THE LIGHT FANTASTIC, a young adult novel by Sarah Combs, reviewed by Allison Renner
THE LIGHT FANTASTIC
by Sarah Combs
Candlewick Press, 311 pages
reviewed by Allison Renner
To make a book about school shootings stand out among an influx of young adult books about the topic takes skill and in her new novelĀ The Light FantasticĀ Combs delivers with detailed characters and a unique premise. Told from several different points of view, the novel covers the span of a few hours across multiple time zones as a new day starts and a nationwide school shooting epidemic begins.
While some of the narrators identify their names and details of their past and present, others are referred to by their state, and are more resistant about sharing their personal stories. But there is some overlap, where details shared by a named narrator are later mentioned in a more anonymous chapter. This creates a delightfully suspenseful uncertainty where the reader isnāt sure who is āgoodāāan innocent high school studentāor who is ābadāāa high school student holding a grudge against classmates.
April, who dwells on tragedies that occurred in her birth month, has hyperthymesia, a condition that allows her to remember every detail about her daily life. She scopes out emergency exits when sheās in public and toes the line of paranoia without quite crossing it, even when she should. Which is why she and her two best friends are in school on Aprilās birthday, despite it being senior skip day.
Aprilās best friend, Gavin, thinks and speaks in hashtags, which adds personality and humor to the story, even when heās crammed in the Lockdown Closet with a physics class. Phoebe, catfished, mocked, and laughed at, is someone who wants to show her classmates that sheās not the stupid girl who will fall for anything.
When the Mastermind, the creator of an online forum for those who have been bullied and publically shamed, reaches out to her, she sees her opportunity for redemption. Thatās all the forum is at the startāa place to be heard, to feel welcome, to feel understood. But it grows into something else, a plan that is half-joke, half-āwhat if?ā
With some members dropping out, uncomfortable with the anger bubbling under the Mastermindās exterior, others decide to stay. And new people, burned by the internet and bullies in one way or another, find him. A few of these chosen victims share their points of view in the book, flashing back to the episodes that broke them, and why they want to show their classmates who they really are.

Sarah Combs
Despite centering around school shootings with a lot of details about various shootings and bombings, the book is not especially violent. It focuses more on the teensā inner lives: what they think about, what they remember, and how they act during a tragedy, whether or not theyāre the ones suffering or inflicting it. There arenāt many books that make you feel something deep for āthe bad guyā, and even fewer that present all of the characters without initially showing who is the hunter and who is the prey. The method is especially effective in The Light Fantastic, providing suspense, uncertainty, and a ticking clock. As time passes, the anonymous characters have to pick their plan of action. Even the Mastermind is uncertain about his final goal; will all his efforts have been for nothing?
With literature classes across the country studying Tennessee Williamsā The Glass Menagerie when the action takes place, the line about how Tomās father āskipped the light fantasticā becomes a significant thread. The poetic references to the play become tangled up in the turmoil of the teensā everyday lives. With the added pressure of loaded guns in the hands of teens across the country, this unique portrayal of school shootings is a stand-out read.
Allison Renner has worked as a photographer, student teacher, and graphic designer. She is currently a librarian who shares her love of young adult literature with teens in public libraries.