Amber Luna My Bright Light tells the intertwined stories of Amber and Mari, two teenage girls navigating the tangled mess of middle school, friendships, family expectations, and the deep, quiet ache of self-doubt. Amber’s voice is sharp and funny, but tinged with loneliness as she deals with a toxic ex–best friend and the relentless gaze of social media. Mari’s chapters are softer but heavy, weighted by her struggles with faith, belonging, and a private pain she hides from even her closest friend. Both perspectives weave together into a portrait of adolescence that’s as tender as it is raw, capturing the ways we protect ourselves, sometimes at the expense of connection.

I found the writing genuine. Marquart nails the rhythms of teenage thought. How one minute you’re making sarcastic jokes about socks, and the next you’re falling into an emotional sinkhole you can’t climb out of. The alternating voices feel distinct without being forced. Amber’s chapters pulse with humor and bite, while Mari’s carry a quiet, simmering ache. There are a lot of small, everyday details, like shopping carts, awkward hallways, and bad hair days, that make the story feel authentic. At times, the pace slows to deliver those details, but the authenticity more than makes up for it. It reads like someone cracked open a diary and let you peek at all the messy pages.

What resonated with me wasn’t the big dramatic moments, but the small ones: a song on the radio, a mean-spirited Instagram post, a parent missing a school event. These are the cuts that don’t bleed much on the outside but leave marks you keep tracing with your fingers years later. The book doesn’t shy away from the darker parts like bullying, loss, and the pull toward self-harm, but it never feels exploitative. Instead, it treats those moments with respect, letting them sit there, uncomfortable but honest. It’s the kind of story where you want to hug the characters, even when you want to shake them a little, too.

By the time I reached the last page, I didn’t feel like I’d read a coming-of-age story so much as lived alongside two girls during the hardest stretch of their young lives. This isn’t a book that ties everything up neatly, and I liked that. Life doesn’t hand you perfect endings, and Amber Luna My Bright Light knows it. I’d recommend it for anyone who remembers what it felt like to be thirteen and unsure, for teens who feel unseen, and for adults who’ve forgotten how much the small things mattered back then.

Pages: 240 | ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0FCQ1QG3S