Picture Us In the Light is a novel of mixed strengths and weaknesses, following the story of Danny Cheng, a gay, Chinese-American high school student pursuing his dreams of becoming an artist. Throughout the book, Kelly Loy Gilbert tackles serious issues like suicide, depression, and poverty.
Though I’m glad that Gilbert chose to touch on so many important issues, the inclusion of all of them in this novel felt like biting off a little more than she could chew. At times, the subject matter that appeared throughout the book felt disjointed and a little too heavy for the story. There were moments in the book where I failed to see how an event connected to the larger picture.
But minor issues with the plot aside, I very much enjoyed Gilbert’s portrayal of Danny. The picture that she paints of him is authentic and captures my attention from the start, from the realistic depictions of being an artist to the very unstereotypical Asian-American-parents-supporting-son’s-artistic-dream to the struggles of being in the last year of high school. Danny is far from a perfect person, but all of his flaws and shortcomings only serve to make him more real. And although Danny’s parents don’t fall under the tiger-parent stereotype, they, along with the rest of the Chinese-American cast, are undoubtedly Chinese-American. The subtle culture that Gilbert weaves into the story is true to life and just another reason to love it.
It’s also very clear that the usual portrayals of artists in YA lit is lacking when the mere mention of of Micron pens and Bristol board excite me. The idea of Danny as an artist with strengths and weaknesses, watching YouTube videos and trying to overcome art blocks, is something that I’ve never seen before in YA lit centered around artists. Kudos to Gilbert for doing it so well.
Though I’m glad that Gilbert chose to touch on so many important issues, the inclusion of all of them in this novel felt like biting off a little more than she could chew. At times, the subject matter that appeared throughout the book felt disjointed and a little too heavy for the story. There were moments in the book where I failed to see how an event connected to the larger picture.
But minor issues with the plot aside, I very much enjoyed Gilbert’s portrayal of Danny. The picture that she paints of him is authentic and captures my attention from the start, from the realistic depictions of being an artist to the very unstereotypical Asian-American-parents-supporting-son’s-artistic-dream to the struggles of being in the last year of high school. Danny is far from a perfect person, but all of his flaws and shortcomings only serve to make him more real. And although Danny’s parents don’t fall under the tiger-parent stereotype, they, along with the rest of the Chinese-American cast, are undoubtedly Chinese-American. The subtle culture that Gilbert weaves into the story is true to life and just another reason to love it.
It’s also very clear that the usual portrayals of artists in YA lit is lacking when the mere mention of of Micron pens and Bristol board excite me. The idea of Danny as an artist with strengths and weaknesses, watching YouTube videos and trying to overcome art blocks, is something that I’ve never seen before in YA lit centered around artists. Kudos to Gilbert for doing it so well.