Songlight: 'The standout young adult novel of the year . . . The Handmaid's Tale but with mind reading.' The Times (The Torch Trilogy)

This really is dystopian at its best! The world-building is stunning, the idyllic setting contrasting with the hidden horrors. It’s complex, emotive and impressive as this tale of power, politics, freedom, and survival unravels.The characters are superbly crafted, their hopes and fears are tangible. The oppressive society and severe rules they must live by is skilfully conveyed, we feel their struggles, the danger of being different, and the strength, power and force for good waiting to be tapped into and unleashed.The multiple points of view add so much to the narrative, our perceptions and strength of connection to the characters. The multiple threads in play are cleverly linked together and the tension and intrigue were through the roof. Who can be trusted? Who’s friend or foe? And what if the enemy isn’t who you have been told it is your whole life? It was unputdownable!Songlight is such a clever concept and it’s brought to life terrifically as we become aware of its gifts and burdens. Northaven’s prejudices are brutal, they destroy what they see as different. The powerlessness and injustice was heartbreaking and it draws on important themes offering much to think about.Songlight is a captivating story about fighting for who and what you believe in and never giving up. Lost souls come together – the connections forged were beautiful, their bravery, support and love, as they realise another way of life may be possible. I’m glad this is the first of a trilogy, I need the next book ASAP!With thanks to @The_WriteReads and @FaberBooks for my copy and place on the Tour.

What can I say about this book. EPIC!!I know I'm not the target audience for this YA Dystopian, and I going to admit I did struggle with the first half but boy, once I hit the second half of the book I was so immersed and invested in the characters Moira Buffini has created I couldn't put it down.I'm not going to go into too much plot detail, as I feel you need to take it all in for yourselves. Songlight is a special gift some humans possess. It gives you the ability to communicate telepathically with other Songlights. For many, these people are seen as 'unhuman' they are persecuted and hunted down. This story has multiple POVs, but it mainly follows two female characters, Lark and Nightingale. They are both strong minded young women who are tired of living in fear of being found out that they're Songlights. Their world is at war, and they wish for peace and to live free.The character development, world building, and the war and politics of this story are so well written and thought out. It also tackles a lot of heavy subject matters that are relevant to the plot but may be hard to read for some.By the end of this book, I felt every emotion and turmoil the characters had gone through. Beautiful, heartbreaking, and thought-provoking journey, Moira Buffini takes you on. You end up falling in love with the heroes of this story and despising the villains. My only problem is I need book 2!

*ARC received from Netgalley - all opinions are my own*TLDR: Great dystopian book which, in my opinion, will appeal to those outside the YA genre. The stories, lore, characters and themes looked at in Songlight are so well done and definitely recommend reading!I’ll just say, I finished Songlight and immediately preordered it. Probably one of the most enjoyable books of the year so far and reminded me a little of L.A Weatherly's “The Broken Trilogy”.Buffini has done a solid job with this book, from her worldbuilding to the unique lore of Songlight and how it works, to her characters and how nuanced they are. We get a few “villain/ bad guy” POVs which really changed my view of said characters as they aren’t all black and white in their reasons for making the choices that they do.Songlight has multiple POVs (if I remember correctly 5?) which I usually hate but Buffini navigates this well. You never spend too long with a character or move away before you’re ready. Even with a character I disliked (you’re supposed to) I felt like the chapters were written long enough where I could see the value of their POV but not too long to where I got fed up.This is a YA dystopian novel and would encourage those who aren’t the biggest fan of YA anymore to still give it a go. I somehow missed that it was YA before reading or I likely would have passed, but I felt like it wasn’t simplified too much, and looked at some more adult themes looking at discrimination, war, the retelling of history and colonisation, propaganda etc. You, at least in my opinion, could often forget you were reading a YA book and just enjoy the story.I am eagerly awaiting my physical copy arriving and will definitely be looking out for and picking up the next in the series when it comes out.