Review: Splinters of Light by Rachel Herron

Splinters of Light

by Rachel Herron

Publisher: NAL

Pages: 464

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Ten years ago, Nora Glass started writing essays about being a single mother of a six-year-old daughter. Her weekly column made her a household name, and over the years, her fans have watched Ellie grow from a toddler to a teenager.

But now Nora is facing a problem that can’t be overcome. Diagnosed with a devastating disease that will eventually take away who she is, she is scared for herself, but even more frightened about what this will mean for her sixteen-year-old daughter.

Now Nora has no choice but to let go of her hard-won image as a competent, self-assured woman, and turn to the one person who has always relied on her: her twin sister, Mariana. Nora and Mariana couldn’t be more different from one another, and they’ve always had a complicated relationship. But now the two sisters will have to summon the strength to help them all get through a future none of them could have ever imagined, while uncovering the joy and beauty that was always underneath. 


Kritters Thoughts:  Nora Glass has been a single mom for many years and has always taken care of her daughter, her twin and herself - she has always been "the responsible one."  She learns that she is in for the fight of her life and she knows it is a battle that she will not win.  She has fear for leaving both of the important women in her life and her life ending short of what she thought it would.

For very different reasons, I loved each of the Glass women.  I loved that they found what they needed in each other, but in the same breath they didn't improve their weaknesses because they leaned on each other.  It was absolutely entertaining to read the story of these three and how they pushed each other away and pulled together through it all.  

With such unique formatting, sprinkled throughout the book were excerpts from Nora Glass' book and these chapters helped move the book along chronologically with a focus on the holidays they celebrated together as mother/daughter.  I loved that following those excerpts were the contemporary story around the holiday and other moments that were the story.  

This is a slow moving train, but sometimes the slower, deeper books are the ones that stay with you and this story will be with me for a very long time.  Focusing both on the sibling and the parent/child relationships, this book really hit the spot for me.  If you have read a lot of the family drama genre, you should add this one to your list now.


Rating:  absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley NAL.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.