This is such a deep story, and filled with emotions, and aching for a child/man, and all the while wondering if he did kill his father?
It did take me a bit to get into this book, but I’m sure glad that I did, a read that soon had me page-turning.
The main character Cohen deals with the ultimate child abuse, his to some extent, but others that his heart cannot take, and we relive this with him.
A book that you need to take your time with, there is death and rebirth here, and salvation. A story that will give you chills, and keep you warm at the same time, and at the end, you know that life continues.

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Revell, and was not required to give a positive review

Light from Distant Stars is an amazing and masterfully told story! There are so many layers and so much mystery. It tells of the journey for the understanding and for the peace which has eluded Cohen for decades. Assaulted by feelings of guilt, he explores memories long buried.

The writing is beautiful in a melancholy way; prose turned to poetry. The imagery created by the words is haunting and poignant and was not overdone or tiresome. I found myself caught between wanting to luxuriate in reading, to slowly savor each word and wanting to hurry through to find out what happened next.

The subject matter was rather weighty and the overall tone was somber. At one point, I told my husband that it was interestingly creepy. Not because I like creepy – I don’t. While there were suspenseful elements to it, I don’t consider it to be a suspense story. While there was a mystery, that wasn’t the point of the book. The mystery was merely a vessel to transport the reader through the story.

If I was to pick an overarching theme, it would be one of redemption. As Cohen searched the archives of his mind for comfort and for answers, he was seeking absolution. I appreciated how the author demonstrated that by bringing our sins to the light takes away the power they have over us. How it is through confession fellowship is restored with God.

As a side note, the story is written in the third person present tense, except the portions where Cohen is examining his memories. This was surprisingly effective. If you’ve read many of my reviews, you may recall that I do not like present tense much. This was done so well, I didn’t even realize this until I was at least halfway through. It was a great way to separate the memory portions from the events of the “current” time (which was actually 2015).

I am looking forward to reading more books by Shawn Smucker.

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

Bewildered. If I could had to use one word to describe how I felt for most of this book, that would be it. At times, I felt so clueless as to what was going on for such long periods of time, I wanted to skip through pages to get somewhere. There was an absolutely endless amount of time where we don’t know how Cohen’s father, Calvin, got hurt; he had no hope of getting better. This alternates with chapters from the past and a seemingly endless quest for Cohen and two other children he meets to chase down a mysterious shadow beast. There are also the nightly visits to a church for Cohen to to confess his sins.

Moreover, I can’t say I liked the characters. Perhaps Cohen’s best friend from childhood, Ava, who is only a supporting person would honestly be my favorite. Cohen is the main character and he definitely has some issues from his childhood as does his sister, Kaye. The mom, is a hard woman and since leaving her husband years ago because of his infidelity has not been in Cohen’s life. Calvin, is only described with experiences from the past in which he spent most of it drinking. These people make the story darker and somewhat depressing.

While the writing was extremely well done, and I’ve noticed most people loved this book, I did not. I felt so many things were left unanswered by the end. Maybe others understand this in a way I did not.

This is the first book I have read by Shawn Smucker. Light from Distant Stars is a page turner. Trying to figure out what is really happening. Smucker's writing is descriptive and thought provoking emotional story. When Cohen finds his father dead, he wonders if he is responsible? As the police investigate he is lost in memories of his past and the tragedies that took place. This is a story about finding peace and forgiveness. Discovering oneself and working out other relationships. A great read.

I received this book/ebook from Shawn Smucker through NetGalley and all opinions are my own.

Light from Distant Stars is my first book by Shawn Smucker. The opening scene definitely gets your attention and you are not sure what to think of Cohen at first.
From there the story goes back and forth between the current time and Cohen’s childhood. This was a little slow at first but picks up. His childhood was very unusual. His father goes from getting kick out of his church to being a funeral director. His parents also divorce over this issue. Cohen indirectly plays a role in the revealing. Cohen has many things in his childhood that he never dealt with. He father was so wrapped up in his own misery that he didn’t help Cohen deal with his.

The story is of Cohen dealing with his issues and his childhood. Its more drama than a mystery or romance.

Violence - in his father's job as a funeral director he sees to charred remains of children, then there is the beast,
Drinking - his father drinks every night and falls asleep on the couch

I received this book from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review.
You can see my full review at More Than a Review dot com where I rate the level of sex, violence, language and drug/alcohol use in books.

