The Light is an intense and down right creepy beginning to an exciting new series. From the get go, I knew this book was going to creep me out. Just look at the cover. This character screams "I am uber creepy. You better fear me." So it was no surprise to me when the first real scary / suspenseful scene occurred early on in the novel and that I was on the edge of my seat the whole time... with every little twist and suspenseful bump making me want to hide under the covers. From that scene alone, I knew this was going to be one of those novels that I had to either read in the daylight or at least a few hours before sleep. Now before you get thinking that this book is going to be way too scary for you, I must admit that 1.) I scare pretty easily and 2.) The novel's two scariest scenes (in my opinion) are in the beginning of the novel. The rest of the novel is more suspenseful and mystery based with a few creepy scenes mixed in.Despite the creepy and scary factor involved, I really enjoyed the novel. The Light is an action packed read that kept me on the edge of my seat. It seemed like the pages flew by as I tried to say one step ahead of Marshall and his mystery. The characters in the novel were quite interesting to me. Marshall reacts in a manner very similar to how I think I would, so his character was very easy to relate to. And while Marshall's character did not have as much character growth as I was hoping for, I realize that this is the first novel in a series so it is possible that readers will see the needed growth in one of the next novels. The secondary characters of Sydney and Cooper were a lot of fun to read about. Sydney is a tough on the outside character. She is sassy, and at times, hilarious. Her character was a wonderful foil to Marshall, and the two of them together made this book an exciting read.The Light, thankfully, has enough scary / creepy moments to satisfy the horror fans, but not too much to turn off other readers like myself who tend to get scared really easily. The creepiness that MacHale has created sets the mood in the novel perfectly. The Light is a suspenseful gem by giving the reader plenty of little twists. And while every question is not answered or at least mostly explored by the end of the novel, the ending will definitely have readers craving more.
