Critical Praise forEach Night Was Illuminated
“Searing prose…Tender and wise”
— Booklist, starred review
"Religious imagery…cinematic descriptions…readers are left to consider the unsolvable tension between faith and fatalism. — BCCB, starred review
“Relatable…unique….A must read.” — School Library Journal, starred review
“A thought-provoking and resonant read laced with magic, humor, and love for both humanity and a planet that is struggling to endure…” — BookPage
“A thoughtful read about grappling with faith while learning to take a stand.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“A true-to-life exploration of one teen’s shifting relationship with faith.”
— Publishers Weekly
The day the train fell in the lake, Cassie stopped believing in much of anything. Then she set her mind to forgetting the strange boy named Elias who was with her when it happened.
When Elias comes back to town after many years away, Cassie finds herself talked into sneaking out at night to follow him ghost-hunting—though she knows better than to believe they will find any spirits.
Still, the more time she spends with Elias—with his questions, his rebelliousness, his imagination that is so much bigger than the box she has made for herself—the more Cassie thinks that even in a world that seems broken beyond repair, there just may be something worth believing in.