The Darkest Light by Hiromi Goto

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Synopsis

Adopted as an infant, Gee has been kept ignorant of his troubled past. Now, at sixteen, he is a loner both despised and feared by his classmates. Dark feelings slowly grow inside him, but as he struggles to control them, his past catches up with him. Abandoning his adoptive grandmother and the place he has called home, Gee is compelled to travel to Half World, one of the Three Realms all living things must pass through. Fractured at one time, the Realms of the Flesh, Spirit and Half World have been reunited, but they are at risk: their fate rests on Gee's own journey of self-discovery. With two unlikely companions, a heartless cat and a self-destructive Neo Goth girl, Gee must fight the monstrous and the horrific--and, most difficult of all, he must overcome his own propensity for evil.

Goodreads People, You Stink

The amount of people that gave this book anything less than 4 stars disgust me. This book is such a gem and people probably didn’t like it because it didn’t have some sappy, cliché love triangle or interest in it. It’s straight up real fantasy with all the necessary ingredients for a masterpiece. 

Another realm. Distorted creature. A wise old lady. A wise and easily annoyed cat with an attitude problem. A nosy goth girl. A teen boy who’s trying to find his identity while facing who he was in the past. Come on people! This is magic!!! OPEN YOUR EYES!

Thanking God For This Book

This book is simply brilliant and Goto is absolutely a genius. How often to sequels live up to their predecessors? Not often enough. This book was everything I hoped for and more. 

Goto paints a vivid image of Half World once again and it seems the characters are even better than before. There’s something about Asian authors and fantasy. They bring a certain group of elements and profoundness in writing style that just lures the reader in and keeps them hooked. The writing style is gripping and beautifully dark and detailed. 

The Plot/Characters

All my questions were answered. Goto left no opportunity for confusion, which is really hard because I’m easily confused lol. This book was full of pain and suffering, but it was also full of growth. The symbolism to our real world was extremely accurate and I believe anyone reading this can pull something away from it. 

Our main character, Gee, loses his mojo and battles with the darkness in himself to save those he loves. We see a great example of good vs evil within ourselfves. We all struggle with it. To do the right or to do the wrong thing. Gee gives in to his pain and emptiness but finds his way back to the light. A beautiful story of loss and redemption.

For Cracker to be a side character, she was well developed and I believe a 3rd book is possible through her. I believe White Cat was my favorite character though his disposition as a feline guardian was rather cliché. But HEY, that personality never gets old! ALL cats have that stinky attitude. So I believe Goto did the right thing by going that route. We needed someone foul and snappy like White Cat.