Hangsaman vs How the Light Gets In: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Adolescence, Young women, Fiction
Hangsaman
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Seventeen-year-old Natalie Waite longs to escape home for college. Her father is a domineering and egotistical writer who keeps a tight rein on Natalie and her long-suffering mother. When Natalie finally does get away,…
How the Light Gets In
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A powerful debut from an Australian novelist that features one of the most likeable but contrary figures you are likely to meet in contemporary fiction. Lou Connor, a gifted, unhappy sixteen-year-old, is desperate to…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate How the Light Gets In highest: How the Light Gets In 4.2 · Hangsaman 3.9.
- How the Light Gets In has the widest readership — 7084 ratings behind its score.
Scores by source
| Hangsaman | How the Light Gets In | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 4.2 (7084) |
| Hardcover | 3.8 (48) | 4.4 (94) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (32) | — |
Reception
| Hangsaman | How the Light Gets In | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 48 | 7084 |
| Editions | 14 | 10 |
| Film adaptations | — | 1 |
| Wikipedia attention | 2476 | 28 |
| Pages | 280 | 329 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Hangsaman or How the Light Gets In?
How the Light Gets In has the higher combined reader rating across sources (How the Light Gets In 4.2/5, Hangsaman 3.9/5).
Which is shorter to read: Hangsaman or How the Light Gets In?
Hangsaman is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Hangsaman (280 pages, ≈ 5 h 11 m); How the Light Gets In (329 pages, ≈ 6 h 06 m).
Which is harder to read: Hangsaman or How the Light Gets In?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Hangsaman: Moderate; How the Light Gets In: Moderate.