Light, Bright

Shipped away for the summer, Trey finally meets the parts of himself that he can’t outrun. Light, Bright is a heartfelt graphic novel about navigating family upheaval and identity. In this coming-of-age story, a mixed-race teen explores what it means to find himself when everything familiar is falling apart. Fifteen-year-old Trey was looking forward to a summer of street hockey, fireworks, and hanging out with his friends—not his parents’ separation or his exile to a rural town to live with a grandmother he barely knows. Cut off from home and unsure of where he belongs, Trey feels like he’s losing everything. In this new place, surrounded by Black relatives who see him differently because of his light, bright skin, he is forced to confront questions he has long avoided about race, privilege, family, and his own identity. With the help of his outspoken cousin Tee and an intriguing new friend named Kareem, Trey begins to untangle painful truths, face prejudice head-on, and forge unexpected connections that make the unfamiliar start to feel like home. Tender, funny, and deeply relatable, Light, Bright is a hopeful story about claiming your identity in a complicated world—and learning that who you are is something that you can choose.