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Girl Made of Stars
Mara y Owen son los gemelos más cercanos del mundo. Así que cuando él es acusado de violación, ella no sabe qué pensar.
¿Puede su hermano ser culpable
de algo tan atroz? Dividida entre el amor por su familia y su sentido de la justicia, Mara deberá hacerle frente a un
trauma del pasado que le impide
ser libre y ser fuerte para enfrentar la realidad de su presente.
Con sensibilidad y franqueza,
esta novela encara el abuso
sexual, la culpa que enfrentan
las víctimas y los límites del
consentimiento.
¿Puede su hermano ser culpable
de algo tan atroz? Dividida entre el amor por su familia y su sentido de la justicia, Mara deberá hacerle frente a un
trauma del pasado que le impide
ser libre y ser fuerte para enfrentar la realidad de su presente.
Con sensibilidad y franqueza,
esta novela encara el abuso
sexual, la culpa que enfrentan
las víctimas y los límites del
consentimiento.
304 pages, ebook
First published May 15, 2018
About the author
Ashley Herring Blake
16 books5,940 followersAshley Herring Blake is a reader, writer, and mom to two boisterous boys. She holds a Master’s degree in teaching and loves coffee, arranging her books by color, and cold weather. She is the author of the young adult novels Suffer Love, How to Make a Wish, and Girl Made of Stars (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), the middle grade novels Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World, The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James, and Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea (Little, Brown), and the adult romance novels Delilah Green Doesn't Care and Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail (Berkley). Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World was a Stonewall Honor Book, as well as a Kirkus, School Library Journal, NYPL, and NPR Best Book of 2018. Her YA novel Girl Made of Stars was a Lambda Literary Award finalist. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram at @ashleyhblake and on the web at www.ashleyherringblake.com. She lives in Georgia.
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January 7, 2021
Feb. 13, 2019: A Note
A month after I finished this book, on Valentine's day, a boy in my biology class who had been harassing me non-sexually for months told me he wanted to have sex with me. Today, an anonymous article was published by my school in which this was mentioned and discussed, under a pseudonym. And in a lot of ways I think I got off lucky, but seeing that article today felt like a punch in the gut or maybe like flying, I don't know which one right now. And it's interesting because I've read a lot of books that touch on the experience of sexual assault and sexual harassment but this is the one that has come closest to capturing the feeling of taking back your body, and the experience of crying with your best friend who's been through something just as bad, and I read and reviewed this book before my experience but it still rings so so true.
Original Review
This is not a book I am worthy of reviewing. This is a masterpiece of human emotion, of writing, of character development.
So Girl Made of Stars follows Mara, whose twin brother Owen has been accused of rape by Mara’s best friend. But it's... so much more than that. There is something about this book that just hit me. I mean, it's kind of just perfect? The characters feel like completely real people, to a degree that is almost terrifying. The themes are perfectly handled. But most of all, this book just has a degree of emotional authenticity I have almost never seen in literature.
There is a love triangle here with a bi lead, but it is handled so well. I think I might literally be known for hating this trope but this is the Most honest and open dynamic with a love triangle I have ever read. Mara’s dynamic with Charlie, her ex, is one of learning - they are two people who were best friends and then who fell in love and then who fell apart. And now Mara has to figure out why. Mara also has a relationship with a guy named Alex, one of Owen’s best friends - or maybe ex-best friends. Mara’s relationship with Alex is - vague spoilers - not the primary relationship of this book. But it’s also a fundamental part of Mara’s character development that I really like. And Alex is a very good person. I trust him.
You know what I really love, though? MARA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH CHARLIE. Charlie is nonbinary [yes, she uses she/her pronouns] and is an incredibly complex character. But her relationship with Mara is the most top tier ting I’ve ever read. These two characters are both flawed, dealing with their own problems and desperately trying to figure themselves out. Their relationship makes me so happy and gives me so much hope.
For me, the most important aspect of this book was the narrative around Mara’s own trauma. While this book is blurbed and described as a book about Hannah’s rape, it is also a story about the unspoken trauma so many young people face - the trauma of having someone you trust violate you in a society that refuses to believe you. The narrative treatment of rape is so fantastically done and important too, with so much weight given to Hannah's accusation yet so much nuance given to every character's feelings on what has gone down. Mara, Charlie, Hannah, Alex, and Mara's family have all lost someone they trusted, all in their own way, and Girl Made of Stars knows this.
While Girl Made of Stars is not the most smoothly flowing, I somehow felt it actually made the book better? Yes, this book is messy and complicated, but the world is messy and complicated too. I think the nuanced characters and messy plot give this book its real feeling. I could not be happier to have read this book.
I have... so much positive to say about this and literally nothing negative. I don’t think I’ve comprehensively explained why. I don’t think I am capable of that at this point in my life. But this book will be in my top five of the year. This is one of the best books I have read in my entire godforsaken life and I'm having one of my THIS I S SO B E A U T I F U L crises and. I don’t even know. None of you are allowed to publish books anymore, this book just killed all of them. And me too.
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➳➳ this is July's second mod pick for The Sapphic Squad, a book group I run with Kaylin, Jamieson, and Emma! I hope some of you will join us <3
A month after I finished this book, on Valentine's day, a boy in my biology class who had been harassing me non-sexually for months told me he wanted to have sex with me. Today, an anonymous article was published by my school in which this was mentioned and discussed, under a pseudonym. And in a lot of ways I think I got off lucky, but seeing that article today felt like a punch in the gut or maybe like flying, I don't know which one right now. And it's interesting because I've read a lot of books that touch on the experience of sexual assault and sexual harassment but this is the one that has come closest to capturing the feeling of taking back your body, and the experience of crying with your best friend who's been through something just as bad, and I read and reviewed this book before my experience but it still rings so so true.
Original Review
This is not a book I am worthy of reviewing. This is a masterpiece of human emotion, of writing, of character development.
So Girl Made of Stars follows Mara, whose twin brother Owen has been accused of rape by Mara’s best friend. But it's... so much more than that. There is something about this book that just hit me. I mean, it's kind of just perfect? The characters feel like completely real people, to a degree that is almost terrifying. The themes are perfectly handled. But most of all, this book just has a degree of emotional authenticity I have almost never seen in literature.
There is a love triangle here with a bi lead, but it is handled so well. I think I might literally be known for hating this trope but this is the Most honest and open dynamic with a love triangle I have ever read. Mara’s dynamic with Charlie, her ex, is one of learning - they are two people who were best friends and then who fell in love and then who fell apart. And now Mara has to figure out why. Mara also has a relationship with a guy named Alex, one of Owen’s best friends - or maybe ex-best friends. Mara’s relationship with Alex is - vague spoilers - not the primary relationship of this book. But it’s also a fundamental part of Mara’s character development that I really like. And Alex is a very good person. I trust him.
You know what I really love, though? MARA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH CHARLIE. Charlie is nonbinary [yes, she uses she/her pronouns] and is an incredibly complex character. But her relationship with Mara is the most top tier ting I’ve ever read. These two characters are both flawed, dealing with their own problems and desperately trying to figure themselves out. Their relationship makes me so happy and gives me so much hope.
For me, the most important aspect of this book was the narrative around Mara’s own trauma. While this book is blurbed and described as a book about Hannah’s rape, it is also a story about the unspoken trauma so many young people face - the trauma of having someone you trust violate you in a society that refuses to believe you. The narrative treatment of rape is so fantastically done and important too, with so much weight given to Hannah's accusation yet so much nuance given to every character's feelings on what has gone down. Mara, Charlie, Hannah, Alex, and Mara's family have all lost someone they trusted, all in their own way, and Girl Made of Stars knows this.
While Girl Made of Stars is not the most smoothly flowing, I somehow felt it actually made the book better? Yes, this book is messy and complicated, but the world is messy and complicated too. I think the nuanced characters and messy plot give this book its real feeling. I could not be happier to have read this book.
I have... so much positive to say about this and literally nothing negative. I don’t think I’ve comprehensively explained why. I don’t think I am capable of that at this point in my life. But this book will be in my top five of the year. This is one of the best books I have read in my entire godforsaken life and I'm having one of my THIS I S SO B E A U T I F U L crises and. I don’t even know. None of you are allowed to publish books anymore, this book just killed all of them. And me too.
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➳➳ this is July's second mod pick for The Sapphic Squad, a book group I run with Kaylin, Jamieson, and Emma! I hope some of you will join us <3
March 14, 2021
Girl Made of Stars is the kind of story that pinches and punches and bites—unflinching and powerful. The kind of story that carves you open with the truth and leaves your heart sour, angry at the world and so awful at holding all of it within your own skin that the tidal wave of your emotions threatens to drag you out to the lightless depths of the sea and drown you. The kind of story that leaves you in a trance after you’re finished. The one that just won’t let you go for days.
So what is this book about?
Mara, a bisexual high school junior, shares a bond strong enough to transcend words with her twin brother, Owen. When Owen is accused of raping his girlfriend—one of Mara’s best friends—the world as she knew it is left undone, those accusations turning into thorns snagging Mara’s skin and clothes and landing like a boulder upon her heart.
Mara lingers at the intersection between believing her brother in his insistence on being innocent and always believing the survivor—her heart careening between the two and grasping at the words that would distill the truth down and weed out all the things that did not fit. Adding to the mottled mess of truth and lies in Mara’s head is her classmates and family, including her fiercely feminist mother, who publicly sided with Owen. Mara’s inner conflict is also threaded with the memory of her own past trauma—one that she’s never confessed and every time she tried to leave behind, it only caught fire and lit a dozen more.
Around this tragedy runs an unrelenting plot that brings into sharp, brutal relief a raw and unvarnished look at victim blaming, consent, male privilege and the tendencies of many to mock and underestimate a pain they haven’t endured. There is so much truth, pain and humanity in this book. This is a book that truly digs in and exposes human selfishness, flaws, misconceptions, and tendencies—leaving questions that will land too hard for you to catch them.
Girl Made of Stars is a powerful tale of betrayal and a vital primer on rape culture that will make you want to look away. But we can’t. If we don't look, we are just more people in the cyclical machine, keeping rape culture churning through our society. It’s a story that provocatively and effectively illustrates how hopeless it may seem to fight something so vast and too terrifying to contemplate. How ridiculous it may seem to believe you can win—especially that what often follows such a tragedy is a prolonged, degrading, and oftentimes fruitless process.
Mara’s moral struggle was indicative of how easy it can be to sink beneath the lie of what everyone else upholds and how difficult it can be to break free of that belief system and side with whom she truly believes in. But soon she realizes that sexual assault is not a ghost that would go silent if only you found the right way to quiet it, and eventually all that wondering, all that uncertainty gets crowded out, sharpening the truth of how little Mara knew her brother to account for all of him, and the cruciality of doing the right thing.
Girl Made of Stars also highlights how being a survivor is being both other than and more than what everyone else will assume you are. That hope is a language you may still be learning – a thing you may stammer and halt through, but each day, you will find new language for your survival and it will sing of your strength.
Also central to Mara's narrative is her relationship with Charlie, her (ex)girlfriend, who represents a nuanced and affecting depiction of a teen who identifies as non-binary. I love their relationship so much. I love how it was rooted in a deep, honest friendship of the unshakable kind, a friendship that could be busted nearly to breaking and come back stronger than before. I love how they acknowledged their flaws and how it affected their relationship and how they were both working on becoming better versions of themselves. It was all very authentic and raw and I really loved it.
TW: rape, sexual assault, victim blaming, anxiety and panic attacks.
So what is this book about?
Mara, a bisexual high school junior, shares a bond strong enough to transcend words with her twin brother, Owen. When Owen is accused of raping his girlfriend—one of Mara’s best friends—the world as she knew it is left undone, those accusations turning into thorns snagging Mara’s skin and clothes and landing like a boulder upon her heart.
Mara lingers at the intersection between believing her brother in his insistence on being innocent and always believing the survivor—her heart careening between the two and grasping at the words that would distill the truth down and weed out all the things that did not fit. Adding to the mottled mess of truth and lies in Mara’s head is her classmates and family, including her fiercely feminist mother, who publicly sided with Owen. Mara’s inner conflict is also threaded with the memory of her own past trauma—one that she’s never confessed and every time she tried to leave behind, it only caught fire and lit a dozen more.
Around this tragedy runs an unrelenting plot that brings into sharp, brutal relief a raw and unvarnished look at victim blaming, consent, male privilege and the tendencies of many to mock and underestimate a pain they haven’t endured. There is so much truth, pain and humanity in this book. This is a book that truly digs in and exposes human selfishness, flaws, misconceptions, and tendencies—leaving questions that will land too hard for you to catch them.
