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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Suicide attempt
In brief, including trigger warnings: this book is an utterly gripping, low-key science fiction novel set in a modern society eerily similar to our own. However, in this unnamed place, women are born with specific patterns of markings on their bodies—a gift which helps them peek into the future, and a curse for a whole host of reasons. This book is rife with metaphor, shedding light on a wide variety of topics, including gaslighting, victim blaming, promiscuity propaganda, repression of gender identity and barriers to sexual assault reporting.
I picked it up from the library, devoured it in a day, and then proceeded to pelt the inboxes of all my nearest and dearest with pleas to read this book. Thankfully, I have fairly tolerant friends, and I think that those who picked it up will agree that it was worth the cajoling. As my friend Emily (@em_jacobs_reads) put it, "it's so good—and also I want to burn this world to the ground".
If you're not convinced yet, I'll leave you with this quote: "I wished for these girls to be liberated and unafraid and brimming with potential and possibility. But that wasn't how the world worked for girls and women. Instead, we were made vulnerable through no fault of our own and held liable for the crimes committed against us. We were born already broken."
I picked it up from the library, devoured it in a day, and then proceeded to pelt the inboxes of all my nearest and dearest with pleas to read this book. Thankfully, I have fairly tolerant friends, and I think that those who picked it up will agree that it was worth the cajoling. As my friend Emily (@em_jacobs_reads) put it, "it's so good—and also I want to burn this world to the ground".
If you're not convinced yet, I'll leave you with this quote: "I wished for these girls to be liberated and unafraid and brimming with potential and possibility. But that wasn't how the world worked for girls and women. Instead, we were made vulnerable through no fault of our own and held liable for the crimes committed against us. We were born already broken."
The premise of this book is so compelling that I was very much primed to like it, but ultimately for me it fell flat. As another reviewer here mentioned, the focus on Miles is hard to understand as the connection between him and Celeste does not seem particularly deep (she keeps describing it as such, but we never see it in the action or dialogue). In general the author does more description than demonstration, which made it hard for me to really get into the book. Good enough to finish, though, and seriously cool premise.
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Kidnapping
Moderate: Homophobia, Incest, Transphobia
"Read again to be sure. Read again, and think of her not as a subject but as a girl, as a body holding breath, as a future independent of prediction and prophecy."
challenging
reflective
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
Thank you to Hodder Studio for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
An exploration of fate and female agency in a world very similar to our own--except that the markings on women's bodies reveal the future. A piercing indictment of rape culture, a read about what happens when women are objectified and stripped of choice--and what happens when they fight back.
This description perfectly sums up BODY OF STARS and I'll use it as a way to start my review since the topic of the novel is quite heavy and I'm not used to or good at reviewing these kinds of books. When I first read the premise, I was intrigued by it and wanted to read it even though this is not my typical read.
I enjoyed the writing and the story and I think the subject was tackled very well. I also believe that it's a very accurate representation of reality even if it's dystopian speculative fiction. You might consider the nature of the changelings to be something like their introduction to puberty because it happens to each of them at different times. The difference in the book is that they change overnight and have this appealing aura to them that attracts men like magnets.
In this society every mark on a woman's body is said to be able to predict the future, usually her own and of those around her, so naturally women's bodies are objectified, people feel like they have the right to know what's on them and there's this weird tradition for fathers to want to see the new marks on their newly transformed adult bodies.
It tackles rape culture in a raw and personal way, showing how society treats victims vs their assailants. It also shows the victim-blaming that follows and how it affects the victims.
Despite everything the MC goes through, she doesn't give up and keeps wanting to succeed and have a life. I really liked her dedication and how she didn't let any of what happened further affect her life the way it affected her relationship with her friends and family in the beginning.
What I also loved were the short snippets before each chapter which basically was showing different types of information, including the healing process that follows after the girls are recovered after being abducted.
There are multiple good metaphors that I could see in BODY OF STARS but if I started analyzing them all, this review would turn into an essay.
I especially liked the healing process described at the end of the book after Celeste's graduation. It's the start of her new life and aim in life which ends on a positive note despite all the negativity she's had to go through, aiming to help other girls.
BODY OF STARS also show the difference between bigger societies and how they view things, you can see the clear difference between the smaller societies and the bigger ones and how one is a bit more open-minded than the other.
An exploration of fate and female agency in a world very similar to our own--except that the markings on women's bodies reveal the future. A piercing indictment of rape culture, a read about what happens when women are objectified and stripped of choice--and what happens when they fight back.
This description perfectly sums up BODY OF STARS and I'll use it as a way to start my review since the topic of the novel is quite heavy and I'm not used to or good at reviewing these kinds of books. When I first read the premise, I was intrigued by it and wanted to read it even though this is not my typical read.
I enjoyed the writing and the story and I think the subject was tackled very well. I also believe that it's a very accurate representation of reality even if it's dystopian speculative fiction. You might consider the nature of the changelings to be something like their introduction to puberty because it happens to each of them at different times. The difference in the book is that they change overnight and have this appealing aura to them that attracts men like magnets.
In this society every mark on a woman's body is said to be able to predict the future, usually her own and of those around her, so naturally women's bodies are objectified, people feel like they have the right to know what's on them and there's this weird tradition for fathers to want to see the new marks on their newly transformed adult bodies.
It tackles rape culture in a raw and personal way, showing how society treats victims vs their assailants. It also shows the victim-blaming that follows and how it affects the victims.
Despite everything the MC goes through, she doesn't give up and keeps wanting to succeed and have a life. I really liked her dedication and how she didn't let any of what happened further affect her life the way it affected her relationship with her friends and family in the beginning.
What I also loved were the short snippets before each chapter which basically was showing different types of information, including the healing process that follows after the girls are recovered after being abducted.
There are multiple good metaphors that I could see in BODY OF STARS but if I started analyzing them all, this review would turn into an essay.
I especially liked the healing process described at the end of the book after Celeste's graduation. It's the start of her new life and aim in life which ends on a positive note despite all the negativity she's had to go through, aiming to help other girls.
BODY OF STARS also show the difference between bigger societies and how they view things, you can see the clear difference between the smaller societies and the bigger ones and how one is a bit more open-minded than the other.
I loved the idea of this book… a dystopian me too where your destiny was written in the stars on your body (markings in the skin that you’re born with). I love the idea of challenging fate and the protagonist’s desire to be the master of her own future—and her brothers. I felt the ending was not quit what I was expecting it to be. I did enjoy this one a lot… just felt there was missed potential in the ending falling a little flat.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual assault