t get more closure. They seem very abrupt and leave the reader wondering what happens to the character that disappears. Some of the moments that shined the most for me were actually not between Aria and Steph, they were between Aria and her grandmother Joan. Joan is able to impart both knowledge about life and art, as well as family history, that feels crucial to Aria’s self discovery. Readers looking for an update on Lily and Kath’s story from Lo’s previous book, Last Night at the Telegraph Club, will get it, but it plays very little part in this particular story.