Written in verse, Under the Neon Lights is Arriel Vinson’s debut young adult novel. Set in a suburb of Indianapolis, the story follows Jaelyn Coleman, her bestie Noelle, and a new boy in town: Trey. Central to the plot is the WestSide Roll skating rink, a place to “shake sorrows loose.” But as the neighborhood changes and Mr. Mike ages, he decides to retire and sell the rink. Although sad about giving up “his baby, a place to get the community together, get young folk off the street [and] old folks out [of] a funk” (71), Mr. Mike accepts that change is inevitable.
Sixteen-year-old Jaelyn is especially shaken by the closure, since her life seems to feature change more than anything else: Noelle is distancing herself, her father is neglecting to ‘show up,’ and Livingston Homes is raising lease payments—virtually pricing people out of their homes and altering the neighborhood.
A lover of soothing R&B, Jaelyn observes more than she speaks and wonders more than she asks. The rink has been her safe place, a refuge where she can escape stress when it encroaches. As Jaelyn navigates the challenges in her life, she develops a relationship with Trey, a young man with “a smile responsible for stealing the air from [her] lungs” (40). But before she can commit to Trey, she vows to put in the work required for self-love and self-worth. Furthermore, she’s afraid. Every time she thinks about love, “that it’s forever, that it’s worth [her] whole heart” (66), she is reminded that people who love you not only leave but break your heart.
With the support of her mother and Noelle’s granny, Mrs. Joyce, as well as Trey’s persistence and charm, Jaelyn learns that we make our own moods. Her mama also tells her: “You can either let everything steal your joy or realize that the only thing in your control is your joy” (84). Similarly, Mrs. Joyce reminds Jaelyn that loss is inevitable. While we “might not be able to stop anything, we can always control how we make up for what is lost” (230). She also suggests that “change is an opportunity” (230). Along the way, Jaelyn additionally learns that forgiveness is essential to one’s peace of mind as well as to relationship progress. “I’ve learned that forgiveness is for yourself, not for anyone else” (285).
Despite its poignant messages about loss and change, Vinson’s book is an uplifting, feel-good story.
- Donna