Malinda Lo
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Malinda Lo
 

A Scatter of Light

A New York Times Bestseller

winner of the Massachusetts Book Award

National Book Award-winning author Malinda Lo returns to the Bay Area with another masterful coming-of-queer-age story, this time set against the backdrop of the first major Supreme Court decisions legalizing gay marriage.

And almost sixty years after the end of Last Night at the Telegraph Club, Lo’s new novel also offers a glimpse into Lily and Kath’s lives since 1955.

Aria Tang West was looking forward to a summer on Martha’s Vineyard with her best friends—one last round of sand and sun before college. But after a graduation party goes wrong, Aria’s parents exile her to California to stay with her grandmother, artist Joan West. Aria expects boredom, but what she finds is Steph Nichols, her grandmother’s gardener.

Soon, Aria is second-guessing who she is and what she wants to be, and a summer that once seemed lost becomes unforgettable—for Aria, her family, and the working-class queer community Steph introduces her to. It’s the kind of summer that changes a life forever.

 
 
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EXTRAS

PRAISE

★ “Raw and bittersweet … Aria’s vulnerable narration is an intensely driving force in this expansive tale of yearning, self-discovery, and first love.”
— Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ “[A] bittersweet novel of love and loss … Aria’s story is not just about discovering and embracing your sexuality. It’s also about what it means to be an artist, a friend, a daughter and a granddaughter, and about how identities of all kinds can converge and crystallize as part of the process of growing up.”
— BookPage, starred review

★ “The powerful story of one young woman's life-changing summer of self-discovery. … Lo vividly conveys the giddy euphoria of a teenage crush … A Scatter of Light does not make moral judgments about its characters — Aria's foibles and mistakes are what make her a compelling protagonist.”
— Shelf Awareness, starred review

★ “An excellent coming-of-age and coming out story. Characters are complicated and messy but in a realistic and relatable way. … A must-have for any library collection.”
— School Library Journal, starred review

“A Scatter of Light has a simmering intensity that makes it hard to put down. Lo knows how to write characters that jump off the page and feel like real people, from their quirks and interests to their flaws and shortcomings. This book feels like a portal to a very specific time and to that feeling of finishing high school and realizing that the world, and your place within it, is so much bigger than it seemed.”
— NPR

“This deeply perceptive bildungsroman thoughtfully explores several absorbing topics, but first and foremost it is an intimate, exhilarating story of first love.”
— The Horn Book

“A Scatter Of Light is a book that feels like summer. It is long and hazy with moments of sharp clarity that puncture the constant sense of aching and longing that define the feel of much of the story.”
— The National (Scotland)

“An alluring coming-of-age story … Lo is so adept at crafting rousing, deeply personal tales of late adolescence set against momentous political backdrops.”
— Electric Lit

“Richly detailed.” — Kirkus

 “Raw and bittersweet.”

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

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COVER GALLERY

PUBLISHERS

Dutton Books for Young Readers (Oct. 4, 2022) — U.S. and Canada

Coronet Books/Hachette (Oct. 6, 2022) — U.K.

We Need YA/Poznanskie (TBD) — Poland