Girl Made of Stars is a powerful tale of betrayal and a vital primer on rape culture that will make you want to look away. But we can’t. If we don't look, we are just more people in the cyclical machine, keeping rape culture churning through our society. It’s a story that provocatively and effectively illustrates how hopeless it may seem to fight something so vast and too terrifying to contemplate. How ridiculous it may seem to believe you can win—especially that what often follows such a tragedy is a prolonged, degrading, and oftentimes fruitless process.
Mara’s moral struggle was indicative of how easy it can be to sink beneath the lie of what everyone else upholds and how difficult it can be to break free of that belief system and side with whom she truly believes in. But soon she realizes that sexual assault is not a ghost that would go silent if only you found the right way to quiet it, and eventually all that wondering, all that uncertainty gets crowded out, sharpening the truth of how little Mara knew her brother to account for all of him, and the cruciality of doing the right thing.
Girl Made of Stars also highlights how being a survivor is being both other than and more than what everyone else will assume you are. That hope is a language you may still be learning – a thing you may stammer and halt through, but each day, you will find new language for your survival and it will sing of your strength.
Also central to Mara's narrative is her relationship with Charlie, her (ex)girlfriend, who represents a nuanced and affecting depiction of a teen who identifies as non-binary. I love their relationship so much. I love how it was rooted in a deep, honest friendship of the unshakable kind, a friendship that could be busted nearly to breaking and come back stronger than before. I love how they acknowledged their flaws and how it affected their relationship and how they were both working on becoming better versions of themselves. It was all very authentic and raw and I really loved it.
“Even girls made of stars are captives, bound at the wrists and traded like property. Even girls made of stars aren't asked, aren't believed, aren't considered worth the effort unless they can offer something in return.
Even girls made of stars buy into those lies sometimes.”
TW: rape, sexual assault, victim blaming, anxiety and panic attacks.
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May 15, 2018
I can’t think about Owen. I can’t attach his name to Hannah on a hospital bed, bandages on her wrist, tears on her lovely face.
4 1/2 stars. I cried.
Girl Made of Stars is about a situation that for the vast majority of us is not only horrifying, but unimaginable. For other feminists like me, our default is to offer compassion to rape survivors. To offer belief. To unite against the rapist. But... imagine if the alleged rapist was your closest friend, your anchor, the one person you've always been able to trust. Imagine if it was your twin.
This is the situation Mara finds herself in. She desperately wants to believe her brother when he says he did nothing wrong, but she knows the victim is not someone who is likely to lie. Torn between the feminist values she has always held close to her heart and her loyalty to her brother, Mara goes on an introspective journey that is ultimately about her own personal growth.
Mara has a lot of issues of her own to deal with beyond this. At the start of the book she has just broken up with Charlie, who is genderqueer but uses female pronouns and still hasn't come out to her parents. The deeper reasons for the break-up are revealed as the novel progresses, tied in with Mara's reasons for being particularly affected by the accusation against her brother.
It's a hard-hitting critique of rape culture and especially the ways victims are silenced by the disbelief of others. It's also an intimate portrait of a teenage girl's mind as she struggles to cope with her world being turned upside down, and figure out who she is at the same time. I think the book is stronger because it doesn't linger too long on Owen and the crime itself, choosing to focus instead on how Mara processes this impossible situation.
I’ve lumped myself in with my labels — girl, bi, queer — but I still can’t seem to really apply any of it to the person I see in the mirror every day. That girl is still voiceless, still scared.
Mara's sexuality is neither stereotypical, nor the focal point of the book. We see her explore two relationships - with genderqueer, white Charlie and a Korean boy called Alex - but her liking of more than one gender is not treated as a big deal.
In the end, this is a book about the damage caused when we treat rape survivors with suspicion. It is necessary for us to listen, even when we really don't want to.
TW: Rape.
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March 22, 2022
Estoy llorando.
November 26, 2018
“Even girls made of stars are captives, bound at the wrists and traded like property. Even girls made of stars aren't asked, aren't believed, aren't considered worth the effort unless they can offer something in return. Even girls made of stars buy into those lies sometimes.”
Friends, I wish I could put this book into everyone in the entire world’s hands. This book is so powerful, so heartbreaking, so important, and just so beautifully crafted. But before I really even start this review, I want to preface that this review is going to talk a lot about sexual assault. And even though I implore you to pick up this book if you are able, this is a very dark book at times. Major content and trigger warnings for rape, sexual assault, physical abuse, pedophilia, bullying, depiction of grief, trauma, PTSD, and anxiety attacks. Another thing I want to touch on is that I was very surprised that this book surrounds two sexual assaults, not just the one you are originally led to believe. So, I don’t want any of you to be lulled into a sense of safety to only be hurt later on.
Girl Made of Stars is a haunting book that I wish wasn’t so perfectly done. I wish this book wasn’t so realistic. I wish this book only made me cry because of the fictional content, and not because this is the actual world we live in. But in these pages, we follow a young girl named Mara whose brother is accused of raping one of her best friends. And we get to see how this rape impacts this entire friend group. Yet, we also get to see how it impacts Mara’s family, Mara’s school, and the entire community
➽ Mara - The star of this book. Mara is also bi and has panic attacks.
➽ Owen - Mara’s twin brother, who seems perfect and is very popular.
➽ Charlie - Realizing they are nonbinary, Mara’s best friend, and also Mara’s ex.
➽ Alex - Owen’s best friend, and Korean-American.
➽ Hannah - One of Mara and Charlie’s best friend, also Owen’s girlfriend.
Every 98 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted. 1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. Only 310 out of every 1,000 sexual assaults are reported to police. out of 1,000 rapes, 994 perpetrators will walk free.*
“This. This is why I never said anything. Because no one ever believes the girl.”
And we are teaching young girls to not speak up with our actions in this broken cycle of not believing them in a world that already chooses, over and over again, to not believe them. And it’s so fucking heartbreaking. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a relationship with the person. It doesn’t matter if you’ve had sex before. It doesn’t matter what you’re wearing. It doesn’t matter what you’ve said before. It doesn’t matter any circumstances; if it’s not consensual then it is rape. Rape culture is so real, so apparent, and so very much thriving in 2018.
You can love a person and still know and say that what they did was wrong. And this is a concept that we constantly cannot understand in this world. This book was extremely hard for me to read, because my brother is my best friend in this entire world, and imagining being in Mara's situation just completely gutted me over and over again. But loving someone doesn’t give them a free pass, and I think everyone needs to be reminded of that. If you say you will believe rape victims, then you have to believe all rape victims. You don’t get to pick and choose. And I beg you to start believing. And for anyone who needs it: I believe you.
Yet, this is a story about healing and reclaiming your body after it has been violated against your wishes. There is no right thing, no right amount of time, not even any correct word combinations that will help. Sexual assaulters take so much more from the victim that people realize, and it’s something that never goes away. But it can get better, and you have to do what is right for you, at your own pace. And this story really is a love letter to that.
“Some parts of me are gone. Some others have come alive, woken by the need to fight, to matter, to be heard. Some parts are wary, others angry, others heartbroken. But I'm still me. I'm still moving.”
This book also does such a beautiful job talking about respecting people’s pronouns, gender, sexuality, and when and how they choose to come out, regardless of identities they’ve already came out about. Gender and sexuality can be so very fluid and always deserves to be respected. Everyone’s experiences are so very different, and only the individual knows what is best for them.
Overall, this was one of the hardest books for me to read all year, but I truly am so thankful that I was able to read it. I recommend this to anyone who is in the right headspace for it. And even though this was a hard book, it’s also really beautiful. I also loved the F/NB romance so very much in this one. Mara is one of my favorite characters in all of literature. And I will read every single thing Ashley Herring Blake writes forever. This is a heart-wrenching, flawless, masterpiece.
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*Statistics from RAINN. They are completely confidential, and available 24/7 if you need to talk to someone. Call 800.656.HOPE at any time.
Buddy read with Shai at Cade Under Books & Yusra! ❤
❤ I also read this for Contemporary-a-thon!
July 11, 2018
5/5 Stars. WOW. I cannot believe how much this book touched me. I was expecting to love it but I don’t think I could have possibly anticipated the depth and intensity of this story. Heart-breaking and gut-wrenching – an absolute must read.
CW: rape/sexual assault
CW: rape/sexual assault
April 9, 2018
flawlessly heart wrenching
March 9, 2022
What else is there to do? What else is there for any girl to do, when everyone but her can forget everything like a random bad dream?
After breaking up with her girlfriend/best friend, Mara's greatest comfort comes from her twin brother, Owen - until her best friend accuses him of rape, and Mara's entire world is thrown into a whirlwind of confusion, heartbreak, and traumatic memories of her own.
Let me say, first of all, that this book is one of the most genuinely important things I have ever read in my life. The timing is perfect, with all of the sexual assault allegations filling the news media today, and it forces the reader to face a hard question: what do you do when someone you love is accused of rape?
→ mara ←
Mara is such a lovable narrator, and so many of her feelings and thoughts were so incredibly candid and believable that it felt like she was a real person. She struggles from anxiety and panic attacks (which, as a person with an anxiety disorder, I felt were represented incredibly well), as well as PTSD.
Watching Mara develop as she grows to listen to the victim and to consider that, just because she loves Owen, does not guarantee his innocence, was so incredibly sad but familiar. I, like many people, am ashamed to say that I have struggled at times in the past to believe a victim's account of an incident because I simply don't want to believe the individual in question could have done something so terrible. Mara shamelessly holds up a mirror for those times, before lighting a path leading to the realization that our loved ones are not always who we hope they will be.
Despite the time it takes her to come to terms with the accusations, Mara never strays from being a caring young woman who wants desperately to take care of her loved ones.
Some parts of me are gone. Some others have come alive, woken by the need to fight, to matter, to be heard. Some parts are wary, others angry, others heartbroken. But I'm still me. I'm still moving.
→ owen ←
We are shown so many complex sides of Owen that I feel the story makes even the reader uncertain of the outcome at times. Owen is such a widely liked character, and is painted in such a wholesome light, that in the beginning of the book, it seems hard to imagine him as having intentionally done it. As the story progresses, and as Mara begins to see things differently, we are shown other perspectives of Owen - some so condemning that, in an instant, his entire persona shifts. I thought this was masterful storytelling on Ashley's part, and I loved how three-dimensional it made him.
Owen has always been loud and kind of crude with his friends, but that's not who he is with me. With me, he's a boy made of stars, soft and light and safe. He always has been.
→ hannah ←
Hannah is the innocent, sweet "hippie" of their friendship group, and she seems so wondrously in love with Owen that the segue into her accusations was downright jarring. Her likability only adds to the probability of her story, which realistically may make Mara's choice mildly easier than it would have been if Hannah had been an unknown, random character, or even an unlikable person. She was so delightful, though, and her heartache over having to make claims against Owen absolutely wrecked me.
"I never got it before, you know? All the stories I've heard other women tell about how much shame there is in being the one it happens to. But there is. There's this weight of responsibility, of... god, I don't know. Of just existing."
→ charlie ←
Beneath all of the rest of Mara's story, we have her ex-girlfriend and childhood bestie, Charlie, who Mara has broken up with because she feels incapable of carrying on a healthy relationship after her trauma. Charlie is a solidly flawed character, but never in a damning light, even when she reacts less-than-perfectly to Mara's painful history. She offers a terrific look into the life of a nonbinary character, and the struggles she faces in her daily life with her identity. (Obviously, as a cis-gendered woman, I can't speak to the authenticity of this rep, so while I enjoyed it, I am always open to reading own-voice reviews on this aspect!)
"I'm not sure. Both? Neither? Something else altogether?"
→ bisexuality ←
While the book has an enjoyable range of diversity in its casting, the most prominent aspect of that diversity was Mara's own bisexuality. Not only does she spend a sizable portion of the story struggling with her feelings for her ex-girlfriend, she also plays with the option of a male partner. I won't spoil who the individual is, but it opens up some incredible conversations regarding consent, sex, and her openness to people regardless of gender identity or sexuality.
As a bi woman who is also less on the love for "two genders" end of the spectrum and more on the "two or more identities" end, I adored every moment of the bi rep in this book. Much like in Ashley's last YA release, How to Make a Wish, she puts emotions and explanations into words that are so profound and resonating that they brought tears to my eyes. She doesn't shy away from discussing the struggles that come with biphobia specifically, even from misunderstanding loved ones.
And hey, that's more than a lot of kids get, especially in the South, where going out in public as a queer person can be like tiptoeing through a minefield.
