The Lightness (Temple) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
The breeziest book… in a good way….  A smart but nervous girl who maintains a propulsive inner monologue that evokes Emma Cline’s The Girls and a group of eccentric and bizarre young people that channels Donna Tartt’s The Secret History.
WSJ Magazine


An elegant and entertaining debut novel. A mystery disguised as a coming-of-age story…. This is one of those books that breaks your heart when it’s over.
Philadelphia Inquirer


[An] engrossing debut, by turns smart thriller and nuanced coming-of-age story…. While the frequent asides on fairy tales, etymology, and various intellectual concepts can feel distracting…, the lush, intelligent prose perfectly captures…adolescent yearning.
Publishers Weekly


Temple weaves Buddhist practice, rumor, philosophy, and teenage sexual longing into a story that is both deep and compelling. Her characters are complicated and conflicted, immersed in the throes of teenage angst and hormones. —Joanna Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Libs., Providence
Library Journal


(Starred review) Four teenage girls attempt to unlock the secrets of levitation in this unsettling debut…. [A] complex, psychological study of a young woman haunted by her past—and her capacity to hunger for violence and self-destruction. A dark, glittering fable about the terror of desire.
Kirkus Reviews