Qualities of Light

Nominated for the PEN/Faulkner and Lambda Literary Awards

"Moore has written a quietly compelling and well-rendered account of a young girl's life-altering summer. It is the heartfelt story of family, friendship, and, against all odds, budding love." --Jonathan Odell, author of The Healing

"Moore traces the contours of shadow without ever letting us forget the transformative power of light." -Kaethe Schwehn, author of The Rending and the Nest

In this tender and atmospheric coming-of-age story, prequel to her bestselling novel, A Woman's Guide to Search & Rescue, author Mary Carroll Moore explores the concept of deserved happiness with the story of young artist Molly Fisher and her complex, difficult family.

Molly predicts another boring summer at her family cabin on Cloud Lake in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York, until, weeks before her sixteenth birthday, a boating accident almost causes her little brother's death. Sam is in a coma, and Molly's family, unraveled by tragedy, blames her.

Overcome with grief and guilt, Molly befriends a newcomer to the lake, Zoe Novato, a waterskiing champion whose frank interest both unsettles and delights Molly. From best friends, the unthinkable happens: Molly falls in love with Zoe. In the midst of escalating family tragedy, Molly's journey of first love and new discovery about herself unexpectedly becomes a path of redemption for both her parents, bringing their family from lost to found.

The transcendent ending shows the power of young people to heal their elders' old wounds and allow a deeper forgiveness into community. Qualities of Light explores the budding of unexpected romance in the face of family tragedy, the forging of a new relationship between a daughter and her gifted, difficult parents, and an adolescent girl's confrontation with her own qualities of light and darkness.

"In a wilderness that mirrors her intense interior life, the fierce and talented young artist Molly Fisher comes of age, revealing her heart to the reader in unforgettably intimate and authentic ways. A story that will both haunt and comfort." --Rachel Moulton, author of The Insatiable Volt Sisters

"The deeply humane and unforgettable story unfolding in Qualities of Light is a tenderly, wonderfully realized work of art. This beautiful novel deserves a place with our permanent literature." --Katherine V. Forrest, author of Curious Wine