Reviews

Starstruck by S.E. Anderson

jorammii's review

3.0

For some reason I thought this book was about an intergalactic reality TV show thing? I think something about the Goodreads summary talking about Doctor Who and “TV-drama-loving-aliens.” Either way, it isn’t about an intergalactic reality TV show, but it’s still a really fun and easy read. A good book to curl up with other than using the term “illegal alien,” joking it meant undocumented when it really meant alien.

Sally Webber is a college dropout with a broken alarm clock, recently fired from her department store job. At her best friend’s birthday party, she reconnects with a guy from one of her college classes that she had had a crush on. It seems that things are looking up, until she accidentally runs over an extremely handsome man. Or at least maybe runs over him. He manages to stand up and brush off as if nothing and in fact, doesn’t have a single scratch on him.
Turns out, his name is Zander, and he is a teleporting alien who got separated from his sister on a particularly difficult jump. Between trying to figure out how to blend in and how to save the Earth from potentially hostile aliens, Sally’s life takes a dramatic turn, for better or worse is to be determined.
This is a fun read full of romance, suspense, action, and a young woman trying to find her own place in the universe.



Diversity: +5
Race/Ethnicity: +1 (Marcy, her best friend, is second-generation Chinese American), +/-1 (Danir, Dany, could be foreign based on name and the fact that she just looks so different from anyone Sally apparently knows)
Culture: +0
Gender: +2 (Sally, Marcy, and even Dany and Blayde are able to hold their own)
Physical Disability: -1 (Grisham uses an electrical scooter presumably because he is disabled, but that is not the reason and he ends up being a villain)
Nerodiversity: +1 (Sally has generally believable anxiety and depression) +2 (#ownvoices)
LGBTQIAA: +1 (Marcy enters a loving lesbian relationship; they’re accepted by friends and it is not made into a big deal)
+/-5 (So I found the author’s Tumblr and turns out she has big plans for the characters in this series like bisexuality and pansexuality! however since it’s not addressed yet, I can’t really add it to the review)
Socioeconomic Status: +/- 1 (Valerie’s introduced as a rich foil to Sally’s poor character, but this isn’t explored very much other than her complaining about needing a roommate),


What I liked:
-Aliens are everywhere. I really like the idea that there could be aliens among us and we don’t even know. I even especially love that the idea that we’re so backward and out in the middle of no where that aliens mainly visit, but don’t stay is refuted by all of the aliens that did stay. I wish we had more experiences with regular everyday aliens that were just trying to live a “normal” life. I think that would have been a fun added element.
-Zander and Sally actually talk physics! They theorize and experiment with Zander’s power instead of just accepting it and moving on. The scenes where they talk about how it works were really interesting (but I don’t remember enough from my two semesters of physics to know how correct it is).
-The little moments and glimpses of a character living with anxiety and depression. I didn’t like that it wasn’t called out or even diagnosed, she didn’t even know what to call it, but the descriptions felt very real. Sometimes anxiety and panic attacks just happen and stressful situations definitely make them worse. It’s nice to read about a character that has found ways to cope without it being the only defining character feature, or even a huge character flaw. It’s just a part of her and that’s beautiful.

What I didn’t like:
-There are some plot holes, big and small. One of the main examples is that everything is started by some hot-air balloon landing on her roof and yet it is never explained. She remarks about it several times throughout the novel, but no explanation is given. It’s also unclear what happens to Matt at the end. Where did this strange Amazonian Dany come from? I was sure she would have more of a part than just a love-interest, after all she ran to Marcy’s party and had never seen a grill before. And there is a scene towards the beginning where Sally sees some people that shouldn’t have been there, but their presence isn’t explained (..?) I’m not sure if this will be explored in further books or if this is a standalone. I could very easily list out several specific examples of things that were introduced but not resolved. Things that can be addressed in potential future novels. (Update: it seems like this is a seven part series so that would take care of that)
-They heavily make use of the alien=illegal alien=undocumented person in this book. As someone who has been called an illegal alien as a slur, it definitely rubbed me the wrong the way. I wish they had spent more time talking about what it means to be foreign and having to live in a place completely out of what you understand. There could have been some nice parallels with what is really happening. Instead we get some throwaway jokes about being an illegal alien (as if that were funny). The other aliens that Sally meet are immediately on the run and can’t even exchange information to keep in touch.
-Sally’s background. Obviously what happened with John was terrible and she’s had a lot to deal with, but it felt like a throwaway that still affected her life without her really dealing with it. Even when she’s in the hospital at the end and has the perfect moments to reflect on what happened, she doesn’t. It’s difficult to move on (from bouts of anxiety and depression) when you don’t acknowledge it’s there or where it comes from.
-The prologue was so exciting! There was an alien commander and disappearing fugitives that didn’t stop even after they were shot. It started the book off with action and intrigue. And then the book was about an average young adult woman trying to live her life with an alien roommate and side-project to save the world. I felt like it didn’t fit as nicely. BUT I did enjoy the action scenes.

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