In Light of the Fire, Beth and Ally, the only girls on their high school soccer team, fight back against their male soccer team’s misogynistic “pranks”; i.e., they lock the girls in the janitor’s closet so they won’t be able to out-perform the boys before soccer scouts. The girls’ revenge goes awry and results in major property damage to their high school. The janitor was falsely accused of causing the incident and loses his job, and his whole family is affected. Twenty years later, Beth and Ally must deal with the aftermath of their actions—and their cover-up. Beth has become a professional soccer player who is forced to retire because of multiple serious concussions. She returns home when her father has a stroke and, after twenty years of estrangement, resumes her friendship with Ally. Ally has started a girls’ soccer team in their hometown.
Author Bruck does a good job showing the women’s stakes if the story comes out. At crossroads in both their lives, can they handle their uncertainty and guilt? Light of the Fire is written in three points of view: Beth, Ally, and Jordan (the son of the janitor). He is a journalist trying to research the cause of the fire so he can clear his father’s name before his dad, who’s suffering with Alzheimer’s, loses the ability to realize he has been cleared. The town’s reaction to learning who actually caused the accident seems a tad overblown as the two women are nearly completely ostracized. Beth and Jordan have fallen in love, and the effects of her confession are devastating to their relationship. Their reconciliation seems a bit too pat for the amount of damage the girls’ actions caused Jordan and his family. Overall, an enjoyable read about redemption and forgiveness.
********************
Light of the Fire (Lake Union Publishing, January 23, 2024) is available through:
********************
You can read my reviews of Sarahlyn Bruck’s Daytime Drama here.
********************
This post may contain Amazon Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small amount from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.
