We experience the horror of the explosion at the beginning of the book, then we are taken back about six months to get to know our victims. Naomi has just been brought to live with her stepfather, Henry. She has a sister and brother who are twins and are biological children of Henry. Her mother died shortly after the twins' birth and they have been living with grandparents.
Henry is doing well digging for oil and he has found God. He is convinced by his preacher that God wants him to bring his children to live with him, so he does. There are separate schools for black and white kids. Since the twins and Henry are white, Naomi, who is Mexican, goes to the white school. She meets an African American boy named Wash. He begins spending a lot of time with the twins, and eventually, he and Naomi begin a secret romantic relationship.
Things get more and more complicated for Naomi and Wash, and that's pretty much all I want to say about the plot. At about 300 pages, the explosion occurs and we get more details about it, but we still move on from that very quickly.
This is not a happy book. Throughout the entire narrative, Naomi is struggling. And we know what is coming. And when it comes, don't expect a "happily ever after." It's been a long time since I've read a book that really had no uplifting qualities. It was written well, and the characters and situations were interesting. But I am really glad to be finished, and I find myself a bit angry at Pérez. I need to move on. I woke up early this morning thinking about this story, and I still feel a bit sick when I do.
So, do I recommend Out of Darkness? Well, given the previous paragraph, I'll leave it up to you.
Published by Carolrhoda, 2015
Copy obtained from the library
401 pages
Rating: 3.5/5
