An intimate story following five generations of one Indigenous Chicano family in the American West. Through Luz’s visions we’re transported through past decades, unearthing the faded and hidden stories of her family’s past. Kali Fajardo-Anstine gives us a nuanced perspective on how the past can inform the future. I loved this one.

Because of how much I unexpectedly adored Sabrina & Corina, I had high hopes for Woman of Light. The book's striking cover only added to my anticipation. Unfortunately, it quickly became clear that Fajardo-Anstine bit off way more than she could chew. While a "dazzling epic [...] that spans five generations" sounds sweepingly impressive, it only means something if executed efficiently. With Woman of Light I would have settled for two or even just one generation, had it honed the focus and re...

There is so much to love about this saga told across three generations of a Mexican American family. Luz, the young woman at the center of this novel, is trying to figure out who she is and what she wants in a deeply segregated Denver. The characters are the strongest part. Luz and her best friend Lizette and her brother Diego, her aunt Maria Josie, are all compelling and I would have read an entire novel about any of them. The way the novel shifts is, at times, unsatisfying in that I really wan...

The radio smelled of dust and minerals, and in some ways reminded Luz of reading tea leaves. They were similar, weren’t they? She saw images and felt feelings delivered to her through dreams and pictures. Maybe those images rode invisible waves, too? Maybe Luz was born with her own receiver. She laughed, considering how valuable such a thing must be, a radio built into the mind. -------------------------------------- Maria Josie insisted Diego and Luz must learn the map, as she called it, ...

The writing in this historical novel set in Denver is beautiful. Luz is a tea reader and seamstress. Her story illustrates the challenges of being Hispanic or black in 1934, with the added weight of being female and paid less for the same work while being sexually harassed. The story is told in a disjointed manner, sometimes jumping back in various times in history of Luz’s ancestors. Sometimes this worked, other times it was frustrating because it interrupted the flow of the storyline, so I’d g...

Another Source of Light“Woman of Light” starts off like a dream, an ancient fable. It is nighttime in the American Southwest, the Lost Territory in 1868, and “...the sky was so filled with stars it seemed they hummed.” A baby, Pidre, is abandoned in a Moses-like passage and is rescued and raised by Desiderya Lopez, the Sleepy Prophet of the tiny pueblo, Pardona. These are the opening pages of a magical journey through generations of an Indigenous Chicano family.We shift back and forth in time, b...

I was swept away by the prologue of this book – the evocative setting, the beautiful language, the late 1800s time period, the mystery behind the characters. But we stay there only a short time and spend the remainder of the book in 1930s Denver with a different cast of characters (albeit endearing and interesting), but with only a slight connection to those introduced in the opening pages. Despite my desire to remain in the latter time period, I learned a great deal about the horrific inequitie...

3.5 stars, rounded upThis multi-generational story is beautifully written and fleshed out the West in the early 20th Century. Fajardo-Anstine is definitely a wordsmith and I could easily see the scenes in the story. Told in a non-linear fashion, it covers five generations of a Chicano family from the Lost Territories from the late 1800s to the 1930s. The women in several generations have the gift of sight. The story focuses primarily on Luz, who lives in Denver with her aunt and initially, her b...

This is the second time I read a book by Kali Fajardo-Anstine way in advance. I mean it’s basically - drop what you are reading to read her book as soon as you get it - type of vibes. This second time around, it again did not disappoint. I am only disappointed that I don’t get to experience it for the first time when everyone else does (yeah that was a galley brag, my bad lol). Fajardo-Anstine is quickly showing us that she’s a contemporary writer interested in writing us Latinx folks into the l...

This was a beautiful multigenerational book that will be loved by historical fiction readers. It is very character based and the characters are written perfectly. There was a lot of struggle and loss but there was also just so much heart and love. I genuinely felt connected so strongly to the main character and just had to know how things worked out for her. It focuses mainly on the struggles of growing up as a girl of both Indigenous and Mexican descent in the early to mid 1900s. It really show...