100 days of Sunlight (ARC review)

I stumbled upon Abbie Emmons’s Youtube channel not that long ago, in search of good writing tips. I was intrigued by her charisma, and her coverage of topics (from her own music videos to how to write good characters).

When I found out she was a Vermont writer (like me!), I was even more enthused to show my support. Even so, I always took her advice with a grain of salt, as I do with any author whose writing I have not yet read. After all, you wouldn’t follow cooking tips from someone whose food you’ve never tried, or lessons from a musician you’ve never heard play…would you?

So, when Emmons announced that she was releasing her first book, I was excited to support her and also incredibly interested to see if her writing would show the expertise she was clearly trying to convince her subscribers of. 

I’ll admit that it helped that the novel had a stunning cover (which she made herself!! What a multi-talented queen!). However, I was skeptical when I heard the words “YA Romance” (which I had previously convinced myself was just not my genre, but which you may notice if you’ve been following my reviews recently is an opinion which is quickly being revised). But then I heard the premise:

Tessa: Currently in the throes of what is estimated to be 100 days of blindness, due to a drunk driving accident. Struggling to remain hopeful without sunlight, the sight of the world, and her ability to write poetry and blog to encourage her to heal.

Weston: Knows all too well what Tess is going through, although he refuses to tell her exactly how. Adamant about teaching Tessa that four other senses are plenty to enjoy life and that wallowing in self-pity is no way to get better. 

I had never read a romance with disability rep and I. was. So. ready.

100 days of Sunlight is a perfect summer romance. The friendship-turned-more is so sweet and adorable. Combine that with the underlying themes of healing and overcoming hardship which is intertwined with the romantic elements, and you have a story that makes you feel all the feels.

I was so happy to find that Emmons’s writing is even better than I expected. If I hadn’t known, I wouldn’t have guessed this was a debut. She certainly justifies all the advice she’s been giving on her Youtube channel, and you can bet I’ll be taking more thorough notes from here on out.

One of the major strengths of this book was the way that voice is captured so realistically and yet seemingly effortlessly. The short chapters take turns dipping into Tess’s and Weston’s points of view. Even with the first-person narration, once I started to get to know both characters, I could have been able to tell whose chapter was whose even without the denoting titles.

Tessa is a bit of a naive, sweet teenage girl who has been home-schooled and raised by her lovely grandparents for most of her life. She’s a church-going, poet-loving, introvert. All of this comes across in the way her chapters are written, often falling into verse and sometimes full-on poems, with a focus on description and a chaste vocabulary which, even at its worst, can only summon up a curse of ‘dang’ or perhaps ‘darn.’ Her sadness and rage come across in every word in the beginning when she is feeling them most, but the evolution of her emotions becomes palpable not only in her words but in her manner of narration as the story goes on.

Meanwhile, Weston is a bit of a boy’s boy who loves to show off even if it means putting his life at risk. But he also has somewhat of a redeeming soft side. He’s as likely to punch his best friend in the face as give him a hug and tell him he loves him (ok…maybe a little more likely to punch) and is seen spending equal time bossing around his brothers as he is reading them comic books. One of Weston’s favorite words to use is ‘pansyass’ and he has an outward swagger that creates a confident manner of speaking, while his thoughts are much more contemplative, doubtful, and introspective.

I absolutely adored and applauded Emmons’s ability to differentiate between them so much and with such an eye for detail, especially considering how quickly and often the perspective changes.

It’s clear even from watching her videos for only a short time, that she has inserted a fair amount of herself into not just Tess, but Weston as well. In many cases, such a method would cloud the original characterization and become a distraction that inhibits the author’s ability to look at the story from an outside perspective. But the characters stood so well on their own, a perfect mix of fiction with the benefits of the idea of writing what you know.

With all of these strengths, even a weak plot could have rested pretty well on the laurels of the writing. But 100 days is basically a complete package. The plot progresses naturally, and beautifully, ending in just the right place with just the right amount of emotion and drama. That being said, not a lot actually happens in this story. It’s more of a focus on internal events, and about growth within the characters. Character-driven story lovers rejoice! I didn’t know I was waiting for a romance with this kind of drama, but it filled a want I didn’t know I had.

My only quips with 100 days are so minor, they’re barely worth noting (but I’ll say them anyway!). There were a few instances where word choices made me cringe, although many readers may not notice it at all. It has become a pet peeve of mine when people say ‘OCD’ when they actually mean neat, neat freak, overly-organized, etc. or when people say ‘depressed’ when they really just mean sad, or unhappy, and similar instances when clinical disorders are used to describe more general emotions and feelings. This was done a few times in 100 days and made me stop and frown. But, it didn’t come up so often that I was put off enough to stop reading. Also, to be fair, the word choice could be chalked up to the teenage main characters, although I’m not sure if that’s a satisfactory enough excuse for me.

I rated 100 days of Sunlight 4.5 out of 5 stars. I will definitely be keeping an eye on Abbie Emmons in future to see what else she has in store. I would definitely recommend this book for those looking for a cute summer romance, especially fans of The Sun is Also a Star.

Thank you to Netgalley and Abbie Emmons for the opportunity to read a digital advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review!