→ other noteworthy topics ←
A few other things I wanted to touch on:
• In the beginning, we hear stories of how Mara and Owen’s mother considers herself a devout feminist, but as the story progresses, we see her gradually shift further away from her values in order to defend her son. This was such an incredibly candid view on how hard it can be for someone to admit that their loved ones have done something harmful, despite the morals they typically adhere to.
• Empowerment through sexuality is addressed in scenes where Mara chooses to dress in revealing clothing in order to draw attention away from another character’s pain; though her motives are wholesome, she finds that she loves the way the attention makes her feel, and makes a note that, when consent is given, being shown sexual attraction from other parties can be empowering and fun.
• In one scene, two characters are participating in some pretty heavy petting, and consent is directly asked for; one character even comments on how incredibly sexy and empowered she feels for being asked and saying “yes”. Later, consent is revoked during sexual activity, and the opposite party is immediately apologetic, understanding, and drops the issue. This is exactly the kind of consent discussion that YA books need!
→ final thoughts ←
I know this review is longer than my typical posts, but there are so many incredible and important moments in this story, and I've only shown you the tip of the iceberg. Ashley Herring Blake is doing work that most YA authors aren't brave enough to carry out, and she is executing it flawlessly. She has earned herself a permanent spot on my favorite authors list, and I only hope that this release will get the attention it deserves. I hope with everything in me that you will take my words to heart and pre-order yourself a copy of Girl Made of Stars. You won't regret it.
Content warnings: sexual assault, biphobia, homophobia, anxiety, depression, PTSD.
All quotes are taken from an unfinished ARC and may differ from final publication. Thank you so much to HMH Books for Young Readers for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review, and thank you so much to Ashley Herring Blake for doing such profound and important work in the YA literary field.
You can find this review and more here on my blog!
August 1, 2023
I don’t really know how to review this, or even rate it. I just know that everyone in the world should probably read this book.
My memory of it is not fresh (read it five months ago; shoutout to my renowned timely reviews), and even when it was I was rendered pretty speechless. Basically what I’m saying is that there are so many thoughtful reviews of this and mine will very much pale in comparison.
So what it comes down to is: you should read Elise’s review, or Melanie’s, and then if you want to watch someone struggle to write complex outdated faded emotions they didn’t even understand in the first place, journey on back over here!
Now that that’s out of the way: let’s do some sections.
SYNOPSIS
Mara’s best friend is her twin, Owen - until his girlfriend and her friend, Hannah, accuses him of rape. Faced with choosing between her own sense of morality and standing with her family, Mara struggles to do the right thing.
And also her ex-girlfriend is there.
THINGS ABOUT THIS BOOK THAT ARE BETTER THAN THEY HAVE ANY RIGHT TO BE
This book is approximately ninety-nine point nine percent five star ratings (and don’t @ me - I go to a college that doesn’t offer math). There’s a good reason for that. This book covers so many complexities of an unbelievably sensitive issue with deftness and wiseness and skill rarely seen in YA.
There is a “but,” but it’s coming later.
This story deconstructs the concept of “type of girl.” It covers means of healing that aren’t necessary quiet, or nonviolent, or quick or easy or simple but are unbearably, achingly real. It shows there is no such thing as a completely bad person, while steering clear of stating that people aren’t capable of completely bad actions.
Basically, this book realizes something that YA novels rarely do: that a complicated topic requires a complicated story. There are easier ways to cover sexual assault. None of them involve siblings or friendships or even intoxication or belief or morality. The simplest stories say “this is consent, and here we believe women.” And those stories are fine, and they bring awareness, but that’s not what’s real.
This book is mercilessly, unrelentingly real.
Which is why it sucks so bad that it didn’t click for me.
IT’S NOT YOU, PRETTY BOOK, IT’S ME
I stand by all the dramatic proclamations I’ve made about this so far. I think this is by far the best rendering of the complicated nature of sexual assault that I’ve read. However.
On a personal level, as a story with characters and a world, it didn’t work for me.
It’s mostly whatever, because everything that is so good about this book is capable of transcending normal book stuff. But I can’t really click with a book without clicking with the characters??? (Also: how many times can I use the word “book” in one paragraph. Book book book book book.)
Anyway. That’s the story for why this book didn’t make me feel much of anything, and I’m sticking to it.
Mara has a pretty wonderful development arc in this, but she’s just about the only character I feel like I halfway understand. And even she felt flat sometimes and it’s her!!! story!!!! From her perspective!!! And everyone else was even worse.
Also, I thought this book was trying to do too much. A lot of this was spent on Mara thinking about her relationship with her now ex-girlfriend, Charlie, and I just...didn’t care. It felt so much less meaningful than the main story, and every time we divulged into this B-plot I was just annoyed it was taking time away from the main focus.
Because, as mentioned, this book is overwhelmingly complicated. So trying to add more to that was unnecessary and, honestly, kind of annoying and distracting.
What it comes down to, really, is that as a book in the typical sense this didn’t work for me. Luckily, this is more than a book - and the more-than-a-book stuff worked.
Bottom line: Is this an unpopular opinion????
--------------------
pre-review
i haven't the FOGGIEST idea what to rate this book, which might be one of the most important ones i've ever read.
so.
review and rating to come, i guess.
--------------------
currently-reading updates
EVERYTHING HURTS AND I CAN'T STOP READING
My memory of it is not fresh (read it five months ago; shoutout to my renowned timely reviews), and even when it was I was rendered pretty speechless. Basically what I’m saying is that there are so many thoughtful reviews of this and mine will very much pale in comparison.
So what it comes down to is: you should read Elise’s review, or Melanie’s, and then if you want to watch someone struggle to write complex outdated faded emotions they didn’t even understand in the first place, journey on back over here!
Now that that’s out of the way: let’s do some sections.
SYNOPSIS
Mara’s best friend is her twin, Owen - until his girlfriend and her friend, Hannah, accuses him of rape. Faced with choosing between her own sense of morality and standing with her family, Mara struggles to do the right thing.
And also her ex-girlfriend is there.
THINGS ABOUT THIS BOOK THAT ARE BETTER THAN THEY HAVE ANY RIGHT TO BE
This book is approximately ninety-nine point nine percent five star ratings (and don’t @ me - I go to a college that doesn’t offer math). There’s a good reason for that. This book covers so many complexities of an unbelievably sensitive issue with deftness and wiseness and skill rarely seen in YA.
There is a “but,” but it’s coming later.
This story deconstructs the concept of “type of girl.” It covers means of healing that aren’t necessary quiet, or nonviolent, or quick or easy or simple but are unbearably, achingly real. It shows there is no such thing as a completely bad person, while steering clear of stating that people aren’t capable of completely bad actions.
Basically, this book realizes something that YA novels rarely do: that a complicated topic requires a complicated story. There are easier ways to cover sexual assault. None of them involve siblings or friendships or even intoxication or belief or morality. The simplest stories say “this is consent, and here we believe women.” And those stories are fine, and they bring awareness, but that’s not what’s real.
This book is mercilessly, unrelentingly real.
Which is why it sucks so bad that it didn’t click for me.
IT’S NOT YOU, PRETTY BOOK, IT’S ME
I stand by all the dramatic proclamations I’ve made about this so far. I think this is by far the best rendering of the complicated nature of sexual assault that I’ve read. However.
On a personal level, as a story with characters and a world, it didn’t work for me.
It’s mostly whatever, because everything that is so good about this book is capable of transcending normal book stuff. But I can’t really click with a book without clicking with the characters??? (Also: how many times can I use the word “book” in one paragraph. Book book book book book.)
Anyway. That’s the story for why this book didn’t make me feel much of anything, and I’m sticking to it.
Mara has a pretty wonderful development arc in this, but she’s just about the only character I feel like I halfway understand. And even she felt flat sometimes and it’s her!!! story!!!! From her perspective!!! And everyone else was even worse.
Also, I thought this book was trying to do too much. A lot of this was spent on Mara thinking about her relationship with her now ex-girlfriend, Charlie, and I just...didn’t care. It felt so much less meaningful than the main story, and every time we divulged into this B-plot I was just annoyed it was taking time away from the main focus.
Because, as mentioned, this book is overwhelmingly complicated. So trying to add more to that was unnecessary and, honestly, kind of annoying and distracting.
What it comes down to, really, is that as a book in the typical sense this didn’t work for me. Luckily, this is more than a book - and the more-than-a-book stuff worked.
Bottom line: Is this an unpopular opinion????
--------------------
pre-review
i haven't the FOGGIEST idea what to rate this book, which might be one of the most important ones i've ever read.
so.
review and rating to come, i guess.
--------------------
currently-reading updates
EVERYTHING HURTS AND I CAN'T STOP READING
May 5, 2020
Me, thinking about this book at any moment in my life:
This book destroyed me. This book destroyed me and it destroyed the chances of all other books this year because I have no doubt that this will be one of my favorite books of the year, if not my MOST favorite.
Let me put it this way: I haven’t cried over a book since 2016. This book made me sob. I teared up so many times. And then I reread the book two days after I first read it.
I don’t cry over books!! Tears do not stay on my face for the whole last half of books!! And I certainly don’t reread books two days after I first read them!!!! This book is a big deal.
I just… have no words about how much this book affected me. It’s so beautiful and poignant and gorgeously written and I can’t wait for everyone to read it, because it is 10000% worth it. Even if you feel like you’re dying inside.
First of all, this story is really, really heavy. It talks about rape and other forms of sexual abuse, also tackling issues of victim-blaming, sexuality, gender identity, and more. So it’s no surprise that this is a hard-hitting book. And it’s not just hard-hitting. It’s like… shoving and pushing on you all at once. It’s really intense, but it’s intense in a way that makes it so good, and powerful, and meaningful.
This book follows the story of Mara, whose twin brother Owen is accused of raping her best friend, Hannah. It’s about learning who to believe in and what to believe in. It’s about facing the past and figuring out how that will shape you in the future. But most of all, it’s a story about healing from things that you never thought you could get back up from.
Mara is our main character, a girl who is trying to recover from the past while dealing with the present, and wondering what it means for the future. The way her thoughts and emotions are written is so RAW, and it’s just so beautiful to see her finding her way up from the bottom of an abyss she never thought she could escape. Her arc (and pretty much every character’s arc in this book) is written and developed so well, whether it’s her learning how to live with the trauma she’s faced but not let it rule her, or her learning how to deal with a twin brother who has done something horrific.
This book relies a lot on character development—another reason why I fell so deeply in love with it—and all the side characters are written just as beautifully as Mara:
Mara and Charlie’s relationship is honestly so, so beautiful. (Also a reminder not to call this f/f because even though Charlie uses she/her pronouns, she is genderqueer and not a girl!!!) It’s about learning to come to terms with their own identities, but also learning how to support each other at the same time. It means a lot to me for a lot of personal reasons.
God. It’s been months since I read this, but I still can’t summon enough words to talk about this book. Mostly because 1) I’m still destroyed and trying to work through my feelings over this, but also because 2) this book is about flawed people working through their flaws, and yet it is written almost flawlessly.
Just... please read this book. It is one of the most powerful, deeply touching, well-written books I’ve ever read, and it means so much to me beyond the fact that it made me cry. It is just beautiful and stunning and an honest-to-god love story to every single person who is discovering who they are, how they fit into society, and learning to love whoever they turn out to be.
:: rep :: bisexual female MC with anxiety, sapphic genderqueer LI, Korean male LI
:: content warnings :: rape, sexual abuse and assault, anxiety/panic attacks
Even girls made of stars are captives, bound at the wrists and traded like property. Even girls made of stars aren’t asked, aren’t believed, aren’t considered worth the effort unless they can offer something in return.
Even girls made of stars buy into those lies sometimes.
This book destroyed me. This book destroyed me and it destroyed the chances of all other books this year because I have no doubt that this will be one of my favorite books of the year, if not my MOST favorite.
Let me put it this way: I haven’t cried over a book since 2016. This book made me sob. I teared up so many times. And then I reread the book two days after I first read it.
I don’t cry over books!! Tears do not stay on my face for the whole last half of books!! And I certainly don’t reread books two days after I first read them!!!! This book is a big deal.
I just… have no words about how much this book affected me. It’s so beautiful and poignant and gorgeously written and I can’t wait for everyone to read it, because it is 10000% worth it. Even if you feel like you’re dying inside.
First of all, this story is really, really heavy. It talks about rape and other forms of sexual abuse, also tackling issues of victim-blaming, sexuality, gender identity, and more. So it’s no surprise that this is a hard-hitting book. And it’s not just hard-hitting. It’s like… shoving and pushing on you all at once. It’s really intense, but it’s intense in a way that makes it so good, and powerful, and meaningful.
