The Light That Gets Lost

by Natasha Carthew

A small boy hiding in a cupboard witnesses something no child should ever see. He tries not to look but he still hears it. And when he comes out, there's no mistaking. His mum and dad have been killed. And though he's only small, he swears that he'll get revenge one day.

Years later, Trey goes to a strange camp that is meant to save troubled teenagers. It's packed with crazies, god-botherers, devoted felons and broken kids. Trey's been in and out of trouble ever since the day the bad thing happened, but he's not here for saving: this is where he'll find the man who did it. Revenge and healing, salvation and hell are a boiling, dangerous mix, and Trey finds himself drawn to a girl, a dream and the offer of friendship in the dark …

• ISBN10: 140883586X
• ISBN13: 9781408835869
• Publish Date: 5 November 2015
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 3 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
• Imprint: Bloomsbury Childrens Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 272
• Language: English

Reviews

[Kelly]

http://www.divabooknerd.com/2015/12/the-light-that-gets-lost-mini-review.html
Trey constantly refers to the Demon when talking about his drive to avenge his parents. At first I assumed it was a metaphor used to describe his anger, I'm not sure whether it was part of Trey's journey but he seemed to believe the Demon was a physical being that possessed him that was never clarified. Another aspect of the storyline that I found difficult to connect with was the dialogue between the characters. The characters all had a very distinct British dialect and even being Australian, I couldn't follow it. Int (short for isn't it) was overused and was incredibly irritating after a few short chapters. To be honest, I wanted to take to the little bastards with a frying pan.

I loved the concept. Not being a religious person, I'm fascinated by fictional cults and religious based institutions but sadly due to the lack of world building, I just couldn't immerse myself. I felt as though I was waiting for something to happen, but it seemed to lose direction and cause.

I always write less than positive reviews with a heavy heart and although I enjoyed the rawness of the writing, this one was not for me sadly. The Light That Gets Lost is a strange journey that had the making of a truly wonderful read, but never realised. It lacked direction, much needed world building and perhaps tried to be too clever and lyrical which amounted to a disappointing read. The cover is absolutely gorgeous though.