Review: Songlight by Moira Buffini

Blurb:

Star-crossed lovers, against-all-odds friendship, and a brutally unforgiving world make this first in a trilogy utterly unforgettable.

We’re two songs joined. And there’s a word for that. A harmony.

Elsa is used to hiding the most important parts of herself—her feelings for Rye, her distaste for a world ruled by men, and, most crucially, her gift of songlight. She buries that secret deep inside. In Brightland, those with songlight are called Unhumans and are abhorred. Rye is the only other person Elsa has known with songlight, and their shared bond has brought them together.

Elsa’s world begins to fall apart one desperate, heart-wrenching day and she doesn’t know where to turn until a girl appears before her. But the girl isn’t really there—her songlight has been drawn to Elsa’s frantic grief.

Elsa lives in a remote seaside village; Nightingale, her new friend, lives in a city hundreds of miles away with her father, a government official responsible for rooting out Unhumans. The two never expected to connect via songlight. But when they do, and when they realize the extent of their power, they’ll be thrust in the middle of a war that threatens their very existence.

From an award-winning screenwriter making her novel debut comes this powerful, page-turning trilogy perfect for fans of Sabaa Tahir and Adrienne Young.

Review:

“If I can’t save Rye, I can at least avenge him.”

OMG, I am in shambles and need some information about when to expect book 2 from this series! I had an absolute blast with this!

First of all, this cover? So beautiful? I’m 100% obsessed. But it also captures the world pretty darn well.  It’s a seaside village, our main character works on a boat most days getting food for the village. But the opposing colors represent how the different melodies & countries come together to enhance each other, and the people who can sing are called torches, you can see how bright they burn on the cover!

I grabbed this audiobook from my library and devoured it in 2 days. This is the dystopian YA book I have been waiting for! I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the multiple POV characters/chapters. I barely stopped to copy down any of the quotes because I was just desperate to see where this story was going. 

“I can speak. I will speak.”

This book strikes a healthy balance between character-driven and plot-driven storytelling. Though it's categorized as YA, it feels more like a YA novel written for an adult audience, largely due to the frequent use of strong language (including the “F” word) throughout. I personally prefer fantasy books to invent their own curse words, but I understand that the author may have chosen this language to reflect the characters’ backgrounds as sailors and military cadets.

The plot centers around a community where arranged marriages and repopulation are key themes (though there are no explicit scenes).  It reminded me of the society of The Handmaid’s Tale or Manacled a bit! The Songlight is a wonderful magical light/communication/transportation/empathic thing, so naturally, its against the law.  If you are found to have Songlight the government will  remove it from you, and you will be left a shell of yourself and put into slave work (I’m picturing the dementors kiss here). 

Elsa – Elsa is the main character, working on a boat to gather fish for her village. She's also one of the village's choir girls, being trained to become a wife for soldiers returning from war. While the highest honor is to become a first wife, second wives are also valued members of the community. Elsa knows she must hide her true nature, as her Songlight is a powerful beacon, and revealing it would lead to death or worse if the village elders found out.

Rye – Rye is the only person in the village who knows Elsa’s secret. Their bond, formed through their shared ability to communicate via Songlight, has to be a secret from everyone, including Piper, Elsa’s brother and Rye’s childhood best friend. The two of them spend much of their time in Songlight together, but when Rye is caught and labeled as an "Unhuman," Elsa’s life is thrown into chaos.

Nightingale – Nightingale is drawn to Elsa through her grief in Songlight, offering Elsa both friendship and hope. She renames Elsa “Lark” to protect her identity. However, Nightingale also has her own struggles, and her Songlight may hold the key to solving everything. Her interactions with her father offered a look at her great empathy. 

I really enjoyed all the characters, even the villain, who got a few chapters from her point of view, making it hard not to sympathize with her. The story starts in the village but takes us to other places, revealing more about the world and the propaganda the village has been fed.  While we explore more locations, our main character also explores the world around her without the veil of propaganda she has been force fed since birth. There is so much at stake, and I cannot wait to see the reunion of Elsa and Rye, I wonder if Elsa knows I’m rooting for her, will Nightingale be ok??!

“Something extraordinary is happening. We are no longer powerless.”

Songlight is not only shaped by the theme of light, but also by musical elements, which I really enjoyed. The characters talk about different harmonies and chords, and they use these musical terms in everyday conversation. Additionally, terms like brightness and light are used as descriptions of the world, which makes sense given the title. However, there's also a recurring motif of birds in the story, with characters named Heron, Kingfisher, and Crane. I’m not entirely sure why the author chose this, but perhaps it has something to do with birds singing. I’d love to ask the author if I could!

This is going to be one of my favorite YA books of the year!

“Freedom is what we are fighting for.”

Would I reread? Absolutely yes, whenever book 2 is officially announced, I will def pick this up again!

Would I recommend? Yes, I have been waiting for a dystopian YA book to affect me like this, just be mindful of the of strong language (including the “F” word) throughout! 

“I’m in a whirlwind of confusion because, for the first time in my life. I feel like I belong.”

Where can I find info about this author and find updates on Book 2’s release?! I’m in a chokehold and I need some info ASAP!

Ok, I managed to find out that the working title of book two is Torchfire, and right now it is tentatively scheduled for release on August 28th!  The cover illustrator is Tomasz Majewski, and I can’t wait to see what the next book looks like!

Recommended for Fans of YA dystopian stories like Ember in the Ashes, The Last Magician, and the Prison Healer!