In the Light of You
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Angry 16 year-old misfit Mikal Fanon has just joined a gang of Neo-Nazi skinheads for reasons that are not entirely clear to him. He is taken in by the leader of the gang, Richard, and the two become fast (and best) friends. Emboldened by his new-found sense of belonging Mikal finds himself committing horrible acts of violence without a second thought. But two women threaten to tear his world apart - a gorgeous and passionate young Black activist on campus named Niani Shange, to whom Mikal finds himself hopelessly attracted, and Sherry Nicolas, Richard's new girlfriend who seems to be driving a wedge between the two young skinheads . . .
Sherry Nicolas, awkward, shy, and away from home for the first time in her life, finds comfort in a brand new circle of friends and a handsome new boyfriend - the charming and charismatic Richard Lovecraft. Richard leads Sherry into a wild, thrilling, fast-paced lifestyle that is also dangerous and troubling . . . the violent ''white power'' underground. Though very much in love with Richard, Sherry finds herself increasingly fascinated by a group of young leftist radicals on campus lead by Niani Shange and her platonic best friend, the rather ghoulish and unstable Jack Curry.
Sherry's (and Mikal's) attraction to these two radically opposite - yet eerily similar - forces threatens to throw fuel on an already smoldering fire, leading to a bloody and explosive end. Who will survive and who will be burned?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Late in this raw, blistering coming-of-age novel set in an unnamed Ohio city, Mikal Fanon observes that most 16- to 17-year-olds try lots of roles, discard most and move on, but "I happened to have worn a costume with consequences." The "costume" that the rootless teen tries on is a violently right-wing group, the Fifth Reich, led by the charismatic Richard Lovecraft. Mikal learns to spout the slogans, gets the de rigueur "tats" (i.e., tattoos) and stomps whatever poor victims the group despises. Singer (Chasing the Wolf) evokes with rare passion the tumultuous confusions and conflicts as teens seek to work out their racial and sexual identities. Though other major characters, like a beautiful black girl, Niani Shange, who alternately attracts and repels Mikal, aren't sufficiently fleshed out, readers will find Mikal's erratic passage through a rough adolescence both vivid and compelling.
