A Scatter of Light is a 2022 young adult, romance, coming-of-age, historical fiction novel written by Malinda Lo. The story primarily takes place in 2013 California, where 18-year-old Aria Tang West spends a summer with her artist grandmother. During her time there, Aria unexpectedly finds herself taken in by an older, queer friend group, in the wake of gay marriage becoming legal again in California. Amid the vibrant LGBTQ+ community of the Bay Area, Aria starts to confront her sexuality, grief, and what it means to be an artist.

While this novel is a standalone piece, it can be read as a companion book to Lo’s Last Night at the Telegraph Club (2021). Both books, set in California, delve into queerness and Chinese American identity, elements of Lo’s own lived experience.

The title, A Scatter of Light, first appears as a phrase that Aria’s grandfather uses to describe the phenomenon of watching a sunset. The phrase reappears at the end of the novel, as the name of Aria’s painting.

The book was published in 2022 by Dutton Books, and this study guide uses the publisher’s e-book version. The guide has assigned numbers to the chapters for ease of navigation.

Content Warning: The source material discusses a character’s experience of having nude photos taken and shared without her consent. Additionally, the source material refers to a “Dyke March,” a term claimed by the queer community and not used derogatorily.

Plot Summary

Aria was planning to spend the summer after high school with her best friends on Martha’s Vineyard before starting MIT in the fall. However, when a classmate nonconsensually posts nude photos of her on the internet and the school finds out, Aria’s father—her primary guardian since her parents’ divorce—decides that she should spend the summer with her grandmother in Woodacre, California. Aria’s grandmother, whom she calls by her first name, Joan, is a multimedia artist who is known for her abstract painting and portrait photography.

On her first day in Woodacre, Aria meets Joan’s androgynous gardener, Steph. They later run into each other at the grocery store, and Steph introduces Aria to her girlfriend Lisa and best friend Mel. Mel invites Aria to Steph’s open mic performance, and from that night Aria is officially taken in by the group of friends. Aria finds herself increasingly attracted to Steph and becomes preoccupied with fantasy scenarios. In moments when they’re alone, Aria encourages Steph to pursue her musical dreams, but Steph is hindered by having to prioritize a stable income and her relationship with Lisa.

While at home, Aria busies herself with helping Joan sort through her late husband’s astronomy research notes. Joan needs them for the new piece she’s working on, but she doesn’t share any details with Aria. Spending time with Joan allows Aria to learn about her as an artist and her personhood outside of her role of being a grandmother. Inspired by an Adrienne Rich poem and a poster of artist Bernice Bing, Aria starts to explore painting on her own. She feels self-conscious about it and later seeks advice from Joan.

In the middle of her summer, Aria meets her mother, Alexis, for lunch in San Francisco. They have an estranged relationship because Alexis’s work as an opera singer requires her to travel internationally for most of the year. Their meal is tense, as Alexis shares the news of her new engagement and criticizes Aria for the nude photos. Alexis eventually apologizes for not being more present in Aria’s life. She promises to better their relationship and shares some photos of an elderly distant cousin, Lily Hu, who was a scientist in Los Angeles, to connect Aria with the Chinese side of her family.

Steph and Aria continue to meet privately, and during a hike, Aria shares with Steph that she thinks she’s queer. Steph and Lisa begin to fight more frequently, while Aria and Steph become closer. They kiss at a friend’s party, and though Steph initially considers it a mistake, they continue to have secret, physically intimate meetings. Aria’s best friend, Tasha, spontaneously visits Woodacre after a summer of fighting with their other friend, Haley. Tasha eventually confides in Aria that she and Haley were secretly dating, but Haley ultimately decided that she wasn’t gay. Aria doesn’t immediately tell Tasha about her relationship with Steph, but after they attend the Queer Music Festival in San Francisco, Tasha pieces it together.

About two weeks before she’s scheduled to leave California, Aria witnesses Joan having a stroke. After Joan stabilizes, Aria calls Steph for a ride home, and they have sex for the first time. Aria’s father and aunt arrive as soon as they can, and for the next few days Aria feels overwhelmed by fear, guilt, and desire. Joan’s condition improves enough that she’s transferred to a rehabilitation center, but less than a week later, she has a second, fatal stroke. Aria visits Steph at work to tell her the news, and while they kiss, Lisa arrives unexpectedly and confronts Steph about her infidelity.

Following the confrontation, Steph keeps her distance from Aria until they see each other at Joan’s memorial service. Despite Aria’s pleas, Steph is adamant that they can’t continue their relationship because she needs to focus on herself. On her last night in California, Aria uncovers Joan’s hidden sculpture—Aria’s grandfather’s head constructed of his research notes folded into small cubes.

The last chapter takes place 10 years later, in 2023, at Aria’s first art show. Her family members and Tasha are all present, and Aria reveals to Tasha that in her painting titled A Scatter of Light, she has incorporated her first painting that she started in 2013.

The story is narrated exclusively from Aria’s first-person point of view, intimately conveying Aria’s deepest emotions and growth throughout her summer in California. Through the eyes of an 18-year-old, Lo offers insight into the experience of a young adult navigating sexuality, familial relationships, and creative expression.