Mini Review | This Raging Light by Estelle Laure

Title: This Raging Light

Author: Estelle Laure

Series or standalone: Standalone

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Publication Date: 22nd December 2015

Format: eARC

Source: NetGalley & HMH Books for Young Readers
My Rating: 2/5 stars

Goodreads

Can the best thing happen at the worst time?  Her dad went crazy. Her mom left town. She has bills to pay and a little sister to look after. Now is not the time for level-headed seventeen-year-old Lucille to fall in love. But love—messy, inconvenient love—is what she’s about to experience when she falls for Digby Jones, her best friend’s brother. With blazing longing that builds to a fever pitch, Estelle Laure’s soulful debut will keep readers hooked and hoping until the very last page. 

I won't go too into depth with this review as this debut novel won't be released until December, but I certainly have a few things to say about it! First of all I just want to thank NetGalley and HMH for this eARC! Already, this book has been receiving some praise so I was excited to see what it was all about!
It follows the main character as she tries to hide the fact that her mother left town and she's now the only carer for her 9-year-old sister. Their father is mentally unstable and they don't know where either of their parents are and are scared of coming clean for fear of being separated and put into foster care. 
I loved the idea of this novel as it sparks some really strong emotions and questions. However, I was a bit let down by this book.
The writing was beautiful and metaphorical, but I found many other aspects of the book to be quite bland. I found that I didn't really connect to the characters or the story at all until one point that had me almost choking up at the kindness of some people. Other than that, I found it to be very predictable and some big aspects of the plot I found kind of unnecessary to the overarching theme and storyline. 
I also have a huge problem with unresolved plotlines, and this was one of those, so be aware of that if you are like me and always need a complete resolution.
In the end, I didn't really find it that memorable or amazing, but it is a nice, hopeful little contemporary that might interest some of you!