Holly Black called The Other Side of Dark by Sarah Smith “chilling and lush” and I completely agree with her. It’s a lovely combination of contemporary YA, paranormal thriller and historical fiction — and though it may sound like an odd combination, Smith combines them masterfully.

The Other Side of Dark covers a wide variety of subjects, but it never once becomes cumbersome or overwhelming. Each flows nicely into the next. What’s more, Smith avoids any potential to get preachy on some of the subject matters in her text. While reading this book, you never feel like you’re getting a lecture. Each issue is merely part of the story.

In fact, it’s nice to see such issues addressed in a contemporary YA book, in a way that teen readers can relate to. Katie is struggling with extreme loss — her mother; her father; her sanity. Law is struggling with his mixed racial background, and the conflict he feels regarding his father’s extreme political stance. What’s more, Katie and Law struggle individually with their feelings towards each other (and wondering how the other feels about them) — while in the midst of coping with a tragic mystery from the past.

Mental illness; America’s dark history with slavery; death & loss; family. These are just a few of the issues addressed in The Other Side of Dark — in a haunting tale that will linger with you long after the last page.

This book is gritty and raw and beautiful. It offers a powerful message within a well-told and engaging story. And perhaps most importantly, The Other Side of Dark shows you that things don’t have to be neat and pretty and tied with a bow in order to have a happy ending.