14 must-read new YA releases to beat the August heat
By Lacy Baugher
August 2021 release: In the Wild Light – Jeff Zenter
A poignant tale of grief and found family, Jeff Zenter’s Into the Wild Light will surely add a dash of extra emotion to your summer. The story follows two East Tennessee teens who meet at a support group for kids whose parents have problems with addictions. Cash Pruitt is an introspective nature boy, while Delaney is a brilliant student, clearly headed for great things.
But when she discovers a mold with antibacterial properties in a cave outside their small Appalachian town, Delaney is offered a free ride to an elite prep school in Connecticut – a deal she’ll only take on the stipulation that Cash gets to come as well.
Though he struggles with accepting a position he feels he hasn’t earned – and fears he isn’t smart enough to take – Cash eventually finds new outlets for himself, in poetry, friendship, and the experience of something larger than the small town he once knew, ultimately finding both his voice and himself.
The official synopsis describes the story as follows.
"Life in a small Appalachian town is not easy. Cash lost his mother to opioid addiction and his Papaw is dying slowly from emphysema. Dodging drug dealers and watching out for his best friend, Delaney, is second nature. He’s been spending his summer mowing lawns while she works at Dairy Queen. But when Delaney manages to secure both of them full rides to an elite prep school in Connecticut, Cash will have to grapple with his need to protect and love Delaney, and his love for the grandparents who saved him and the town he would have to leave behind"
Into the Wild Light is available on August 10.