Set predominantly on the inviting Il de Re, Diving into Light tells the story of Florence and her adolescent summers spent with her unruly bunch of French cousins, various aunts and uncles and her wonderful French grandmother Mimi. These are glorious sun-dappled days of games, picnics and first loves. Yet Diving into Light is much more than just a deliciously sunny, summer read. Florence as an adult is now alone, in pitiful solitude with her new baby Zelie. Why does she no longer speak to her French family and ignore her beloved grandmother’s letters? What are the terrible memories she is trying so hard to escape from? Does Mimi’s past in fact mirror Florence’s present and why is Mimi writing to Florence about the war, her war, a subject that, up until now, she’s always been very keen to keep a lid on? Diving into Light is about life and death, loss and finding, grief and elation. It’s a novel of contradictions and a rich and moving read.