Questions About The Light Pirate

by Lily Brooks-Dalton (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (3)

I find it really interesting this book has the same cover as Daniela Ranieri's novel. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58182531-stradario-aggiornato-di-tutti-i-miei-baci Does anyone know the cover art author?

Mindy This is rather curious. The Light Pirate info page says that the cover design is by Sara Wood and the cover photo of woman and landscape by Milan Balo…moreThis is rather curious. The Light Pirate info page says that the cover design is by Sara Wood and the cover photo of woman and landscape by Milan Balog. Cover photo of water texture by Getty Images(less)

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Would this book be appropriate for a 7th grader? My daughter loves to read. Loves science and fantasy, but just curious if there’s sexual content etc? Thanks in advance for any input!

Michael Bruce

This answer contains spoilers… (view spoiler)

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So . . . what was the actual point of Wanda's "ability?"

donna_ehm I felt the author was using it as an example of how species and the environment change and adapt, which is one of the themes in the book. I also think…moreI felt the author was using it as an example of how species and the environment change and adapt, which is one of the themes in the book. I also think it's illustrative of the importance of community and of the bonds formed between members of a community (something Wanda comes to realize in the years after she finds herself on her own).

Wanda ruminates at the end (thinking of what will happen to the lights when she dies) that:

The elderly die, and the old ways die with them. The young are born, and fresh traditions begin. One of the children here sees through the darkest nights as if it were day. Another can hold her breath underwater for a long, long time. Another has learned to hear the fish chattering beneath the waves. They do not call these gifts magic and they do not call them science. They call them what they are: change.

Wanda's world was already teetering on the brink of environmental collapse when she was a kid. I expect she had already had this ability at birth and it just developed as the climate changed until that point when it manifested itself. Equally, I think the light species itself may have either slowly come into being in the same way (or were a variation of an existing species), i.e. in response to changing climactic conditions.

Or perhaps they were always there but no human had the ability to interact/communicate with them (we find out at the end that <spoiler> Wanda isn't the only one in her community with this ability, as the lights seem to initiate communication with a young fisherwoman.)</spoiler> This latter is speaking to that desire for community noted at the start.

No one is an island. Home is a powerful concept.

I liked this from earlier in the book, when Phyllis tries to find a scientific explanation:

Wanda is thrilled by the hunt for an explanation, but she doesn't require one. To her, these organisms are a magic she doesn't need to name. To Phyllis, they are science that requires categorization. And who is to say they cannot be both?

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