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jesslw's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book because it kept coming up on several reading lists and because a lot of people I look to for recommendations have read it and raved about it.
My personal thoughts......mmmm..... I liked it....I think? Truth be told, I did like it, just not as much as every one else seems too. I loved the fact that it felt honest and raw and was well written and thoughtful. The Prettiest Star did a good job of showing different perspectives and the knee jerk reactions and fear of the Aids epidemic in the 80's. Like the time it reflects, the book is heartbreaking and tragic for all the characters involved and I truly felt their pain as I read their viewpoints on Bryan's worsening illness and imminent death. It was a good read and I am glad that I read it, but I also feel like I have read this story before and liked it better elsewhere (Tell the Wolves I'm Home and the Broadway musical RENT), with characters that I actually liked. Truth be told, I didn't like Bryan, at all. He rejected his family before they could reject him and moved to New York to live his life...until he found out he was dying and all alone. Then he realizes that he needs to come home to his family, but mostly it seems, because he has no where else to go. He doesn't seem to have any great feelings for his family at all, except maybe his grandmother. After returning home he is angry and resents everyone, all of which is understandable due to the stages of grief, he is 24 and dying after all, but it's particularly painful to see the effects this has on his mother and sister both of which he left behind in the past and again now. It can be difficult as a reader seeing all points of view because it's hard not to pick sides or relate more to one person over another or wish that characters would open up to each other. I am also disappointed that the father's view point is not shown until the end and when he finally gets his chapter it's brief and ambiguous and overly machismo. I was not happy with that small portrayal of his feelings because it didn't seem like enough when so much still needed to be said. But, that's life sometimes, especially in a culture where men are taught not to express themselves and to hide their emotions. It's a tough read, but worth it.
My personal thoughts......mmmm..... I liked it....I think? Truth be told, I did like it, just not as much as every one else seems too. I loved the fact that it felt honest and raw and was well written and thoughtful. The Prettiest Star did a good job of showing different perspectives and the knee jerk reactions and fear of the Aids epidemic in the 80's. Like the time it reflects, the book is heartbreaking and tragic for all the characters involved and I truly felt their pain as I read their viewpoints on Bryan's worsening illness and imminent death. It was a good read and I am glad that I read it, but I also feel like I have read this story before and liked it better elsewhere (Tell the Wolves I'm Home and the Broadway musical RENT), with characters that I actually liked. Truth be told, I didn't like Bryan, at all. He rejected his family before they could reject him and moved to New York to live his life...until he found out he was dying and all alone. Then he realizes that he needs to come home to his family, but mostly it seems, because he has no where else to go. He doesn't seem to have any great feelings for his family at all, except maybe his grandmother. After returning home he is angry and resents everyone, all of which is understandable due to the stages of grief, he is 24 and dying after all, but it's particularly painful to see the effects this has on his mother and sister both of which he left behind in the past and again now. It can be difficult as a reader seeing all points of view because it's hard not to pick sides or relate more to one person over another or wish that characters would open up to each other. I am also disappointed that the father's view point is not shown until the end and when he finally gets his chapter it's brief and ambiguous and overly machismo. I was not happy with that small portrayal of his feelings because it didn't seem like enough when so much still needed to be said. But, that's life sometimes, especially in a culture where men are taught not to express themselves and to hide their emotions. It's a tough read, but worth it.
knitter22's review against another edition
4.0
When you begin reading The Prettiest Star you pretty much know what will happen in the end, but what you don't know is how you will get to that ending, nor how Brian's family will make that journey. Set in 1986, it's the story of Brian, a 24-year-old young man diagnosed with AIDS who returns home to Chester, Ohio. He returns home from New York City after his partner Shawn's death, because he doesn't want to die in a hospital in NYC. Chester is a small rural town in the Appalachian foothills where people think homosexuality is a sin and HIV/AIDS is divine retribution. Brian's parents Sharon and Travis are ashamed of their son and this doesn't change when they are subjected to months of cruelty and hatred from their neighbors.
Books almost never make me cry, but even my hard-heartedness could not withstand the immense sadness in The Prettiest Star. From Sharon trying her best to be a caring mother to Brian but finding that her best comes up short, to Travis pretending his son is not gay and sick, to the church congregation who just want to have a gathering at the local pool without their fear and ignorance surfacing, every character in this story is flawed and human. The Prettiest Star is heart-breaking, beautiful, and a worthwhile read.
Books almost never make me cry, but even my hard-heartedness could not withstand the immense sadness in The Prettiest Star. From Sharon trying her best to be a caring mother to Brian but finding that her best comes up short, to Travis pretending his son is not gay and sick, to the church congregation who just want to have a gathering at the local pool without their fear and ignorance surfacing, every character in this story is flawed and human. The Prettiest Star is heart-breaking, beautiful, and a worthwhile read.
enduringtheunbearable's review against another edition
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
wendiwoo1's review against another edition
4.0
One thing struck me immediately with this book: how clearly it took me back to 1986 and how AIDS was all around and so misunderstood. Two, the characters just popped to life. I felt like they were my family and neighbors. Three...the last stanza.
katie_osbourne's review against another edition
5.0
5 pretty stars for this story- it is beautiful, angering, heartbreaking.
ashod's review against another edition
5.0
Five of the prettiest stars. This is the kind of book you don’t want to pick up but, once you do, you can’t put it down. It’s hard to imagine being in the mood to read about a man dying of AIDS in the 80s but it’s such a lushly told story and so fascinating given this recent polarizing pandemic.
hanhantap's review against another edition
5.0
This book has moved me in ways that I can't entirely describe in words.
I come from a small town in the Midwest. I come from a conservative Christian background. I grew up gay in the shadow of the worst of the AIDS crisis, DOMA, and the murder of Matthew Shepard. I felt like I know this family. All of the intricate details of the said and the unsaid in the face of death.
The different perspectives and voices was so well done. It's hard to write fiction like this regardless but with the voices that stand out from each other and each having their own distinction, it takes a real gift.
All I can say is that I wish this were just fiction and not the reality of so many in the United States, especially in the heartland. We as a country do not reflect on the lives lost and effected by AIDS. The rejected, the abandoned, and the hurt. The hope, the love, and the community. It all came together in this novel and I hope other writers see this work and know that there is a need to talk about big political things and the little familial talks around the kitchen table when it comes to the ongoing AIDS crisis.
I come from a small town in the Midwest. I come from a conservative Christian background. I grew up gay in the shadow of the worst of the AIDS crisis, DOMA, and the murder of Matthew Shepard. I felt like I know this family. All of the intricate details of the said and the unsaid in the face of death.
The different perspectives and voices was so well done. It's hard to write fiction like this regardless but with the voices that stand out from each other and each having their own distinction, it takes a real gift.
All I can say is that I wish this were just fiction and not the reality of so many in the United States, especially in the heartland. We as a country do not reflect on the lives lost and effected by AIDS. The rejected, the abandoned, and the hurt. The hope, the love, and the community. It all came together in this novel and I hope other writers see this work and know that there is a need to talk about big political things and the little familial talks around the kitchen table when it comes to the ongoing AIDS crisis.