This book follows the story of Mara, whose twin brother Owen is accused of raping her best friend, Hannah. It’s about learning who to believe in and what to believe in. It’s about facing the past and figuring out how that will shape you in the future. But most of all, it’s a story about healing from things that you never thought you could get back up from.
Mara is our main character, a girl who is trying to recover from the past while dealing with the present, and wondering what it means for the future. The way her thoughts and emotions are written is so RAW, and it’s just so beautiful to see her finding her way up from the bottom of an abyss she never thought she could escape. Her arc (and pretty much every character’s arc in this book) is written and developed so well, whether it’s her learning how to live with the trauma she’s faced but not let it rule her, or her learning how to deal with a twin brother who has done something horrific.
This book relies a lot on character development—another reason why I fell so deeply in love with it—and all the side characters are written just as beautifully as Mara:
☼ Owen is portrayed as a boy who’s trying to reconcile with what he’s done, but his actions are never excused. This is the brother that Mara has loved her whole life, but she has to accept that someone so close to her can do something so horrendous.
☼ Hannah is a girl devastated by what’s been done to her by Owen, and what’s continually being done to her as a society that will never believe her, but what’s also evident is her growth and her strength and her ability to keep getting up even when everything brings her down. There is one scene between Mara and Hannah that made me SOB, because of how powerful and empowering it was.
☼ And finally, Charlie (Mara’s ex in the beginning to something else at the end) is a genderqueer character who uses she/her pronouns, who is struggling to really define herself and trying to find the bravery to express herself in a way that she needs to. I connected so much to Charlie and her struggles that it literally made me cry.
Mara and Charlie’s relationship is honestly so, so beautiful. (Also a reminder not to call this f/f because even though Charlie uses she/her pronouns, she is genderqueer and not a girl!!!) It’s about learning to come to terms with their own identities, but also learning how to support each other at the same time. It means a lot to me for a lot of personal reasons.
God. It’s been months since I read this, but I still can’t summon enough words to talk about this book. Mostly because 1) I’m still destroyed and trying to work through my feelings over this, but also because 2) this book is about flawed people working through their flaws, and yet it is written almost flawlessly.
Just... please read this book. It is one of the most powerful, deeply touching, well-written books I’ve ever read, and it means so much to me beyond the fact that it made me cry. It is just beautiful and stunning and an honest-to-god love story to every single person who is discovering who they are, how they fit into society, and learning to love whoever they turn out to be.
:: rep :: bisexual female MC with anxiety, sapphic genderqueer LI, Korean male LI
:: content warnings :: rape, sexual abuse and assault, anxiety/panic attacks
Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the review copy in exchange for an honest review! This did not my affect my opinions in any way. All quotes are from an advanced copy and may differ in final publication.
June 26, 2018
i had a difficult time rating this. if there was ever an argument for half star ratings, it would be this book. i found my mind saying 4 stars while my heart was saying 3. and heres why.
on the positive side of things, the writing was beyond beautiful. and i really liked the title, even more so once i read how it plays into the story. i am sucker for books where the main characters are boy-girl twins. i really wish i had a boy twin, myself. and so learning about how mara was ‘a girl made of stars’ and how it played into the relationship with her brother was really rewarding.
but on the negative side, i just could not find any deeper emotions to give. yes, i understand how heartbreaking this situation is and i get that situations like happen more often than they should, but i just found myself not really emotionally invested in this story. i hope that doesnt make me a bad person, because stories like this are so important and need to be told/represented, but i felt very unaffected whilst reading this. which is not what you want with a book like this.
so im conflicted. this was a good book, but i was really wanting more from it. however, i think this is a book everyone should read just because of its message alone.
3.5 stars
on the positive side of things, the writing was beyond beautiful. and i really liked the title, even more so once i read how it plays into the story. i am sucker for books where the main characters are boy-girl twins. i really wish i had a boy twin, myself. and so learning about how mara was ‘a girl made of stars’ and how it played into the relationship with her brother was really rewarding.
but on the negative side, i just could not find any deeper emotions to give. yes, i understand how heartbreaking this situation is and i get that situations like happen more often than they should, but i just found myself not really emotionally invested in this story. i hope that doesnt make me a bad person, because stories like this are so important and need to be told/represented, but i felt very unaffected whilst reading this. which is not what you want with a book like this.
so im conflicted. this was a good book, but i was really wanting more from it. however, i think this is a book everyone should read just because of its message alone.
3.5 stars
March 29, 2019
4.5 Poignant, Emotional & Thought-Provoking Stars for Girl Made of Stars!
This book was beautifully written. Rape, abuse, and sexuality are not easy topics. Blake did an amazing job of telling this all too important story. It was told with hope, love and healing. It doesn't sugar coat life after abuse. Yet, it was powerful in its message that victims are worth the telling. That despite a culture that often places blame on the victim they are worth believing. That there are people who will listen. That they are not simply victims - they are survivors.
This is the story of Mara. Mara is such a complex character. There was simply no way I could not adore her. She was both broken and brave, scared and strong. Mara is struggling with trauma. A secret she has kept for years that is eating away at her. It causes panic attacks, PTSD and anxiety. The silence, shame and trauma she suffered were heart wrenching to read about.
Mara is a twin. Mara & Owen are as close as twins can be. That makes it all the more complex when one of her best friends, Hannah, accuses Owen of rape. Hannah and Owen were dating. They had been sexually intimate in the past. Hannah said no, in the heat of things. Owen didn't stop. What I truly appreciated was that Blake didn't sugar coat how difficult this was for Mara. She struggled with her belief. This was her brother. How this rape affected her family, her friendships and ultimately her own truth were written with such honesty and vulnerability that it made my heart ache.
"Some parts of me are gone. Some others have come alive, woken by the need to fight, to matter, to be heard. Some parts are wary, others angry, others heartbroken. But I'm still me. I'm still moving. We all are, in some way or another."
This is YA that transcends its label. It's a book that should be read, experienced and felt by all ages and genders.
This book was beautifully written. Rape, abuse, and sexuality are not easy topics. Blake did an amazing job of telling this all too important story. It was told with hope, love and healing. It doesn't sugar coat life after abuse. Yet, it was powerful in its message that victims are worth the telling. That despite a culture that often places blame on the victim they are worth believing. That there are people who will listen. That they are not simply victims - they are survivors.
This is the story of Mara. Mara is such a complex character. There was simply no way I could not adore her. She was both broken and brave, scared and strong. Mara is struggling with trauma. A secret she has kept for years that is eating away at her. It causes panic attacks, PTSD and anxiety. The silence, shame and trauma she suffered were heart wrenching to read about.
Mara is a twin. Mara & Owen are as close as twins can be. That makes it all the more complex when one of her best friends, Hannah, accuses Owen of rape. Hannah and Owen were dating. They had been sexually intimate in the past. Hannah said no, in the heat of things. Owen didn't stop. What I truly appreciated was that Blake didn't sugar coat how difficult this was for Mara. She struggled with her belief. This was her brother. How this rape affected her family, her friendships and ultimately her own truth were written with such honesty and vulnerability that it made my heart ache.
"Some parts of me are gone. Some others have come alive, woken by the need to fight, to matter, to be heard. Some parts are wary, others angry, others heartbroken. But I'm still me. I'm still moving. We all are, in some way or another."
This is YA that transcends its label. It's a book that should be read, experienced and felt by all ages and genders.
August 20, 2018
Powerful, emotional, and thought-provoking, Ashley Herring Blake's
Girl Made of Stars
is a beautifully written, poignant book about the bonds of family and friendship, gender and sexual identity, the emotional traumas faced by victims of sexual abuse and assault (not to mention the "blame the victim" mentality which is all too prevalent), and the confusion and anxiety which often accompanies love.
This was utterly phenomenal.
"Once upon a time...a brother and sister lived with the stars. They were happy and had wild adventures exploring the sky."
Mara and Owen are twins, so similar and yet so different from one another, yet they are incredibly close. But one night following a big high school party, Owen's girlfriend Hannah (who is also one of Mara's best friends) accuses Owen of raping her. How could someone Mara once shared a womb with, someone she knows better than anyone else, have done such a thing? Even as their parents rally around Owen and declare his innocence, can Mara believe her brother is truly innocent? If not, what does that do to their relationship? And if so, what happens to her friendship with Hannah?
Confused, hurt, and angry at so many people after the incident, Mara feels adrift because her relationship with her ex-girlfriend Charlie is tremendously uncertain. She knows she wants to be with Charlie but is afraid of what that means, afraid of letting someone get too close. But more than that, Mara has been able to keep a traumatic event in her own life a secret, but at what cost? If she speaks up, will anyone believe her? Will her parents believe her? Or will she be treated by her peers, her friends, her family in the same way Hannah has been?
"What else is there to do? What else is there for any girl to do, when everyone but her can just forget everything like a random bad dream? I have no idea what moving on sounds like, looks like. I've spent the past three years trying and decidedly not getting over anything."
Girl Made of Stars doesn't exist in a fantasy world where every person who does wrong is punished, and everyone learns from their mistakes. It's a book that accepts that life is often grey rather than simply black and white, but we can't stop fighting for what is right, fighting to make sure those who do wrong are punished. I think that's why this book works so well—it's never heavy-handed or preachy, but it does emphasize the difference between acceptable and unacceptable behavior.
Ashley Herring Blake is amazingly talented. Her ear for dialogue, her eye for evocative imagery, the flawed yet unforgettable characters all dazzled. One of the greatest compliments I can give is that this book felt a little like one of Jandy Nelson's exquisite books, two of my absolute favorites ( I'll Give You the Sun and The Sky is Everywhere ), yet she is an author with a style all her own.
Like many YA books—and like life, honestly—there are moments in this book in which you wish the characters would just say what they were feeling rather than avoid the truth. But while those moments may cause frustration they are realistic, particularly given the issues that these characters are confronting, so it didn't detract from my enjoyment of this book.
Beautiful, emotional, and thought-provoking. I couldn't ask for anything more!
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com, or check out my list of the best books I read in 2017 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2017.html.
This was utterly phenomenal.
"Once upon a time...a brother and sister lived with the stars. They were happy and had wild adventures exploring the sky."
Mara and Owen are twins, so similar and yet so different from one another, yet they are incredibly close. But one night following a big high school party, Owen's girlfriend Hannah (who is also one of Mara's best friends) accuses Owen of raping her. How could someone Mara once shared a womb with, someone she knows better than anyone else, have done such a thing? Even as their parents rally around Owen and declare his innocence, can Mara believe her brother is truly innocent? If not, what does that do to their relationship? And if so, what happens to her friendship with Hannah?
Confused, hurt, and angry at so many people after the incident, Mara feels adrift because her relationship with her ex-girlfriend Charlie is tremendously uncertain. She knows she wants to be with Charlie but is afraid of what that means, afraid of letting someone get too close. But more than that, Mara has been able to keep a traumatic event in her own life a secret, but at what cost? If she speaks up, will anyone believe her? Will her parents believe her? Or will she be treated by her peers, her friends, her family in the same way Hannah has been?
"What else is there to do? What else is there for any girl to do, when everyone but her can just forget everything like a random bad dream? I have no idea what moving on sounds like, looks like. I've spent the past three years trying and decidedly not getting over anything."
Girl Made of Stars doesn't exist in a fantasy world where every person who does wrong is punished, and everyone learns from their mistakes. It's a book that accepts that life is often grey rather than simply black and white, but we can't stop fighting for what is right, fighting to make sure those who do wrong are punished. I think that's why this book works so well—it's never heavy-handed or preachy, but it does emphasize the difference between acceptable and unacceptable behavior.
Ashley Herring Blake is amazingly talented. Her ear for dialogue, her eye for evocative imagery, the flawed yet unforgettable characters all dazzled. One of the greatest compliments I can give is that this book felt a little like one of Jandy Nelson's exquisite books, two of my absolute favorites ( I'll Give You the Sun and The Sky is Everywhere ), yet she is an author with a style all her own.
Like many YA books—and like life, honestly—there are moments in this book in which you wish the characters would just say what they were feeling rather than avoid the truth. But while those moments may cause frustration they are realistic, particularly given the issues that these characters are confronting, so it didn't detract from my enjoyment of this book.
Beautiful, emotional, and thought-provoking. I couldn't ask for anything more!
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com, or check out my list of the best books I read in 2017 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2017.html.
