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katrod's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Oof. This one hits right in the gut, especially when you read what Sickel’s inspiration for this story was. I was born as the AIDS crisis was calming down, but I do remember it being a huge topic of conversation. I will never truly know just how devastatingly horrifying it was to live among that fear and hatred, but this book brings the reader pretty close to that understanding. It is such an intimate portrayal of life, death, fear, belonging, and acceptance. It’s a story I’ll feel the impact of for my whole life.
cmcclure9's review against another edition
5.0
This was a devastating, raw, emotional read. Told from the viewpoints of various family members, is the story of a young man coming back to his midwestern small town with AIDS after living in New York. It's a haunting story of that time in history and what young men faced all over this country.
dl_0915's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
smalltownbookmom's review against another edition
4.0
An absolutely heartbreaking story about Brian, a young gay man dying from AIDS who returns to his home and family in small town Ohio only to be faced with a great deal of homophobia, fear and hatred.
Set at the height of the AIDS crisis in the late 80s, this story is utterly moving and will wrench your heart out as his family has to watch Brian wasting away before their very eyes. I loved that the story switched POVs from different members of his family and we get to see how each of them dealt differently with their son's sexuality and HIV status.
Great on audio and highly recommended. It's been on my tbr sooooo long and I'm glad I finally took the time to listen to it. An unforgettable story to be sure and perfect for fans of the YA novel, Like a love story by Abdi Nazemian.
Set at the height of the AIDS crisis in the late 80s, this story is utterly moving and will wrench your heart out as his family has to watch Brian wasting away before their very eyes. I loved that the story switched POVs from different members of his family and we get to see how each of them dealt differently with their son's sexuality and HIV status.
Great on audio and highly recommended. It's been on my tbr sooooo long and I'm glad I finally took the time to listen to it. An unforgettable story to be sure and perfect for fans of the YA novel, Like a love story by Abdi Nazemian.
freddie's review
5.0
A simple story but intimately heartbreaking. I'm always crazy about books that combine grief and guilt.
katscribefever's review against another edition
3.0
This is the story of Brian, a fictional young man created to represent a very real group of people from America's recent past: young gay men with a passion for life who were afflicted with, and subsequently killed by, AIDS. This is a story filled with scenes from a world before Princess Di made waves by hugging sufferers of HIV. It is a world filled with forced removals, harsh condemnation, and staggering cruelty towards the unknown "other." And it is a story that inevitably sparks honest self-evaluation: if you were a resident of Brian's hometown in the 1980s, would you have extended him friendship and compassion as he lay waiting to die? Or would you have shunned and maligned him for his choices?
This was a tough listen, but I do think hearing it may be preferable to a text copy; a big part of Brian's story is the video diary he makes about his experience, and an audiobook allows the reader to hear what he sounds like in his own voice. The downside, though, is that there are two female characters whose points of view are shared, and they are each voiced by the same woman, making it at times tricky to distinguish between the two. Having said all of that, I would still recommend picking up the audio rather than the physical!
This was a tough listen, but I do think hearing it may be preferable to a text copy; a big part of Brian's story is the video diary he makes about his experience, and an audiobook allows the reader to hear what he sounds like in his own voice. The downside, though, is that there are two female characters whose points of view are shared, and they are each voiced by the same woman, making it at times tricky to distinguish between the two. Having said all of that, I would still recommend picking up the audio rather than the physical!
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.