Bibliographic
Information
A Certain Slant of
Light by Laura Whitcomb. Graphia.(2005).
Price: $8.99 for paperback
Pages: 282 for paperback
Plot Summary
During the last 130 years Helen has lived as a ghost
clinging to her various hosts lest she fall back into her personal Hell filled
with black water and a drowning sensation. Helen does not remember many details
of her previous life nor the sin she committed that doomed her to life as a
ghost but she tries to make the best of her situation by choosing hosts that
appreciate literature as much as she does. She is haunting her latest host, Mr.
Brown the English teacher, when a student notices her. She finds this
frightening and thrilling as this has never happened to her before. Desperate
for human contact, she overcomes her fear of being seen and speaks to him. She
is shocked to learn that he too is a ghost but unlike her he has managed to
find a human body devoid of a spirit, making it a perfect body to inhabit. Now,
James can live once more, both a delightful and terrifying prospect as he must
pretend to the boy whose body he inhabits. Fascinated, Helen learns from James
that inhabiting a body, while sometimes difficult, can be beneficial as your
memories from your previous life start to return. The more time Helen spends
with James the more she loves him and soon the two fall in love. But what sort
of future can the two of them have as ghosts—one with a body and one without
and will they ever remember the sins of their past leaving them free to become
something other than ghosts?
Critical
Evaluation
*SPOILER ALERT*
Hauntingly beautiful, A
Certain Slant of Light is perhaps the most intriguing book about ghosts I
have ever encountered. Whitcomb’s creation of them and the world they inhabit
is utterly fascinating. She begins with the commonly used idea that ghosts are
creatures that hover between life and death and are able to move items. Not
only can ghosts move objects but they can influence thoughts as is seen through
Helen aiding her various hosts in their artistic endeavors. Additionally,
Whitcomb imagines a horrifying world where ghosts are creatures that must haunt
a place or person or else be forced into a personal Hell. This Hell is
different for every ghost. For Helen, it is the sensation of drowning in
darkened water while for James it is experiencing a stinging, merciless wind.
Along with Helen, readers assume that the ghosts must have committed terrible
acts to be condemned to a half-life in such conditions.
As if this re-imagining of ghosts was not awful enough
Whitcomb creates them to be creatures that can climb into a human body when it
is devoid of a spirit. While disturbing, this is a stroke of genius on
Whitcomb’s part as we are all aware of people who, by experiencing horrifying
things, never fully recover into the person they once were. Whitcomb imagines
people like this to be rape victims, abused children, and drug users. Ghosts,
it seems, are not the only ones condemned to live in a suspended state as Helen
experiences an evil being inhabiting a body that Helen tries to use. She later
meets another unknown evil creature as she tries to leave the body of her host
to let the spirit of the original owner return. Readers never learn what these
evil beings are nor do they know just how the spirit leaves a body or whether
ghosts are moral, immoral or amoral beings. Leaving these questions unanswered
is key as readers start to question their own world long after they finish A Certain Slant of Light. Many may enjoy
Whitcomb’s novel for its romance or exquisite language but I found her creation
of ghosts to be the most compelling element. I have no doubt that this book
will stay with readers long after they have finished it.
Reader’s
Annotation
Helen, who has been a ghost for 150 years, finally meets
a boy who can see her.
About the Author
A Certain Slant of
Light is Laura Whitcomb’s first novel. Her most recent novel, The Fetch, was published in 2009. When
she is not writing she enjoys singing madrigals in the Sherwood Renaissance
Singers and managing props for the Portland Christmas Revels.
For more information on Laura Whitcomb and her books
visit her website:
Genre
Mystery, Paranormal romance
Readalikes
The Mercy of Thin
Air by Ronlyn Domingue
·
Also about a ghostly woman that cannot seem to
enter the afterlife
The Everafter by
Amy Huntley
·
Also about a girl who is not quite dead &
must remember her past
If I Stay by
Gayle Forman
·
Also about a ghostly girl who must decide how to
live her afterlife
Tags
Afterlife, Amnesia, Conservative Christianity, Creative
writing, Dickenson, English class, Ghosts, Hell, High school students, Ill
mother, Incarcerated father, Paranormal romance, Poetry, Possession, Writing
Awards
Won/Lists On
This book was on the following lists:
2006—ALA Best Books for Young Adults
2008—Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award
Nominee
2009—ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults (in Death
and Dying category)
Professional
Reviews
Horn Books
Publishers' Weekly
School Library Journal
The Washington Post
Booktalk Ideas
Helen’s Hosts (mostly 1st chapter)
·
My Saint
o Lady
poet
·
My Knight
o Admirer
of the Saint, author of fairy tales and sermons
·
My Playwright
o Wild
parties, makes light of things
·
My Mr. Brown
o Student
of playwright, working on novel, teacher
·
James
o Can
she transfer to him as her host?
The Rules of Ghosthood
·
Rule #1—To escape Hell you must haunt a person
(chap. 1) or a place (p. 27)
·
Rule #2—You cannot wish for another host (p. 9)
·
Rule #3—Everyone’s Hell is different (p. 28)
·
Rule #4—You can inhabit a body but once in you
cannot escape (p. 78)
·
Rule #5—No one knows how to stop being a ghost
& move on to the afterlife
Bibliotherapeutic
Usefulness
This book could be useful to those who either have a sick
or absent parent or those who grew up in a restrictive household. It could also
be used to explore the topics of the afterlife, ghosts, and purgatory.
Reading
Level/Interest Level
Reading Level: 5th grade
Interest Level: 9th-12th grade
These levels are according to AR Bookfinder
Challenge
Issues
This book includes the following potentially
controversial elements:
·
Brief profanity
·
Descriptions of sex and sexual arousal
·
Disturbing portrayal of conservative Christians
·
Drug abuse
·
Ghosts
·
Hell
·
Male & female sleeping in bed together
·
Mention of child rape
·
Possession of human bodies
·
Premarital sex
·
Sexual harassment
Librarians can point out that this book can be used to
discuss the appropriate role of parents as well as the existence of an
afterlife and ghosts.
Why Was This
Included?
I included this book because I am working on a project
about ghosts. When researching the topic this title kept coming up. I was also
hooked after the first few pages filled with beautiful prose.
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