Lovely, Dark, and Deep

May 14, 2018
Everything begins at a bake sale. Viola is peddling red bean baos for a worthy cause, and chatting with an attractive boy, when she has a dizzy spell and faints. She wakes up in the hospital only to find out she has contracted a rare case of photosensitivity; her skin can no longer tolerate light. Viola’s life literally changes overnight: her wardrobe is replaced with special UVA protective clothing; she must always wear a hat, and even more humiliating, carry an umbrella; lights in the house are dimmed and covered. As her condition worsens, Viola fears her dreams of becoming a journalist and her hopes of pursuing a relationship with Josh, the boy she met at the bake sale, will dim like a setting sun. In a novel about love, disappointment, and fighting the odds, Chen (North of Beautiful) convincingly evokes not only Viola’s physical discomfort but also the emotional impact of living with an incurable disease. Viola’s parents’ despair, her sister’s frustration, and Josh’s fear that he will somehow bring harm to Viola are delineated equally well. No matter the darkness of the subject, Chen provides glimmers of hope as she reveals Viola’s battle to reclaim a form of normalcy. Ages 12–18.

May 1, 2018

Gr 8 Up-When Viola faints from a reaction to the sun, she is saved by Thor, aka Josh, the boy who tried to sell his comic at her bake sale booth. After she is diagnosed with solar urticaria with polymorphous light eruption, a rare condition with no cure, her crisis manager parents' reaction is to manage the situation, but Viola doesn't want her life to change. She dreams of attending NYU in Abu Dhabi and becoming a foreign correspondent to bring increased attention to the causes she campions through her successful bake sales. Viola tries to continue living as normal a life as possible by starting a relationship with Josh and working on her college applications, but her reactions become increasingly severe-not just from the sun but from all light emitting sources, including her phone and computer. After a particularly bad episode that lands her in the hospital, Josh leaves, blaming himself, and Viola withdraws into the basement where she can be safe, shutting herself away from everything and everyone. Teens will want to read this for the romance and rare medical condition, but they will stay for the sympathetic protagonist who must come to terms with her changed reality. For readers interested in learning more about photosensitivity, Anna Lyndsey's Girl in the Dark: A Memoir provides a look from the inside into the realities of a similar condition. VERDICT Sure to be popular and recommended for all collections.-Kefira Phillipe, Nichols Middle School, Evanston, IL

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2018
Viola Li has her future as a globe-trotting journalist all planned out, but everything comes into question when her body suddenly betrays her.Passionate and ambitious, Viola, a biracial (Chinese/white) 18-year-old, is unmoored when her skin begins to react terribly in the sun and she must curtail her exposure to all light, including computer and phone screens. As Viola's photosensitivity worsens and her world becomes more restricted (the first page of each chapter gets progressively darker throughout the book), her only ray of metaphorical light is her burgeoning relationship with white Thor look-alike Josh Taylor, whom her parents disapprove of. When a romantic outing becomes life-threatening, its aftermath includes Viola's move into the basement and challenges with Josh (who has his own issues). It is then that she finally finds the strength to make a new life plan. Much of the book revolves around the conflict between what Viola's overprotective, crisis-manager parents want for her and her own acceptance of her condition, and Chen (A Blind Spot for Boys, 2014, etc.) gives readers a sensitive glimpse into what living with a chronic illness might be like. Snarky humor and nontraditional narrative structures (lists, texts, cinematic scenes, etc.) offset an otherwise somber situation but may also prevent readers from fully connecting emotionally. Nevertheless, readers will root for Viola as she searches for new purpose.A strong exploration of resilience in the face of life unpredictable. (Fiction. 13-18)

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Starred review from June 1, 2018
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Viola Wynne Li has it all worked out. She'll have a great senior year, graduate from high school, attend NYU (Abu Dhabi campus), and become a foreign correspondent. It's all she has ever wanted; she even writes articles on the different causes she supports with her series of fund-raising bake sales?they serve double duty as practice for her and information for her customers. Then she is stricken with a severe case of photosensitivity, where even the light from her phone can burn her. Fortunately (and unfortunately) for Viola, her parents are crisis management experts, and they go right to work. In spite of the blackout shades, hideous UV-blocking clothes, and a hat the size of Saturn's rings, Viola is determined to pursue her dreams, not to mention Josh, who has come to her rescue numerous times. When it looks as if her condition is not going away any time soon, Viola realizes she has to start turning away from closed doors and look for some open windows. In Viola's fresh, often funny first-person narrative, her sense of humor buoys her most of the time, and even though she faces a scary uncertainty, she does it with flair. Readers won't be able to help but root for Viola in this moving, empowering book about a teen recalculating her well-laid plans, all in a vivid voice.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)