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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
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
My first A.S King, and it won't be my last, I can tell you that.
emotional
hopeful
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
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A sweet informative book. 4.5/5
Read for the #Buzzwordathon - April prompt is Space words
Read for the #Buzzwordathon - April prompt is Space words
Absolutely incredible. An amazing book about divorce, depression, and acceptance. Highly recommend this for parents to read with their children or for young readers to enjoy on their own. As a 24 year old reader, I highly recommend this to anyone of any age group- it will pick at your emotions, make you think back on times you’ve felt down/times you’ve felt others have let you down and help you out those moments into perspective.
The added metaphor of relating the stars, planets, and space to all these themes was also thoroughly enjoyable- it didn’t feel cheesy or forced and King really did some research on space! Beautiful, beautiful book.
This was my first read by A.S. King and I’m definitely going to pick up more of their books!
The added metaphor of relating the stars, planets, and space to all these themes was also thoroughly enjoyable- it didn’t feel cheesy or forced and King really did some research on space! Beautiful, beautiful book.
This was my first read by A.S. King and I’m definitely going to pick up more of their books!
I read this in one sitting. I just couldn't put it down.
A. S. King takes us inside a family going through separation and divorce. We experience it through the eyes of Liberty Johansen, a middle schooler. Liberty is a character you will find yourself cheering on and rooting for. She's smart, creative, and caring. She's heartbroken after her parents separate and her father doesn't see her and her sister from almost three months.
What this book shows is how divorce is not really just about the parents, but that it is a whole family experience.
A. S. King takes us inside a family going through separation and divorce. We experience it through the eyes of Liberty Johansen, a middle schooler. Liberty is a character you will find yourself cheering on and rooting for. She's smart, creative, and caring. She's heartbroken after her parents separate and her father doesn't see her and her sister from almost three months.
What this book shows is how divorce is not really just about the parents, but that it is a whole family experience.
This book is not getting nearly the attention it deserves, in my opinion. It's primarily about how divorce impacts an entire family. But the main character, Liberty, is so clever and her coping mechanisms are fascinating. Everyone in the family is in pain. There are a lot of tears, but I appreciated that there were no flat characters. The relationships are realistic and everyone makes fairly normal mistakes. The word "space" in the title is a metaphor for belonging. And when a child loses their sense of belonging, they may face a number of issues ranging from depression to bullying at school. Another interesting tidbit about the story is that the journal entries go all the way up to October 2, 2019 -- less than two weeks from the publication of this book, which I thought was pretty cool. There's an Author's Note about apps and other online resources related to mental health as well as about stars and constellations. It was very difficult to put this one down. Highly recommend!!
For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!
For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!
I'm not sure where to start...
This book is absolutely wonderful, and I can't wait for it to come out so I can share it with you guys.
This is the story of Liberty, 12, stars mapmaker. This is the story of her parents divorcing and how it felt like falling from space. This is the story of a meteor. This is the story of how mental health should be seen vs how stigma tarnishes it. This is the story of life.
This is the second book I read by A.S. King and it certainly won't be the last.
It is so utterly authentic and healthy. She knows how to write emotions, how to describe them, how to make them understandable. This is a middle grade book that made me discover things about myself that therapy didn't.
The author opens your eyes on mental health, feelings and how we are exception.
This book should be read by everyone. Teachers and students, to raise mental health awareness. Kids and grown ups, to make conversations easiest.
Above all this book is a beautiful, touching, deeply moving story, with a little girl that you want to hold and hug.
This is a book about a little girl who used to be me. I should hug her sometimes.
So if you want a thought provoking, original and heart warming story to get back to your inner child, to understand mental illness, to understand divorce, to understand the importance of talking and expressing yourself, and if you like stars, then I definitely recommend this book. It is a true wonder.
Wouldn't recommend below 12 though.
I really loved this book. Let me preface this by saying I'm a 49 year old woman with two teenagers. I chose this book predominantly because it fit prompts in a couple of monthly reading challenges I'm in, "a book with a constellation in it" and "middle grades". So going into it I really didn't know a whole lot about the book.
Wow I was really moved by this book. The main character Liberty is reeling from her parents divorce. She and her father have always shared a love of the stars and drawing maps of the stars. Then her dad moves out. That is when she fell from space. Liberty can no longer find the constellations in the sky to draw her maps.
One day a meteorite falls not far from Liberty's house. She brings a chunk of it back home and uses a small bit of it as her confessor/imaginary friend. The meteorite is what Liberty uses as her solace as she deals with everyday life as a twelve year old. Liberty turns to the rock to air her frustrations about school bullies, frustrations with her father, hopes that her parents will get back together again, and fears that she might be falling into the same type of depression that sometimes ails her father.
The book is just a really well done piece of middle grade literature. The author does an excellent job of giving Liberty a voice. I especially applaud the author for addressing two very difficult issues, divorce and depression, in a relatable way for middle grade readers. These are not easy topics but she is masterful in expressing Liberty's feelings but never really getting too heavy.
I read the audiobook version of this and the narration is excellent. She does such a wonderful job of bringing Liberty and her sister to life.
Wow I was really moved by this book. The main character Liberty is reeling from her parents divorce. She and her father have always shared a love of the stars and drawing maps of the stars. Then her dad moves out. That is when she fell from space. Liberty can no longer find the constellations in the sky to draw her maps.
One day a meteorite falls not far from Liberty's house. She brings a chunk of it back home and uses a small bit of it as her confessor/imaginary friend. The meteorite is what Liberty uses as her solace as she deals with everyday life as a twelve year old. Liberty turns to the rock to air her frustrations about school bullies, frustrations with her father, hopes that her parents will get back together again, and fears that she might be falling into the same type of depression that sometimes ails her father.
The book is just a really well done piece of middle grade literature. The author does an excellent job of giving Liberty a voice. I especially applaud the author for addressing two very difficult issues, divorce and depression, in a relatable way for middle grade readers. These are not easy topics but she is masterful in expressing Liberty's feelings but never really getting too heavy.
I read the audiobook version of this and the narration is excellent. She does such a wonderful job of bringing Liberty and her sister to life.