The Light We Lost

Our Review

THE LIGHT WE LOST is a debut novel for Santopolo. and if this is her caliber of writing I’ll be back for more!  A powerful story about first loves. how it shapes other relationships we enter, and how it affects our lives going forward.

Lucy and Gabe meet on a tragic day – September 11, 2001 – in a college class while at Columbia University in New York City. That day helped to shape their relationship and their love, but is it enough when they are each trying to fulfill their dreams after graduation? Their chemistry is off the charts, and they understand each other. As they each embark on their careers, are their feelings enough to hold them together? Are they better together or apart? And can they remain together if they are thousands of miles apart?

The story was somewhat confusing since Lucy always has Gabe foremost in her mind no matter what was going on in her life. She seems to be “talking” to him throughout the book about the past and other times in the here and now. There are a lot of milestones reached, but it’s tough when you don’t have the right person to share them with.

There are twists and turns to the story and a depth to the characters I didn’t expect. Lucy’s husband is a little too organized, and it would creep me out all the decisions he makes on his own even if he has Lucy and their family’s best interests at heart. Though at times I wondered if it is all about him.

The story is filled with family and friends, sacrifices and decisions made. The characters travel, deal with lost loves, anger, and fear, yet also experience elation and love. The emotions run the gamut in this story. There is some closure with a twist I wasn’t expecting, but an epilogue would have given me the closure I needed.

A RECOMMENDED READ!