September 24, 2018
Wow. This book made me so very anxious but it was SUCH an important read and I was crying buckets of tears at the end. And then the author’s note 😭😭
Tw: rape, victim shaming, pedophilia
Tw: rape, victim shaming, pedophilia
July 13, 2018
Even girls made of stars are captives, bound at the wrists and traded like property. Even girls made of stars aren’t asked, aren’t believed, aren’t considered worth the effort unless they can offer something in return.
Even girls made of stars buy into those lies sometimes.
TW: Sexual assault and rape. Readers should especially take caution with Chapter Eighteen, especially those of you who have had your own experiences, because it was very difficult to read.
I can't remember the last time I shed so many tears over a book. I wasn't even halfway through with this one and they were already rolling down my cheeks in abundance. That is very rare for me, because normally it would take at least nearing the end for a story or its characters to elicit a strong emotional reaction out of me, let alone straight up tears. But with this one, I can't even tell you how many moments choked me up.
I jumped into this book without reading the blurb, so I went into it having no idea what it was going to be about. As soon as I saw the story unfold, I was immediately invested. The way this book is written and the way these events were treated was just so beautifully and realistically done. I genuinely felt horrible for Mara because of the impossible dilemma she had to face, causing her to question everything about her own twin brother who she was supposed to love unconditionally. I also felt for Hannah and my heart shattered for her when she felt the need to apologize, as if any of this was her fault.
This book poses that question that many of us would never dare to answer; if someone in your family that you love dearly was accused of such a heinous act, would you still stand by them no matter what? Even if the odds seem very likely that they may have really done said act? Would you blindly support them and sit idly by while they kept spreading lies and blamed the person they took advantage of and victimized? Would you do all of that simply because they're family?
We normally wouldn't even want to think about these things, but this book tackles this very subject in a way that was achingly realistic. The way Mara's feminist mother was so quick to bury herself in denial and stand by her son no matter what, even if perhaps somewhere deep down she knew that there were holes in his story. She wouldn't even entertain the possibility of her own son committing such a horrible thing. The fact that Mara herself which ultimately made this whole situation even worse for her. It was just so well-done and so heart-wrenching.
And that's not the only thing this book tackles. It also touches on slut-shaming, sexuality and gender identity. All of these were also handled extremely well. Hell, there was even somewhat of a love triangle in this book and even THAT worked, because it wasn't the contrived, pandering kind of love triangle we often see in YA. You know a book is amazing when even something like a freaking love triangle is portrayed in a realistic way that made sense.
That's really why I adore this book, the unflinching realism of it. I was sort of worried going in that it would be a little too flowery or lyrical, kind of like those contemporary books that are written as if they're magical realism books, but this one is just completely raw and honest and accurate, with just a dash of lyrical prose here and there that added to its beauty. The overall message and the serious themes being explored never got weighed down by the prose, they worked beautifully together.
Of course the subject matter of this book is frustrating, especially in this post-Weinstein era we live in and the growing of the #MeToo movement, but this book managed to voice all of those frustrations and call out these issues in such a poignant, HONEST way. This is probably one of the most important books I've ever read and will no doubt make it into my end of the year list.
This is a book that everyone should read and talk about and hand over all the awards to. Ashley Herring Blake has created a masterpiece.
January 11, 2024
“Mientras lo escucho hablar y lo observo siento como si mi piel se estuviera desprendiendo de mi cuerpo, luchando por revelar a esta nueva chica que no estoy segura de que quiera ser...
Porque sé que mi hermano está mintiendo.”
No se que decir.
Es una historia con demasiado poder.
La historia de Mara y Hannah es muy dolorosa, demasiado injusta. Si eres mujer y estás leyendo esto estoy segura de que alguna vez en tu vida fuiste acosada (en cualquier ámbito) por un hombre, y si tienes la suerte de no haber pasado por esto aún, lamento decirte que algún día ocurrirá. No lo digo por un pensamiento negativo, sino porque la realidad es demasiado horrible y hay que enfrentarla.
Pero hay un punto y aparte que igualmente va agarrado de la mano con ello: un abuso.
Algo que me encantó de este libro es que es muy real. No es un cuento de hadas, tampoco es una versión idealista de la realidad en la que podemos ver lo que más deseamos: que esa persona que nos dañó sea castigada. La realidad es que no es así, y en muchos casos no llega a más que un juicio mínimo o una denuncia que jamás se tiene en cuenta.
Es horrible pero este mundo calla nuestra voz para ayudar al hombre ; para tratarnos de locas o mentirosas sobre temas tan delicado como este.
Por suerte existen fundaciones y grupos que realmente quieren ayudar a la mujer, aunque siempre va a existir alguien, algún conservador o cualquier humano espantoso que no quiere que llegue a más y destruya la posibilidad de una mujer se sienta segura sabiendo que su acosador o abusador recibirá una condena.
Si estás leyendo esto por favor siempre ayuda a la mujer que esté a tu lado. Puede no caerte bien, incluso no conocerla pero es alguien vulnerable en este mundo de mierda en el que vivimos. Un mundo que protege a un hombre y villaniza a una mujer.
Si conoces a una mujer que está sufriendo abuso por alguien, por favor ayúdala a denunciar, aunque muchos digan que tal vez no sirva para nada.
Ahí afuera hay gente que quiere apoyarte y brindarte las fuerzas para salir de una situación así .
Historia:
Ya hablando sobre toda la historia, no tengo mucho para decir; sólo pienso en el dolor que conlleva ser mujer.
Porque ser mujer es algo maravilloso y tienen tantas contras externas a nosotras.
Desearía que este mundo fuera diferente.
Me gusta el enfoque familiar que tiene. Como una madre que realmente defiende a la mujer puede incluso volverse en contra de la misma, sólo por no creer que un familiar... un hijo, esté involucrado en un abuso. Como le dan la espalda a alguien más (conociendo a esa persona) y niegan rotundamente que aquel familiar haya cometido algo así. No dudan por ningún momento de esa persona.
Pero luego tenemos la gente más joven, que con ayuda de otras puede plantearse dos veces lo que aquel familiar hizo, al que tanto desean creerle. Y en este caso tenemos a Mara, que se debate entre creerle a una de sus mejores amigas o confiar en que su hermano no la abusó.
También tenemos esos flashbacks de Mara cuando era pequeña sufriendo un acoso. Y es aquí donde se abre un debate en el que incluso una persona que ha sufrido algo así en su vida, también tiende a dudar de la palabra de la víctima por defender a su familia o amigo.
Para muchos puede ser obvio el lado que debería elegir Mara, lo cierto es que es realmente complicado para ser sinceros.
Mara recorre un largo camino en todo este libro, hasta llegar a aceptarse a sí misma, tener la fuerza para enfrentarse totalmente a la realidad y hacer lo correcto.
Debo admitir que es muy doloroso de leer pero es necesario conocer historias como está.
También toca temas muy actuales: la libertad sexual, homosexualidad, descubrimiento personal, temas Queer.
Sin duda me gusta que no se haya centrado un 100% el tema del abuso, también conocemos sobre la sexualidad de Mara, conocemos a Charlie como queer, hombres buenos como Alex, la sororidad como Greta, etc.
Es un libro muy poderoso y fácil de leer. Los personajes pasan mucho tiempo en autos jajajaja, pero lo veo como un ir y venir para no pensar en aquello que tanto les está rompiendo el alma.
•Punto negativo y el porqué le baje una estrella: Mara y Alex.
Su relación me estaba gustando demasiado, Mara había terminado con Charlie hacia solo una semana más o menos y Charlie ya estaba con otra chica.
Lo vi como una especie bastante mala de ex pareja y por eso me costó un poco encariñarme con ella.
Soy #TeamAlex, me gusta muchísimo para Mara, y toda esa pelea que tuvieron en la que ella se enojó porque él no le contó cosas ME ENOJO MUCHÍSIMO. Siento que en ese momento la autora justificó totalmente que Mara decidiera quedarse con Charlie de vuelta. Lo peor es que Alex había hecho lo correcto, era mucho más importante que el juez supiera lo que tenía para decir que Mara.
Básicamente ella quiso estar con Alex y él se la siguió, es un hombre, o sea, no tienen mucho problema(?)
Siempre fue muy bueno con ella y no merecía que le dijera que sólo tenían roses porque necesitaban usarse entre sí, Mara lo convenció de eso y Alex lo creyó.
No me gustó.
Además siento que la autora al plantear a Mara como alguien que vivió bastantes experiencias negativas con hombres desde niña y ahora hasta con su hermano, terminar en una relación con un chico habría sido extraño.
Pero a mi me habría parecido una excelente conclusión si le daba la oportunidad a Alex, porque nos daría a entender que por más que haya hombres horribles en este mundo, también existen unos totalmente opuestos como es el caso de él.
En fin, fue como un triangulo amoroso bastante forzado si me lo preguntan. Todo estaba saliendo muy bien pero la autora ya sabía como iba terminar asique sólo creó drama innecesario. Ya hay mucho drama para agregarle más.
Porque sé que mi hermano está mintiendo.”
No se que decir.
Es una historia con demasiado poder.
La historia de Mara y Hannah es muy dolorosa, demasiado injusta. Si eres mujer y estás leyendo esto estoy segura de que alguna vez en tu vida fuiste acosada (en cualquier ámbito) por un hombre, y si tienes la suerte de no haber pasado por esto aún, lamento decirte que algún día ocurrirá. No lo digo por un pensamiento negativo, sino porque la realidad es demasiado horrible y hay que enfrentarla.
Pero hay un punto y aparte que igualmente va agarrado de la mano con ello: un abuso.
Algo que me encantó de este libro es que es muy real. No es un cuento de hadas, tampoco es una versión idealista de la realidad en la que podemos ver lo que más deseamos: que esa persona que nos dañó sea castigada. La realidad es que no es así, y en muchos casos no llega a más que un juicio mínimo o una denuncia que jamás se tiene en cuenta.
Es horrible pero este mundo calla nuestra voz para ayudar al hombre ; para tratarnos de locas o mentirosas sobre temas tan delicado como este.
Por suerte existen fundaciones y grupos que realmente quieren ayudar a la mujer, aunque siempre va a existir alguien, algún conservador o cualquier humano espantoso que no quiere que llegue a más y destruya la posibilidad de una mujer se sienta segura sabiendo que su acosador o abusador recibirá una condena.
Si estás leyendo esto por favor siempre ayuda a la mujer que esté a tu lado. Puede no caerte bien, incluso no conocerla pero es alguien vulnerable en este mundo de mierda en el que vivimos. Un mundo que protege a un hombre y villaniza a una mujer.
Si conoces a una mujer que está sufriendo abuso por alguien, por favor ayúdala a denunciar, aunque muchos digan que tal vez no sirva para nada.
Ahí afuera hay gente que quiere apoyarte y brindarte las fuerzas para salir de una situación así .
Historia:
Ya hablando sobre toda la historia, no tengo mucho para decir; sólo pienso en el dolor que conlleva ser mujer.
Porque ser mujer es algo maravilloso y tienen tantas contras externas a nosotras.
Desearía que este mundo fuera diferente.
Me gusta el enfoque familiar que tiene. Como una madre que realmente defiende a la mujer puede incluso volverse en contra de la misma, sólo por no creer que un familiar... un hijo, esté involucrado en un abuso. Como le dan la espalda a alguien más (conociendo a esa persona) y niegan rotundamente que aquel familiar haya cometido algo así. No dudan por ningún momento de esa persona.
Pero luego tenemos la gente más joven, que con ayuda de otras puede plantearse dos veces lo que aquel familiar hizo, al que tanto desean creerle. Y en este caso tenemos a Mara, que se debate entre creerle a una de sus mejores amigas o confiar en que su hermano no la abusó.
También tenemos esos flashbacks de Mara cuando era pequeña sufriendo un acoso. Y es aquí donde se abre un debate en el que incluso una persona que ha sufrido algo así en su vida, también tiende a dudar de la palabra de la víctima por defender a su familia o amigo.
Para muchos puede ser obvio el lado que debería elegir Mara, lo cierto es que es realmente complicado para ser sinceros.
Mara recorre un largo camino en todo este libro, hasta llegar a aceptarse a sí misma, tener la fuerza para enfrentarse totalmente a la realidad y hacer lo correcto.
Debo admitir que es muy doloroso de leer pero es necesario conocer historias como está.
También toca temas muy actuales: la libertad sexual, homosexualidad, descubrimiento personal, temas Queer.
Sin duda me gusta que no se haya centrado un 100% el tema del abuso, también conocemos sobre la sexualidad de Mara, conocemos a Charlie como queer, hombres buenos como Alex, la sororidad como Greta, etc.
