Honoring a Decade of Out of Darkness

Ten years ago, Carolrhoda Lab released Out of Darkness into the world and the story quickly began to carve out a powerful space in the hearts of readers and classrooms alike. Ashley Hope Pérez’s award-winning novel—a haunting, lyrical, and unflinching look at love, racism, and tragedy in 1930s Texas—has inspired readers across the country.

Now, as we mark the 10th anniversary of Out of Darkness, we celebrate not just a literary milestone, but a decade of dialogue sparked by this bold and necessary story.

Set in New London, Texas, in 1937, Naomi Vargas and Wash Fuller know about the lines in East Texas as well as anyone. They know the signs that mark them. They know the people who enforce them. But sometimes the attraction between two people is so powerful it breaks through even the most entrenched color lines. And the consequences can be explosive.

Ashley Hope Pérez takes the facts of the 1937 New London school explosion—the worst school disaster in American history—as a backdrop for a riveting novel about segregation, love, family, and the forces that destroy people.

To commemorate this 10-year journey, we’re excited to announce the release of the 10th Anniversary Discussion Guide—a brand-new resource designed to help readers and educators dive even deeper into the world of Out of Darkness. Whether you’re exploring the book for the first time or returning to it with fresh eyes, the guide offers thought-provoking questions, historical context, and new insights from the author herself. It’s ideal for classrooms, book clubs, and anyone eager to explore the novel’s rich themes in a guided, respectful, and open-ended way. The guide may also be found on Lerner’s website here.

As we look back on a decade of Out of Darkness, we also look forward—to continued conversation, to greater understanding, and to the enduring power of literature to illuminate hard truths and hold space for empathy.

Thank you to every reader, educator, librarian, and advocate who has kept this book in the light.

If Out of Darkness has been challenged in your school or library, download this book resume to support your right to read.

Praise for Out of Darkness

• Lincoln Award: Illinois Teen Readers’ Choice Master List, Long-listed, 2017
• Virginia Readers’ Choice Award Reading List Selection, Long-listed, 2017
• Garden State Teen Book Award Nominee, Nominated, 2017
• Booklist’s 50 Best YA Books of All Time, Winner, 2017
• Children’s Book Committee at Bank Street College Best Children’s Book of the Year, Winner, 2016
• Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) Choices, Winner, 2016
• Tomás Rivera Book Award, Winner, 2016
• YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, Winner, 2016
• Michael L. Printz Honor Book, Commended, 2016
• Writers’ League of Texas Discovery Prize, Winner, 2016
• Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Finalist, Short-listed, 2015
• ACL Distinguished Book, Winner, 2015
• Kirkus Best Teen Books of the Year, Winner, 2015
• School Library Journal Best Book, Winner, 2015
• Tayshas Reading List, Winner, 2015

★”Pérez deftly weaves [an] unflinchingly intense narrative….A powerful, layered tale of forbidden love in times of unrelenting racism.”―starred, Kirkus Reviews

★ “This book presents a range of human nature, from kindness and love to acts of racial and sexual violence. The work resonates with fear, hope, love, and the importance of memory….Set against the backdrop of an actual historical event, Pérez…gives voice to many long-omitted facets of U.S. history.”―starred, School Library Journal

“Elegant prose and gently escalating action will leave readers gasping for breath at the tragic climax and moving conclusion.”—Booklist

“[This] layered tale of color lines, love and struggle in an East Texas oil town is a pit-in-the-stomach family drama that goes down like it should, with pain and fascination, like a mix of sugary medicine and artisanal moonshine.”—The New York Times Book Review