''Reading by Lightning'' is the debut novel by Joan Thomas, published in 2008 by Goose Lane Editions. The novel's central character is Lily Piper, a young woman who was raised in a strict Christian fundamentalist upbringing on the Canadian Prairies, and then experienced much greater freedom for the first time in her life when she was sent to England to live with her grandmother as a teenager, but now must return home when her mother falls terminally ill. The novel won the

Amazon.ca First Novel Award The Amazon.ca First Novel Award, formerly the Books in Canada First Novel Award, is a Canadian literary award, co-presented by Amazon.ca and ''The Walrus'' to the best first novel in English language, English published the previous year by a citize ...

in 2009. It was also the regional finalist for Canada and the Caribbean in the 2009

Commonwealth Writer's Prize Commonwealth Writers (established in 2011) is the cultural initiative of the Commonwealth Foundation. It aims to inspire, develop and connect writers across the Commonwealth. Its flagship is a literary award for short stories, the Commonwealth Sh ...

shortlist, and was named to the initial longlist for the International Dublin Literary Award.Alison Flood
"Aravind Adiga heads Impac Dublin prize longlist"
'' The Guardian'', November 2, 2009.

References

2008 Canadian novels Novels by Joan Thomas 2008 debut novels Goose Lane Editions books {{Canada-novel-stub