Es un libro muy poderoso y fácil de leer. Los personajes pasan mucho tiempo en autos jajajaja, pero lo veo como un ir y venir para no pensar en aquello que tanto les está rompiendo el alma.
•Punto negativo y el porqué le baje una estrella: Mara y Alex.
Su relación me estaba gustando demasiado, Mara había terminado con Charlie hacia solo una semana más o menos y Charlie ya estaba con otra chica.
Lo vi como una especie bastante mala de ex pareja y por eso me costó un poco encariñarme con ella.
Soy #TeamAlex, me gusta muchísimo para Mara, y toda esa pelea que tuvieron en la que ella se enojó porque él no le contó cosas ME ENOJO MUCHÍSIMO. Siento que en ese momento la autora justificó totalmente que Mara decidiera quedarse con Charlie de vuelta. Lo peor es que Alex había hecho lo correcto, era mucho más importante que el juez supiera lo que tenía para decir que Mara.
Básicamente ella quiso estar con Alex y él se la siguió, es un hombre, o sea, no tienen mucho problema(?)
Siempre fue muy bueno con ella y no merecía que le dijera que sólo tenían roses porque necesitaban usarse entre sí, Mara lo convenció de eso y Alex lo creyó.
No me gustó.
Además siento que la autora al plantear a Mara como alguien que vivió bastantes experiencias negativas con hombres desde niña y ahora hasta con su hermano, terminar en una relación con un chico habría sido extraño.
Pero a mi me habría parecido una excelente conclusión si le daba la oportunidad a Alex, porque nos daría a entender que por más que haya hombres horribles en este mundo, también existen unos totalmente opuestos como es el caso de él.
En fin, fue como un triangulo amoroso bastante forzado si me lo preguntan. Todo estaba saliendo muy bien pero la autora ya sabía como iba terminar asique sólo creó drama innecesario. Ya hay mucho drama para agregarle más.
July 28, 2018
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the reason why I will never stop reading YA books. This book made me feel like I was drowning and given one second to come up for air before being shoved back under the water. It was so raw and intense that at times I had a lump in my throat from trying not to cry and scream for Hannah and Mara. To put it simply this book hurts but
it is so very important
.
Initially, I was very hesitant to pick this up because let's be real, this is not any easy topic to read about. You know it's going to be a heavy book based on the synopsis alone, but I was also hesitant because if this book was not handled and written the way it was it could have come off as extremely offensive and an utter disaster. Thankfully, it was not and will definitely go down as one of my favorite reads of 2018 and probably one of my favorite books of all time.
Mara, oh, Mara. Where do I being with her? I absolutely loved everything about her. She's such a lovable character who felt so real while reading this. Her growth was absolutely amazing throughout this story. Mara suffers from PTSD, anxiety, and panic attacks due to a prior sexual assault incident, and my heart ACHED for her. When Mara's twin brother, who is her entire world, is accused of raping her best friend it's no surprise that Mara struggles greatly with this for various reasons. How could her brother possibly do something so heinous? But how can she not believe her best friend? Especially when Mara's family is so quick to stand behind Owen. And so begins Mara's story of realizing that sometimes our loved ones are not who we hoped they would be and coming out the dark place she kept herself in for the last three years.
I want to keep this review short because this book just demands to be felt and read. I don't think any review could ever do justice for how powerful Girl Made of Stars actually is. But before I wrap it up there are a few things I want to add that you can expect from this story also. The first is dealing with gender identities. I'm not sure that I've ever read a book dealing with this before and while I do have to admit that I am not the most familiar with some of the terms that are used regarding gender identities in today's society I am always working on educating myself. So I felt this was a great start. The second is bi-sexuality rep, which I thought was handled extremely well and branched off into other important topics like consent. The third is strong female friendships, you all know I'm a sucker for them and this was no exception.
All in all, I can't remember the last time I've read a book that evoked so many emotions from me. This story is powerful, raw, honest, heart-breaking, and gut wrenching all in one, but it's also a story about survival and finding your voice which is so important in the society we live in today. There are not enough stars in the world I could give this book. There are not enough rooftops I could shout off of telling you to read this book, just do it. Your heart will hurt, you'll cry, you'll want to scream, but this book is absolutely worth the pain.
Blog | Twitter | Instagram
Initially, I was very hesitant to pick this up because let's be real, this is not any easy topic to read about. You know it's going to be a heavy book based on the synopsis alone, but I was also hesitant because if this book was not handled and written the way it was it could have come off as extremely offensive and an utter disaster. Thankfully, it was not and will definitely go down as one of my favorite reads of 2018 and probably one of my favorite books of all time.
Mara, oh, Mara. Where do I being with her? I absolutely loved everything about her. She's such a lovable character who felt so real while reading this. Her growth was absolutely amazing throughout this story. Mara suffers from PTSD, anxiety, and panic attacks due to a prior sexual assault incident, and my heart ACHED for her. When Mara's twin brother, who is her entire world, is accused of raping her best friend it's no surprise that Mara struggles greatly with this for various reasons. How could her brother possibly do something so heinous? But how can she not believe her best friend? Especially when Mara's family is so quick to stand behind Owen. And so begins Mara's story of realizing that sometimes our loved ones are not who we hoped they would be and coming out the dark place she kept herself in for the last three years.
I want to keep this review short because this book just demands to be felt and read. I don't think any review could ever do justice for how powerful Girl Made of Stars actually is. But before I wrap it up there are a few things I want to add that you can expect from this story also. The first is dealing with gender identities. I'm not sure that I've ever read a book dealing with this before and while I do have to admit that I am not the most familiar with some of the terms that are used regarding gender identities in today's society I am always working on educating myself. So I felt this was a great start. The second is bi-sexuality rep, which I thought was handled extremely well and branched off into other important topics like consent. The third is strong female friendships, you all know I'm a sucker for them and this was no exception.
All in all, I can't remember the last time I've read a book that evoked so many emotions from me. This story is powerful, raw, honest, heart-breaking, and gut wrenching all in one, but it's also a story about survival and finding your voice which is so important in the society we live in today. There are not enough stars in the world I could give this book. There are not enough rooftops I could shout off of telling you to read this book, just do it. Your heart will hurt, you'll cry, you'll want to scream, but this book is absolutely worth the pain.
Blog | Twitter | Instagram
March 22, 2019
I'm glad this book exists, this topic is so important.
May 12, 2018
I feel wrung out emotionally after reading this. This was my first Ashley Herring Blake novel, and I’m going to pick up her other books as soon as I can. Her writing was beautiful and strong. She handled such a devastating topic really well, and in a way that was realistic, brutal, and yet hopeful.
December 28, 2018
✪✪✪✪✪
After reading this book I have become a girl made of pain.
➽ FULL REVIEW NOW POSTED
Find this review and more content in my blog, Ink Is My Sword
⚠ rape, sexual assault, panic attacks
💬
When everyone I know gives a book 5 stars there is a small part of me wanting to defy the normal and be different, here is the thing there is NO way I could do that in this case. This book is a heart-breaking masterpiece, rating stars are not enough to encapsulate all my feelings and thoughts for this book. The journey of reading this novel was so nerve-wracking and hurtful, I truly cannot understand how the author was able to finish it, I certainly applaud it.
The concept of the story screams please proceed with caution. I mean it could have been a shit show. The idea of telling the story of the twin of the perpetrator, and at the same time best friend of the victim, its genius. When reading headlines in the news, it is easy to forget all the people involved are humans. Humans with emotional links to others, humans with family, humans who are flawed but also loved. In this book, is easily shown how painful and hard can be to accept that someone you knew was not what you thought they were..
A story that weights pounds was compacted in a 200 something page book, perfectly. For a contemporary, the story flowed without slumps of boredom, or to-slow sections. Every chapter, every scene something was happening. Ashely wrote the story where it kept giving turns and putting me in the edge of my seat holding a breath (I knew I was holding). The actions Mara took at the end, the constant peace to conflict moods, almost made me rip all my hair. It's a book that never makes you disengage, it demands your 100%.
I wish I could reach into the page and hug every single character, even the bad ones.
★Mara:
I loved how real and flawed her character was. It was realistic for her to be so conflicted when confronting both of her favourite people. I loved to see how Ashley showed rape does not only affect the victim but also others. Mara kept surprising me by the end of the novel, she confronted her past in ways I wasn’t expecting, but I was glad I was watching it unfold. I wish I could give her a hug to let her know I understand how hard everything is, and how brave she is for confronting everything and trying to be fair with the morality of things.
★Charlie:
I am not gonna lie I am completely biased when I say, I loved Charlie. Charlie is the epitome of my type. They are artistic, creative and a great person. I loved how they were there for Mara even if they were supporting Hannah. Can I just please marry you?
I do wanna address the pronoun issue I saw in some reviews. We did got a scene were Charlie told Mara they didn’t mind if they were called her, so I do not have a huge issue with the narration. YET I would have preferred Mara referred to Charlie as them at least in her thought processing and when talking to them. I wish I could give Charlie a hug saying how they are valid and how their parents are gonna love them anyway. And that they deserve all the love, especially mine.
★Alex:
He is a cinnamon roll, who plays the violin. He had a lot in his shoulders as well, one of the things I loved the most about his characterization was the freedom he had to show emotions. We got multiple scenes of him sobbing and although it made me sad for him I also was happy to see male characters crying, BECAUSE IT'S NORMAL. I wish to hug Alex and tell him everything was gonna be okay.
★Hannah:
She was definitely a character I wish I got more insight too. I know why we didn’t, as the story is more focused on Mara, but Hannah plays a huge role in all of it. I wasn’t able to connect as much I wanted, I really wish we got a sequel following Hannah with the aftermaths. I wish I could hear and tell her I am sorry for all the evil in this world and remind her of how strong she still is.
★Owen:
UGH, but also I feel a bit for you. He definitely messed up and I couldn’t stop myself to feel for him a bit when he was nice to Mara yet the rumours he spread when he knew he had been at fault made me not redeem him at all. I wish to hug him just to see if it would break his wall to make him realize how bad he screwed up.
★Parents:
Not going to lie I wanted to slap Mara’s mom so hard. Ups, but really. She is a perfect example of a person who fights and stands for rights when nothing affects them, yet when they are involved everything is different. I wanna hug her because I know how painful her position must be, but at the same time directly slap her after letting go.
For a book with such a heavy topic in focus, I was surprised to still be engaged in different relationships. Charlie and Mara, made my heart beat wildly. Mara and Alex made me tear some.
C+M
Of course, the main relationship in the book. I have a soft spot for their connection because they started as friends and then evolved to more, it’s definitely one of my favourites romantic tropes. I loved the angst and how they were still trying to make their friendship survive after their break up. Although this book hs a very sad undertone, my belly felt butterflies in some scenes between both of them.
M+A
I am guessing many of you don’t consider what happened between Mara and Alex a relationship even, but I took it as a bond made by tragedy and need to share the pain. I loved this depiction of physical and emotional need. It felt raw and real, and I was surprised by how well I took them not being an actual couple.
Rape. This is a difficult theme to cover, is so easy to not handle it with care or just using it as a plot device, but I found Ashley explored a whole new side of this terrible thing. We get to see how difficult can rape become for all the people surrounding the people involved. I was very glad to see the play of the grey lines between the black and white fo things. The fact that Owen is not a villain completely strange to us made everything more difficult to swallow. Yes, I was mad there wasn't exactly justice meet, but I appreciated the realness it gave to everything.
😻Everything.
😾Nothing.
My Christmas wish is for more people to pick this book up.
📢
Recommendation. If you like hard-hitting contemporaries then you will enjoy this book.
💭Pre-reading thoughts:
Finally getting to one of the most hyped books by my GR friends.
I hope this book doesn't break me too much.
Buddy-read with my queen and now youtube superstar🌺
After reading this book I have become a girl made of pain.
➽ FULL REVIEW NOW POSTED
Find this review and more content in my blog, Ink Is My Sword
“Even girls made of stars are captives, bound at the wrists and traded like property. Even girls made of stars aren't asked, aren't believed, aren't considered worth the effort unless they can offer something in return.
Even girls made of stars buy into those lies sometimes.”
All images were found on Pinterest, I do not own any of them.
⚠ rape, sexual assault, panic attacks
💬
When everyone I know gives a book 5 stars there is a small part of me wanting to defy the normal and be different, here is the thing there is NO way I could do that in this case. This book is a heart-breaking masterpiece, rating stars are not enough to encapsulate all my feelings and thoughts for this book. The journey of reading this novel was so nerve-wracking and hurtful, I truly cannot understand how the author was able to finish it, I certainly applaud it.
