Atlantic County Library System

UnCovered review by Liz Sausto, ACLS Galloway Branch

I found Terry Brooks’ CHILD OF LIGHT to be an interesting if not problematic read. It is the story of a teenaged girl named Auris who, along with many other children, has been held captive by goblins in a horrible prison. When she and some of her friends make a daring escape, they are pursued and only Auris manages to evade her former captors. Stranded in the unforgiving wastelands, she is saved by Harrow - a member of a magical race known as the Fae. He takes Auris to his homeland, Viridian Deep, and surprises her by suggesting that she might be Fae as well. Although skeptical of this idea at first, Auris soon finds that Harrow might be right and explores her murky past in order to discover who - and what - she truly is.

e world-building in this novel, while not perfect, is quite intriguing. It might be a bit cliché, but I liked the idea that there is a hidden world of magical creatures that humans either do not believe exists or cannot enter easily. I also enjoyed the sinister plot point of humans actually working with goblins and allowing them to do unspeakable things to other humans. I also liked that the goblins didn’t have any dialogue, as if to point out that humans are the true monsters. This is made clear when the main antagonist turns out not only to be a man but the very definition of a mad scientist.

I found some of the writing to be a little rambling. Told in the first-person, Auris tends to overthink things and often repeats herself. I believe this is an attempt to put the reader on the right track of the story but Brooks tries a bit too hard here. I found myself put-off whenever Auris tried to put her thoughts together and often had to put the book down in order to shake off the monotony of it all.

Despite its flaws, I found CHILD OF LIGHT to be full of action, romance, and sorrow. It made for an unforgettable experience, and I look forward to the continuation of Auris’ journey of self-discovery in the sequel.