In a bleak, dystopian world, people who can communicate telepathically through songlight are referred to as “unhumans” by their communities. They are persecuted, their telepathic abilities are surgically destroyed rendering them soulless, and they’re sentenced to work as slaves to the nation. 

 

Sodden with grief, Elsa, a young girl in a coastal town sends her overwhelming feelings of sorrow into songlight and is met by Kaira, the daughter of songlight hunter far, far away. An unexpected friendship grows as they yearn for the end of war, fear, and patriarchy. 

 

I had trouble staying engaged in this story. The world building was both too fast and too slow, and I struggled switching between five different POVs. It really didn’t pick up until the last 50 pages or so where I was really drawn in. Even then, the ending produced too many loose ends. It felt like the original story wasn’t even completed. I liked the premise—I even requested my library buy it—but it unfortunately didn’t live up to my expectations.