This book is not about space travel, it is however, about a journey. Cohen is a young man who uncovers and unwittingly exposes his preacher father’s infidelity. Cohen ‘s father, Calvin, used to be a good father who loved his family, but when he is given custody of 9 year old Cohen, he starts drinking and he neglects Cohen by leaving him alone and retreating into depression.
Then at the age of 14, day Cohen meets two teenagers, Hippie and Than, who wear threadbare clothing and they are intent on finding and destroying “The Beast”, a creature who has tormented them in the past, and whom Cohen agrees to help destroy. The Beast follows them to Cohen’s Dad’s business, a funeral home - he chases them and Cohen wounds it.
You will have to read the book for yourself to see what happens to the children and Cohen’s father.

This was a really interesting, suspenseful book. I had a little trouble connecting with the characters in the first couple of chapters but I am glad I stuck with it as the story really hooked me. The themes of good versus evil combined with making sense of our childhood memories and adult relationships made for a good read.

This was my first book by Shawn Smucker, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. While I didn’t dislike the book, it took a bit to get me hooked into it. The story moved at a decent pace. It just took a little bit to get into the back and forth of the past and present. Once I got into the book, I couldn’t stop. I just had to find out what had happened. I did enjoy this book and plan on trying his other books.



I received a complimentary copy from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

Cohen Marah discovers the lifeless body of his father in the basement of his father's funeral home. Shocked by his discovery and the subsequent week his father spends on life support, Cohen is transported back through his life reflecting on his parents, his upbringing, and an incident that occurred as a 14-year old that has had significant impact on his life. An incident never spoken about.

Smucker's writing is brilliant. He switches us from the past to the present effortlessly. His descriptive powers draw the reader into Cohen's life and we see everything he sees, hear everything he hears and feel what he feels. Never sure of the line between reality and the imaginary we're captivated by Cohen's search for answers for his disappointing life.

With a supporting cast of odd-ball characters this is a story that leaves you unsure of what will happen next. As is usual for a Smucker story strange-things occur which on the surface don't appear to make sense but I'm beginning to see that this author doesn't waste a word so there is meaning behind everything he writes. I particularly appreciated Ava, who like Cohen, appears to feel disappointment in how life has turned out. And the priest, Father James, that Cohen visits each night around midnight to confess the same sins as he did the night before. Groundhog Day or what?

Smucker leaves you asking many questions about your own life. Has it turned out less than the way you expected? And what of your past? Are their things in you past that you still haven't forgiven yourself or others for? And your parents? Did you expect too much of them? There's this powerful statement that Father James makes near the end: "Sometimes people don't have the power to be what we need them to be for us." It made me question my expectations of others.

This is a powerful read that will leave you thinking long after you've finished it.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from Revell Books with no expectation of a favourable review.

Wow! Where to start? These characters and this story is one that I will come back to over and over. It’s the kind of story that will pop back into my head when I’m washing dishes or commuting to work or other random times. I can see pieces of myself in Cohen and Kaye. I want to be a friend like Ava.

The prose is beautiful. The characters are realistic. The story is compelling. And the relationships are the heart of the book.

If you don’t read much, take the time to read this one. If you like a plot that moves along, you will like this one. If you like memorable characters, read this one. If you like relationship stories, you want to read this one. This has something for everyone.

I received an ARC from the publisher and this is my honest review.

I haven't read any other books by Shawn Smucker, but after reading this one, I want to read them all.
I found this book to be very engaging, hard to put down, and had well-developed characters that I wanted to see the success of.

I received an ARC from the Publisher.

The author writes brilliantly, keeping you turning to the next chapter, a page turner!! Enjoyed his writing style and the story! A wonderful story about redemption and working through difficult memories from his past.

This book has well developed characters, a good and intriguing story line that keeps you thinking and wanting more as you get into the book.

The very first reason I wanted to read this book was the cover and the title. I absolutely judged this book by its cover. It was so stunning and eye catching I didn’t even care what it was about. It was so much more than I expected. A story of love and loss, woven into two parallel times in Cohens life. This book touches on the struggles Cohen has within himself, his relationships with his parents, his faith, his past and the loss of his father. I thought the depiction of life and death coexisting in a somewhat symbiotic way was beautiful and sad. It was also beautiful to see how different people deal with (and don’t deal with) grief. I found the battle Cohen had inside himself while he struggled to find his faith was really well done, and relatable even if you are not a religious person.