CONTENT WARNING AT BOTTOM OF REVIEW.
A Fix of Light by Kel Menton, Illustrated by Chrissy Curtin
Imagine a world where the touch of someone instantly calms the noise and quiets the heart’s boom to a gentle rhythmic beat.
Hanan should not be alive. His fraught, anxious life is filled with dark imploding thoughts, his existence barely surviving the rituals of everyday life as he emerges from one panic-filled cognitive distortion to another. And yet he breathes. He watches over his frail mum, trying his best to ensure her needs are met as much as his own. Failing at times. Forever in a panic.
A light arrives in his life in the form of Pax, fox-like he is the complete opposite of Hanan. His kind and gentle ways providing Hanan with hope as their worlds collide. Perhaps a future he had thought out of reach for someone like him, if he dares to allow himself that joy.
Both have a past they’re not sure the other will understand enough to stay and weather the storm. A darkness within, if you like, that threatens their very relationship. Love can come at a cost, but undeniable love shines a light in the dark. Can they feel the thread between them that holds them in place or does life have other plans for them?
If ever there was a love story that needs to be read, then this is it.
The story of Hanan and Pax will grab your heart, unintentionally breaking it a few times and then put it back together again.
I was bereft when I finished this, it really will stay with me for a long time.
Kel Menton’s debut A Fix of Light is an incredible story of two boys who are meant to be together yet have so much stacked against them the reader will doubt they will survive.
The beautiful cover by Chrissy Curtin is perfect, showing their connection in all its golden glory.
CONTENT WARNING
A Fix of Light contains references to suicide and self-harm, and symptoms associated with borderline personality disorder. These include cognitive distortions, which occur when biased thoughts create negative thinking patterns that can be extreme. Representation in the book is intended to raise awareness of the less visible aspects of mental illness that can sometimes be difficult to put into words. It also contains homophobic and transphobic hate speech and references to past sexual assault.
Please be mindful of your wellbeing while reading.
Published by Little Island
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