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srivalli's review
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.5
3.5 stars (4 stars as a standalone; 3 stars based on the tags in the blurb)
One Liner: An entertaining read
Aya has always been fascinated by the stars. But she doesn’t expect to get struck by one! However, she discovers that the star somehow gave her magical powers, and Aya needs to use these to defeat the evil Abnus. Can Aya learn to control her magic and fight Abnus?
The story comes in Aya’s third-person POV.
My Thoughts:
I think it helped that I went into the book without rereading the blurb. I forgot it was supposed to be some sort of retelling and read it as a standalone piece.
The book starts slowly but picks up pace after the first quarter. The relationship dynamics between Aya and her mother and Aya and her friend are very good. We can see Aya’s situation and empathize with her. We (adults) can also see her mother’s point.
Silver, the horse, is a sweetheart. He has a lovely role in the book.
The setting, Alferra, could be any small town. There are Islamic elements, but not so much that the readers will be confused. In fact, the story has a global appeal rather than belonging to a specific region. I liked this aspect (since that’s how I write).
But the blurb called it a retelling of a Bengali folklore and promoted it as some South Asian myth-based piece. Except for the ‘bhootni', which you can call a scary ghost, there really isn’t anything South Asian (or whatever it means). The skin tone alone wouldn’t be enough, IMO.
I also don’t know which folktale has been retold (I tried to find it but couldn’t). So, I can’t say which elements of the original were used and how different the book is from the inspired source.
My brain kept changing Abnus to Anubis. I wondered what Abnus meant and googled to find that it is a Persian name meaning ebony. This shouldn’t be an issue for other readers (but if you are like me, knowing the name’s meaning will help. Think of it as ebony).
The book has elements of danger and action in the last section. It can be a bit scary for little kids, but it is not a dark read. Aya is ten, so kids of her age are likely to feel the way she does. I wouldn’t call it a gothic read, either.
A couple of reveals are easy enough to guess. The kids will enjoy it, though. I wish we had a few scenes of Aya learning to control and utilize her magic. That would have made the climax even better. Still, we have a HEA and a sweet ending, so all ends well.
The illustrations are cute and in black and white. They tend to mess up the formatting on Kindle. I went through the PDF on the computer and liked it much better for the illustrations.
To summarize, Aya and the Star Chaser works better as a standalone than a retelling or a region-based book. Let it have a more universal appeal while retaining the Islamic elements of the characters.
Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Books, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
#NetGalley #AyaAndTheStarChaser
bluewithstars's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Outstanding! This was action -packed, fast paced and impossible to put down. I loved the characters, especially Aya. I cannot wait to share this.
ballgownsandbooks's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I absolutely loved Radiya Hafiza’s Rumaysa duology, so I had high hopes for this book – and overall I did enjoy it, even though I don’t think it quite lived up to the author’s earlier work!
This is a lovely little story about family and courage, and I love that the core of it is really Aya’s relationship with her mother. I think a lot of middle grade readers will relate to her frustrations at the secrets her mother is keeping, and the themes of beginning to wonder who you really are.
I would say this is the kind of middle grade that’s intended for children and may not necessarily work for adults – mainly because it’s extremely generic, in the sense that absolutely nothing that happened was a surprise to me. Honestly, I would expect an intelligent middle grade reader to be able to predict the ‘twist’ fairly easily too, but equally I don’t necessarily thing that’s a bad thing, and just because a book is predictable doesn’t negate the value in the themes and characters!
The main thing that didn’t work for me in this book was the pacing. We’re 50% through the book before the plot really gets going, and I felt Aya learned to use her powers far too easily! At one point, I felt certain there would need to be a sequel to allow enough time for everything that needed to happen, but there isn’t: we get to the final standoff and Aya suddenly has full control of her powers and is able to defeat the Big Bad almost instantly, despite having had no real training or practice. [This feels like Not a Spoiler because, again: entirely predictable!] Maybe I’ve just read too many books like this, but it just rang hollow to me to have everything wrapped up so easily!
Still, overall a very sweet and beautifully illustrated little tale, and I probably will be getting this for my sisters to read at some point.
This is a lovely little story about family and courage, and I love that the core of it is really Aya’s relationship with her mother. I think a lot of middle grade readers will relate to her frustrations at the secrets her mother is keeping, and the themes of beginning to wonder who you really are.
I would say this is the kind of middle grade that’s intended for children and may not necessarily work for adults – mainly because it’s extremely generic, in the sense that absolutely nothing that happened was a surprise to me. Honestly, I would expect an intelligent middle grade reader to be able to predict the ‘twist’ fairly easily too, but equally I don’t necessarily thing that’s a bad thing, and just because a book is predictable doesn’t negate the value in the themes and characters!
The main thing that didn’t work for me in this book was the pacing. We’re 50% through the book before the plot really gets going, and I felt Aya learned to use her powers far too easily! At one point, I felt certain there would need to be a sequel to allow enough time for everything that needed to happen, but there isn’t: we get to the final standoff and Aya suddenly has full control of her powers and is able to defeat the Big Bad almost instantly, despite having had no real training or practice. [This feels like Not a Spoiler because, again: entirely predictable!] Maybe I’ve just read too many books like this, but it just rang hollow to me to have everything wrapped up so easily!
Still, overall a very sweet and beautifully illustrated little tale, and I probably will be getting this for my sisters to read at some point.
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