The concept of the story screams please proceed with caution. I mean it could have been a shit show. The idea of telling the story of the twin of the perpetrator, and at the same time best friend of the victim, its genius. When reading headlines in the news, it is easy to forget all the people involved are humans. Humans with emotional links to others, humans with family, humans who are flawed but also loved. In this book, is easily shown how painful and hard can be to accept that someone you knew was not what you thought they were..
A story that weights pounds was compacted in a 200 something page book, perfectly. For a contemporary, the story flowed without slumps of boredom, or to-slow sections. Every chapter, every scene something was happening. Ashely wrote the story where it kept giving turns and putting me in the edge of my seat holding a breath (I knew I was holding). The actions Mara took at the end, the constant peace to conflict moods, almost made me rip all my hair. It's a book that never makes you disengage, it demands your 100%.
I wish I could reach into the page and hug every single character, even the bad ones.
★Mara:
I loved how real and flawed her character was. It was realistic for her to be so conflicted when confronting both of her favourite people. I loved to see how Ashley showed rape does not only affect the victim but also others. Mara kept surprising me by the end of the novel, she confronted her past in ways I wasn’t expecting, but I was glad I was watching it unfold. I wish I could give her a hug to let her know I understand how hard everything is, and how brave she is for confronting everything and trying to be fair with the morality of things.
★Charlie:
I am not gonna lie I am completely biased when I say, I loved Charlie. Charlie is the epitome of my type. They are artistic, creative and a great person. I loved how they were there for Mara even if they were supporting Hannah. Can I just please marry you?
I do wanna address the pronoun issue I saw in some reviews. We did got a scene were Charlie told Mara they didn’t mind if they were called her, so I do not have a huge issue with the narration. YET I would have preferred Mara referred to Charlie as them at least in her thought processing and when talking to them. I wish I could give Charlie a hug saying how they are valid and how their parents are gonna love them anyway. And that they deserve all the love, especially mine.
★Alex:
He is a cinnamon roll, who plays the violin. He had a lot in his shoulders as well, one of the things I loved the most about his characterization was the freedom he had to show emotions. We got multiple scenes of him sobbing and although it made me sad for him I also was happy to see male characters crying, BECAUSE IT'S NORMAL. I wish to hug Alex and tell him everything was gonna be okay.
★Hannah:
She was definitely a character I wish I got more insight too. I know why we didn’t, as the story is more focused on Mara, but Hannah plays a huge role in all of it. I wasn’t able to connect as much I wanted, I really wish we got a sequel following Hannah with the aftermaths. I wish I could hear and tell her I am sorry for all the evil in this world and remind her of how strong she still is.
★Owen:
UGH, but also I feel a bit for you. He definitely messed up and I couldn’t stop myself to feel for him a bit when he was nice to Mara yet the rumours he spread when he knew he had been at fault made me not redeem him at all. I wish to hug him just to see if it would break his wall to make him realize how bad he screwed up.
★Parents:
Not going to lie I wanted to slap Mara’s mom so hard. Ups, but really. She is a perfect example of a person who fights and stands for rights when nothing affects them, yet when they are involved everything is different. I wanna hug her because I know how painful her position must be, but at the same time directly slap her after letting go.
For a book with such a heavy topic in focus, I was surprised to still be engaged in different relationships. Charlie and Mara, made my heart beat wildly. Mara and Alex made me tear some.
C+M
Of course, the main relationship in the book. I have a soft spot for their connection because they started as friends and then evolved to more, it’s definitely one of my favourites romantic tropes. I loved the angst and how they were still trying to make their friendship survive after their break up. Although this book hs a very sad undertone, my belly felt butterflies in some scenes between both of them.
M+A
I am guessing many of you don’t consider what happened between Mara and Alex a relationship even, but I took it as a bond made by tragedy and need to share the pain. I loved this depiction of physical and emotional need. It felt raw and real, and I was surprised by how well I took them not being an actual couple.
Rape. This is a difficult theme to cover, is so easy to not handle it with care or just using it as a plot device, but I found Ashley explored a whole new side of this terrible thing. We get to see how difficult can rape become for all the people surrounding the people involved. I was very glad to see the play of the grey lines between the black and white fo things. The fact that Owen is not a villain completely strange to us made everything more difficult to swallow. Yes, I was mad there wasn't exactly justice meet, but I appreciated the realness it gave to everything.
😻Everything.
😾Nothing.
My Christmas wish is for more people to pick this book up.
“It’s changed me forever, but changed doesn’t have to mean broken.”
📢
Recommendation. If you like hard-hitting contemporaries then you will enjoy this book.
💭Pre-reading thoughts:
Finally getting to one of the most hyped books by my GR friends.
I hope this book doesn't break me too much.
Buddy-read with my queen and now youtube superstar🌺
June 12, 2018
tw: sexual assault
This was so powerful, I wish it was a little longer though.
This was so powerful, I wish it was a little longer though.
August 30, 2018
Library Young Adult ebook...
excellent discussion pick!
“Sweetie, this will blow over. It’s a misunderstanding. You know your brother”.
“You keep saying that”.
“Saying what?”.
“That it’s a misunderstanding. That I know Owen. But...Mom, I know Hannah, too”.
“What do we do?” What’s going to happen to Owen? And Hannah... we can’t just not listen to her. You’ve always said that we have to listen to girls no matter—“
“He’s ours, Mara, Mom says, a kind of quiet fury edging her words. He’s my son. And we love him. That’s what we do”.
Mara feels numb. Mom is kinda freaking out. Dad... well.... he is kinda comatose...
Mara’s twin brother, Owen is accused of raping Mara’s best friend, Hannah.
As I followed this story... I paused early on and tried to imagine myself in the shoes of any one of these characters. After finishing this novel I was simply frozen for several minutes. I wasn’t sure what I ‘thought’ ...but I definitely ‘felt’ sad.
Many minutes later— I painfully appreciated what the author set out to do - and accomplished.
Punching- gut powerful ending! Satisfying? Readers can decide....
Truthful? ... ‘pretty much’!!!
Mara had a close relationship with her twin brother, Owen.
She had seen him crude with his friends, but he was never that way with her. With her,
“he’s a boy made of stars, soft and light and safe”.
Mom use to tell them stories at bedtime about the two of them - twins born in June- soaring through the sky.
“Once upon a time, a brother and sister lived with the stars. They were happy and had wild adventures exploring the sky...”
Home is so cozy when little with those bedtime stories....
then enter ‘𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞’ out in the world....less cozy.
I kept thinking about the title of the book: “Girl Made of Stars”....
Not TWINS made of stars....
So?? I wondered... what was coming down the pipes? And why ‘this’ specific title?
Made perfect sense after I finished reading it.
For Mara...there were too many unsaid things in her life to say anything at all....
how she felt about her brother - her family- herself. She was splitting in two -scared constantly.
Recurring nightmares about losing her voice happened at least once a week. She had haunting unexpressed memories. Mara will be forced to face her own past ...not a pretty picture with no easy solutions.
The author dives smack in the middle of the complexities of our closest relationships — presenting us with gut-wrenching issues to examine: haunting lessons about how gentle folks we love and trust can be capable of great brutalities.
Relevant important issues inside this Teen-Gem..with an ending not easy to forget and think about long after.
Well written- completely engaging! I’m glad I read it.
Thanks to Larry H. His review inspired me yesterday and our library had it available.
excellent discussion pick!
“Sweetie, this will blow over. It’s a misunderstanding. You know your brother”.
“You keep saying that”.
“Saying what?”.
“That it’s a misunderstanding. That I know Owen. But...Mom, I know Hannah, too”.
“What do we do?” What’s going to happen to Owen? And Hannah... we can’t just not listen to her. You’ve always said that we have to listen to girls no matter—“
“He’s ours, Mara, Mom says, a kind of quiet fury edging her words. He’s my son. And we love him. That’s what we do”.
Mara feels numb. Mom is kinda freaking out. Dad... well.... he is kinda comatose...
Mara’s twin brother, Owen is accused of raping Mara’s best friend, Hannah.
As I followed this story... I paused early on and tried to imagine myself in the shoes of any one of these characters. After finishing this novel I was simply frozen for several minutes. I wasn’t sure what I ‘thought’ ...but I definitely ‘felt’ sad.
Many minutes later— I painfully appreciated what the author set out to do - and accomplished.
Punching- gut powerful ending! Satisfying? Readers can decide....
Truthful? ... ‘pretty much’!!!
Mara had a close relationship with her twin brother, Owen.
She had seen him crude with his friends, but he was never that way with her. With her,
“he’s a boy made of stars, soft and light and safe”.
Mom use to tell them stories at bedtime about the two of them - twins born in June- soaring through the sky.
“Once upon a time, a brother and sister lived with the stars. They were happy and had wild adventures exploring the sky...”
Home is so cozy when little with those bedtime stories....
then enter ‘𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞’ out in the world....less cozy.
I kept thinking about the title of the book: “Girl Made of Stars”....
Not TWINS made of stars....
So?? I wondered... what was coming down the pipes? And why ‘this’ specific title?
Made perfect sense after I finished reading it.
For Mara...there were too many unsaid things in her life to say anything at all....
how she felt about her brother - her family- herself. She was splitting in two -scared constantly.
Recurring nightmares about losing her voice happened at least once a week. She had haunting unexpressed memories. Mara will be forced to face her own past ...not a pretty picture with no easy solutions.
The author dives smack in the middle of the complexities of our closest relationships — presenting us with gut-wrenching issues to examine: haunting lessons about how gentle folks we love and trust can be capable of great brutalities.
Relevant important issues inside this Teen-Gem..with an ending not easy to forget and think about long after.
Well written- completely engaging! I’m glad I read it.
Thanks to Larry H. His review inspired me yesterday and our library had it available.
June 20, 2019
I am dead inside.
.
Buddy read with my Maggie.
.
Buddy read with my Maggie.
July 21, 2020
For such a good concept, this was so disappointing.
None of the characters elicited any connection from me. Mara irritated me most of the way through (I had a reason for this when I finished it last night but I didn't write it down so naturally I've forgotten it by now, oops). Charlie was kind of a shitty friend but we're expected to like her, which no. Not to mention Mara and Charlie's relationship didn't seem all that healthy?? Mara was so stressed over everything with Charlie and they had this on-again-off-again thing going on, which obviously isn't good for moving on. Hannah as a person was alright, I didn't mind her, but the constant description of her hair as tangled, wild and mane-like is in direct clash with the emphasis on how pretty her hair is. That makes no sense. No one looks good with a rat's nest. Don't lie to me. Not a big deal, just kind of weird.
Owen was supposed to be a good, loving brother who did something horrible but he was presented as your stereotypical sexist dick the entire book. When the premise involves him being a complicated, two-sided character, making him only a bad dude ruins it. It was terrible character writing.
The writing in general wasn't good either. It was pretentious at times and preachy-sounding at others. Overall, it kind of sucked.
None of the characters elicited any connection from me. Mara irritated me most of the way through (I had a reason for this when I finished it last night but I didn't write it down so naturally I've forgotten it by now, oops). Charlie was kind of a shitty friend but we're expected to like her, which no. Not to mention Mara and Charlie's relationship didn't seem all that healthy?? Mara was so stressed over everything with Charlie and they had this on-again-off-again thing going on, which obviously isn't good for moving on. Hannah as a person was alright, I didn't mind her, but the constant description of her hair as tangled, wild and mane-like is in direct clash with the emphasis on how pretty her hair is. That makes no sense. No one looks good with a rat's nest. Don't lie to me. Not a big deal, just kind of weird.
Owen was supposed to be a good, loving brother who did something horrible but he was presented as your stereotypical sexist dick the entire book. When the premise involves him being a complicated, two-sided character, making him only a bad dude ruins it. It was terrible character writing.
The writing in general wasn't good either. It was pretentious at times and preachy-sounding at others. Overall, it kind of sucked.
November 12, 2020
La puta madre no sé que puntaje dar. Cuando baje 25 cambios haré una reseña decente ��
May 10, 2019
This book is truly fantastic! Its such an important, relevant and heart-breaking read, and the author wrote it in both a beautiful and shockingly real way. It's seriously one of the best books I’ve ever read! I'm going to try my hardest to do it justice in this review, but honestly I don't know if that's even possible because there aren't enough words that exist to describe my feelings towards it.
The book follows Mara; one half of Mara and Owen, inseparable twins that have always been close. So when Hannah one of Mara's closest friends accuses Owen of rape, Mara is torn on who to believe out of two people she loves and has always trusted. Split between being loyal to her family and her own sense of truth she begins to feel overwhelmingly lost. Making the trauma from her own past come rolling back, she must face her the past and look to her future. She begins seeking comfort in her brother's best friend Alex and her ex-girlfriend Charlie hoping to make sense of her own feelings and everything that she has lost.
