Book Review: "Night Light" by Terri Blackstock

Could you survive?

The blackout story continues in the second book in the Restoration series. The town is beginning to adapt to an lifestyle without electricity. It is like living in the middle ages again, with the people having to discover new ways to survive. The Banning family has managed to create a semi-comfortable life in this new world. They have food, will soon have water, shelter, and most importantly each other. However not everyone has it this lucky, as the reader is introduced to a group of siblings trying to fend for themselves without their mother. The two groups clash with a battle about what it takes to truly survive in this new world.

Reading about the filth that the children had to live in made me really uncomfortable at times. It's really amazing how we take just a working toilet for granted. This book pretty much explains survival of the fittest. Only the people who lived in communities where there was some sense of order was able to live a semi-normal life while others were forced in extreme poverty and disarray. At times I sided with the children because they were just trying to survive, but then I'd side with the Bannings because they had worked hard for their food and didn't deserve for it to get stolen. It was really scary reading about how people will take advantage of others in desperate times, even children just to get food or other supplies. Aaron, even though sometimes his actions were wrong, had the right intentions for his siblings, putting his family first before everything. I felt that was such a parallel to Deni in the first book, she put everything but her family as her primary focus. The only thing I found irksome is that everyone forgives each other really quickly even for doing terrible things to them. I just felt it a little unreal in such a time like that. Other than that, this was another thrilling read, another deep thinker of a book. Looking forward to when the next book comes out.

Night Light by Terri Blackstock is published by Zondervan (2006)