When Linc and Holly were little, it seemed nothing could pull them apart. But, now that they are in high school, it feels like nothing can bring them back together. Linc struggles with school, while Holly excels. Holly has many friends, while Linc has one. Being in the same grade doesn’t help matters out since it is easy to compare the two of them and their 
mother does that all the time. Holly is adopted, Linc is not. And yet, Linc feels she doesn’t fit with the family. She sees the world in a very different light than her mother does, and it seems no mater what she does, her mother never believes it is enough. Linc finally thinks she has found a way to make her parents and Holly see that she has different strengths, and they don’t lie following the traditional path in school. However, the closer she gets to making her own dreams come true, the farther away everyone else seems.
The Way the Light Bends by Cordelia Jensen looks at a family and shows how little cracks in the foundation can shift the entire house. Linc wonders if she and Holly can ever regain the closeness they had a children, now that life and expectations – both internal and external – seem determined to keep them apart. Plus, Linc begins to imagine she’ll never be good enough for her mother.
Recommended for 8th grade readers and up due to some mature content.