“Even girls made of stars are captives, bound at the wrists and traded like property. Even girls made of stars aren’t asked, aren’t believed, aren’t considered worth the effort unless they can offer something in return.
Even girls made of stars buy into those lies sometimes.”
This book confronts many difficult topics, including questions surrounding consent, victim blaming, and sexual assault. And while being sensitive to the subject matter the author managed to broach it in a very open way that didn't shy away from things that need to be questioned more in society.
"I never got it before, you know? All the stories I've heard other women tell about how much shame there is in being the one it happens to. But there is. There's this weight of responsibility, of... god, I don't know. Of just existing."
Along with the very heavy topics the book is an own voices novel with bisexual representation. And there is also a genderqueer love interest. Which were both excellent to see since I haven't seen nearly enough of this kind of representation in young adult literature. I was very happy to see how amazingly diverse the novel was and how well written each individual character was. Even though I can't relate on a personal level to this specific story, I do find it very exciting to see more and more diversity and the fact that no matter who you are there are books out there with characters going through the same things as me or you. There are even side plot lines in this book exploring anxiety, ptsd, panic attacks, depression, sexism, biphobia, homophobia and bullying. And it was great to see these things brought to light and addressed, however if you do find sensitive subject matter triggering I would keep in mind that the topics aren't brought up in a subtle way.
"Owen has always been loud and kind of crude with his friends, but that's not who he is with me. With me, he's a boy made of stars, soft and light and safe. He always has been."
There wasn't much in terms of romance, since the main character had recently broken up with her girlfriend just prior to the beginning of the novel. But the overall character development was extremely well done. And the relationships and friendships in general were very original and honestly not the usual type of thing you see in young adult contemporary.
"Some parts of me are gone. Some others have come alive, woken by the need to fight, to matter, to be heard. Some parts are wary, others angry, others heartbroken. But I'm still me. I'm still moving."
Overall this book was wonderful and I can't get passed how amazingly well done the novel is. I will definitely be looking into Ashley Herring Blake's past and future works. And I highly recommend you pick up this book, it's a read you don't want to miss. The subjects that are brought to light are so relevant and it's important we keep fighting to change the norm and support this kind of development when it comes to literature. The truth is, that this kind of literature is a ground breaking step in the right direction. If you couldn't already tell, the thing I loved most about this was the representation, but I need to mention it one more time because it is honestly outstanding, and there is even more things that I've not brought up for spoiler reasons. But first and foremost this is a story about survival, the ways in which people deal with trauma, and the endurance of heart-breaking truths.
THANK YOU SO MUCH to Netgalley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group, and Ashley Herring Blake for giving me the chance to read this stunning book in exchange for an honest review.
For more reviews + bookish content, check out my blog: https://www.sophieelaina.com/
The book follows Mara; one half of Mara and Owen, inseparable twins that have always been close. So when Hannah one of Mara's closest friends accuses Owen of rape, Mara is torn on who to believe out of two people she loves and has always trusted. Split between being loyal to her family and her own sense of truth she begins to feel overwhelmingly lost. Making the trauma from her own past come rolling back, she must face her the past and look to her future. She begins seeking comfort in her brother's best friend Alex and her ex-girlfriend Charlie hoping to make sense of her own feelings and everything that she has lost.
“Even girls made of stars are captives, bound at the wrists and traded like property. Even girls made of stars aren’t asked, aren’t believed, aren’t considered worth the effort unless they can offer something in return.
Even girls made of stars buy into those lies sometimes.”
This book confronts many difficult topics, including questions surrounding consent, victim blaming, and sexual assault. And while being sensitive to the subject matter the author managed to broach it in a very open way that didn't shy away from things that need to be questioned more in society.
"I never got it before, you know? All the stories I've heard other women tell about how much shame there is in being the one it happens to. But there is. There's this weight of responsibility, of... god, I don't know. Of just existing."
Along with the very heavy topics the book is an own voices novel with bisexual representation. And there is also a genderqueer love interest. Which were both excellent to see since I haven't seen nearly enough of this kind of representation in young adult literature. I was very happy to see how amazingly diverse the novel was and how well written each individual character was. Even though I can't relate on a personal level to this specific story, I do find it very exciting to see more and more diversity and the fact that no matter who you are there are books out there with characters going through the same things as me or you. There are even side plot lines in this book exploring anxiety, ptsd, panic attacks, depression, sexism, biphobia, homophobia and bullying. And it was great to see these things brought to light and addressed, however if you do find sensitive subject matter triggering I would keep in mind that the topics aren't brought up in a subtle way.
"Owen has always been loud and kind of crude with his friends, but that's not who he is with me. With me, he's a boy made of stars, soft and light and safe. He always has been."
There wasn't much in terms of romance, since the main character had recently broken up with her girlfriend just prior to the beginning of the novel. But the overall character development was extremely well done. And the relationships and friendships in general were very original and honestly not the usual type of thing you see in young adult contemporary.
"Some parts of me are gone. Some others have come alive, woken by the need to fight, to matter, to be heard. Some parts are wary, others angry, others heartbroken. But I'm still me. I'm still moving."
Overall this book was wonderful and I can't get passed how amazingly well done the novel is. I will definitely be looking into Ashley Herring Blake's past and future works. And I highly recommend you pick up this book, it's a read you don't want to miss. The subjects that are brought to light are so relevant and it's important we keep fighting to change the norm and support this kind of development when it comes to literature. The truth is, that this kind of literature is a ground breaking step in the right direction. If you couldn't already tell, the thing I loved most about this was the representation, but I need to mention it one more time because it is honestly outstanding, and there is even more things that I've not brought up for spoiler reasons. But first and foremost this is a story about survival, the ways in which people deal with trauma, and the endurance of heart-breaking truths.
THANK YOU SO MUCH to Netgalley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group, and Ashley Herring Blake for giving me the chance to read this stunning book in exchange for an honest review.
For more reviews + bookish content, check out my blog: https://www.sophieelaina.com/
July 7, 2018
“But if I’m made of stars, then where am I? Where’s the real me?”
This book broke me. It physically hurt to read it. It was so painful I cried most of the time. But it was worthy every single tear. So worth it.
This is a story that needed to be told, needed to be heard, needed to be read. This is the story of Mara, and how she discovered that her twin brother, her favourite person on this earth, the person she considers her other half, raped one of her best friends, Hannah. This is a story about loving two people so much you want to believe them both, because it hurts to much to think one of them is telling the truth, and the other one is lying. This isn’t the story of a monster who did something to the good girl, this is the story of an ordinary human, not evil but not angel either, who took something from another human being. This is the story of a sister trying to deal with this on her own, because she broke up with the person she loved the most and she can’t even tell her why, because it’s too close to what’s happening to their friend.
There is an important discussion on feminism all throughout this book. Mara and Owen’s mom says she is a feminist, and yet when her own son is accused of having raped someone, she never, not even once, wonders if maybe her son actually did it. She never considers that Hannah might be telling the truth. So what, people consider themselves a feminist, but when something happens to their family, then it’s bye to their conviction? Being feminist doesn’t mean being one just when it’s convenient, it means you believe the victims, always, with no what ifs and shit. You believe them.
I found Mara extremely strong and brave, because after the shock, after having went through her own thoughts and sorting them out, she doesn’t just do nothing, she acts. Mara is this incredible bi girl, in love with marvelous genderqueer Charlie, and even times are hard and it’s hella scary to be her, she acts. She cannot just do nothing. It’s not her. It’s not what it means to be feminist, to be an activist. She’s lost in her own life, but she doesn’t let that take away from her her power to act. Mara’s insecurities are important to this book, what happened to her, the fact that she was sexually assaulted is important to this book. She is powerful, what happened to her didn’t take this from her.
We’re both wearing skirts. Not so short that Principal Carr could find any violation, but short enough to raise an eyebrow.
It’s such a little thing, this skirt. For other girls, maybe it’s makeup or a sport or having sex or not having sex or writing or music or kicking ass in school or wearing your hair so it looks like the sun’s unruly rays. I think every girl has a thing or two, tiny details in her life that say This is me. I’m done hiding. I’m done feeling ashamed.
This book broke me. It physically hurt to read it. It was so painful I cried most of the time. But it was worthy every single tear. So worth it.
This is a story that needed to be told, needed to be heard, needed to be read. This is the story of Mara, and how she discovered that her twin brother, her favourite person on this earth, the person she considers her other half, raped one of her best friends, Hannah. This is a story about loving two people so much you want to believe them both, because it hurts to much to think one of them is telling the truth, and the other one is lying. This isn’t the story of a monster who did something to the good girl, this is the story of an ordinary human, not evil but not angel either, who took something from another human being. This is the story of a sister trying to deal with this on her own, because she broke up with the person she loved the most and she can’t even tell her why, because it’s too close to what’s happening to their friend.
There is an important discussion on feminism all throughout this book. Mara and Owen’s mom says she is a feminist, and yet when her own son is accused of having raped someone, she never, not even once, wonders if maybe her son actually did it. She never considers that Hannah might be telling the truth. So what, people consider themselves a feminist, but when something happens to their family, then it’s bye to their conviction? Being feminist doesn’t mean being one just when it’s convenient, it means you believe the victims, always, with no what ifs and shit. You believe them.
I found Mara extremely strong and brave, because after the shock, after having went through her own thoughts and sorting them out, she doesn’t just do nothing, she acts. Mara is this incredible bi girl, in love with marvelous genderqueer Charlie, and even times are hard and it’s hella scary to be her, she acts. She cannot just do nothing. It’s not her. It’s not what it means to be feminist, to be an activist. She’s lost in her own life, but she doesn’t let that take away from her her power to act. Mara’s insecurities are important to this book, what happened to her, the fact that she was sexually assaulted is important to this book. She is powerful, what happened to her didn’t take this from her.
We’re both wearing skirts. Not so short that Principal Carr could find any violation, but short enough to raise an eyebrow.
It’s such a little thing, this skirt. For other girls, maybe it’s makeup or a sport or having sex or not having sex or writing or music or kicking ass in school or wearing your hair so it looks like the sun’s unruly rays. I think every girl has a thing or two, tiny details in her life that say This is me. I’m done hiding. I’m done feeling ashamed.
February 25, 2021
lovely cover <3
January 30, 2019
2 / 5 ~
A Girl Made of Stars tells an important story; I only wish it was told in a more gripping manner.
Part of me wants to do a short review and saying something like: I didn’t like it, that’s why I rated it two stars, because sometimes that’s the case, right? In this case, it’s a me not you sort of thing. Sometimes we don’t like something and there’s no real reason for it.
Anywho. I’ll try and collect my thoughts on this book.
First of all, everything was too dramatic, and then not enough so. It’s weird and I can’t explain it; some parts felt like they didn’t have enough emotion, whereas others had too much. But this can very well be because Mara, Owen, Charlie, Hannah, and the rest are angsty teenagers! Fun stuff. And if that’s the case, I guess I’m starting to grow out of teenage drama because I found nearly everyone incredibly annoying.
Again, the topic is an important one (there are also other important topics as side-stories, too), and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t keep reading to find out if Hannah or Owen was telling the truth about the supposed rape. In the end, I was right, but it wasn't hard to guess.
Overall, everything felt one-dimensioned and I wish there was more given. More of what? I don’t really know. All I know is that this wasn’t a satisfying read, unfortunately.
A Girl Made of Stars tells an important story; I only wish it was told in a more gripping manner.
Part of me wants to do a short review and saying something like: I didn’t like it, that’s why I rated it two stars, because sometimes that’s the case, right? In this case, it’s a me not you sort of thing. Sometimes we don’t like something and there’s no real reason for it.
Anywho. I’ll try and collect my thoughts on this book.
First of all, everything was too dramatic, and then not enough so. It’s weird and I can’t explain it; some parts felt like they didn’t have enough emotion, whereas others had too much. But this can very well be because Mara, Owen, Charlie, Hannah, and the rest are angsty teenagers! Fun stuff. And if that’s the case, I guess I’m starting to grow out of teenage drama because I found nearly everyone incredibly annoying.
Again, the topic is an important one (there are also other important topics as side-stories, too), and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t keep reading to find out if Hannah or Owen was telling the truth about the supposed rape. In the end, I was right, but it wasn't hard to guess.
Overall, everything felt one-dimensioned and I wish there was more given. More of what? I don’t really know. All I know is that this wasn’t a satisfying read, unfortunately.
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