The light we lost

Lucy and Gabe meet-cute in a Shakespeare class their senior year at Columbia, but the memory of that day is forever tied to the terror attacks on the World Trade Center. The horror of the event drives Gabe to reconcile with the girlfriend he just broke up with, and Lucy doesn't see him again until nearly a year after graduation. The couple quickly falls into a whirlwind romance, with Lucy, a television producer, and Gabe, a budding photojournalist, living it up in New York City. But there is unease underneath the perfect surface they both want more, but, sadly, not the same more. Santopolo's debut adult novel follows the couple over the course of more than a decade, as they weave in and out of each other's lives. Lucy tells the story as if she's speaking or writing to Gabe, second-guessing all the moments that could have been, culminating in a heartbreaking ending. Comparisons will be made to David Nicholls' One Day (2009), but there is something more romantic here yet also more grounded that will draw readers in.--Vnuk, Rebecca Copyright 2017 Booklist

Columbia undergrads Lucy and Gabe meet in a Shakespeare seminar-on 9/11. Their class-including the professor who glibly asks if the pilot was drunk when his TA announces the first tower crash-is as yet unaware of the devastating reverberations to come throughout the world. So, too, neither Lucy nor Gabe realizes the impact of their first shared smile, their seats next to each other. Their declarations of love don't come until after graduation, and then their life together begins. Lucy works on a children's TV series, Gabe is a photographer. They're in love and, for a while, in sync. Until they're not, when Gabe takes an assignment in Iraq and doesn't come back-for years. Lucy marries charming Darren who adores her but doesn't quite ever know her. They have children, make a family together, and then Gabe is back. Until he isn't. YA/children's writer ("Sparkle Spa" series) and Philomel Books editorial director Santopolo makes her adult debut-as both author and narrator. Her youthful voice tends toward a deliberate, measured reading that dampens rather than enhances her written words. The light indeed feels lost, the love story made less convincing with Santopolo's pedestrian delivery. VERDICT For a sigh--inducing story, better choose the page.-Terry Hong, -Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A woman looks back on the highs and lows of her turbulent relationship with her first love.College students Lucy and Gabe meet on Sept. 11, 2001, and have an instant connection amid the tragedy and fear. But when Gabe reunites with an ex-girlfriend, Lucy assumes she'll never see him againuntil she runs into him at a bar almost a year after graduation. Their passion for each other is surpassed only by their passions for their dreamsGabe's to be a photographer and Lucy's to be a children's show producer. As Gabe's talent flourishes, he gets his dream job as a war photographer in Iraq. Lucy is crushed when he leaves, but she moves on and marries Darren, a man who is stable and reliable where Gabe was exciting and driven. However, Darren never quite understands Lucy's dedication to her career or her commitment to making the world a better place. Lucy has children and a career she loves, but whenever she runs into Gabe or sees one of his haunting photographs, she questions whether building a life with Darren was the right decision. Lucy and Gabe are, as she describes them, "a binary starorbiting around each other." When Gabe is injured in Gaza City, Lucy rushes to be by his side, telling him the story of their relationship and questioning her choices along the way. Against the backdrop of recent historical eventsObama's inauguration, bin Laden's deathSantopolo explores passion, fate, love, and what it means to truly be a good person. She raises questions readers will find themselves pondering long after they've turned the last page: are our lives shaped by our own choices or by forces outside our control? Are first loves forever? And is it worth risking stability and comfort for a love that is unpredictable and explosive? A beautiful and devastating story that will captivate readers. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.