Vermont Reads 2025: The Light Pirate

Named after a catastrophic storm, Wanda is born into a world that’s rapidly changing. Rising sea levels and devastating weather patterns transform her coastal Florida town. As she moves from childhood to adulthood, Wanda adapts to this remade landscape, finding adventure, love, and purpose in a place largely abandoned by civilization.

Told in four parts—power, water, light, and time—The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton is a meditation on the beauty and violence of an untamable wilderness. It considers the dissolution of the human-made world, and helps us see how human connection, adaptability, and a little bit of magic might guide us to a new future.

For the 23rd year of the Vermont Reads program, we invite Vermont communities to plan projects centered around The Light Pirate and its themes of resilience, strength through community, and the unstoppable power of the natural world.

EVENTS:

The Light Pirate: Building Community Through Gardening

Bring your brown-bag lunch and join us for a talk from VT Master Gardener, Faith Alexandre, about building community through her gardening work at the Upper Valley Haven.

Wednesday, March 18, 12:30-1:30 PM | Community Room

The Light Pirate: Facing a Flooded World: Why Relationship is the Sweetest Way

Central Vermont endured catastrophic flooding in 2023 and 2024. Now, the horizon looks different. An America with less disaster response support seems likely, while the planet continues to warm and the rain falls hard and fast. This presentation by Shawna Trader from Barre Up! will explore several examples of community building projects which, in turn, are proving to be pathways towards resilience.

We are not doomed to endure passively the rising water and the changeful times. Community care is possible and necessary. We’ll explore The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton and how this prescient story points to the power of relationship as we look to the future.

Thursday, March 19, 5:30-7 PM | Community Room

The Light Pirate: Book Discussion with Suzanne Brown

Read The Light Pirate, and join others in a discussion led by NPL favorite, Suzanne Brown,

Tuesday, April 14, 7-8:30 PM | Community Room