The Light Pirate

It is a near-future story about a young girl born in the eye of the hurricane she is named after, a hurricane that presages the devastation of everything she knows. Her mother dies giving birth to her, and an older brother dies in the same storm.  As Wanda ages, Florida continues to unravel: water rising, coastlines shrinking, city services ending, etc.  Through it all, Wanda continues to suffer ostracism, pain, and the loss of loved ones.  But this torment is the making of her; she is resilient, strong, and oh, so capable. There is a magic in Wanda, and it comes to her rescue on occasion; though it’s never explained or fully realized, it does add an ethereal quality to the story.  The author’s visualization of the country’s collapse is very credible and eerily possible, which makes this a rather haunting read.  It requires no effort to believe the slow devastation of our planet.  There is hope, however. Wanda survives, finds love and community, and lives to an old age as the matriarch of a burgeoning world.  I’d recommend it to fans of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel and Land of Milk and Honey by C. Pam Zhang.

Review by Darla