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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
Really interesting concept but the chunks of text were too much to comprehend. Better if broken up into smaller paragraphs or dialogue maybe.
"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."
This dystopian novel centers around Celeste Morton and her brother Miles. Celeste has a map of the future on her body. All girls are born with these mappings, and they will change as the girls go through their Changeling period. Miles wants to be an Interpreter who reads the mappings on girls, however men cannot hold that position. As Celeste goes though her Changeling period her markings reveal a devastating secret about Miles future that Celeste feels she must keep to herself. Unbeknownst to Celeste, Miles is keeping a secret he knows about Celeste’s future that will forever alter their lives. As the story unfolds, secrets are spilled and lives are forever changed. Celeste and Miles learn no matter what you plan for your future, things can always change.
Thank you @NetGalley for this ARC.
Thank you @NetGalley for this ARC.
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
For my full review of this book on The Bossy Bookworm, or to receive all of my Bossy reviews and Greedy Reading Lists as soon as they're posted, please see Body of Stars.
In the world of Laura Maylene Walter's just-published young adult novel Body of Stars, the patterns of freckles, moles, and birthmarks on women’s bodies serve to predict their future—their career, the number of children they'll have, important aspects of their family members' lives--everything significant that lies ahead.
I had some trouble getting on board with Walter's premise of moles and freckles and birthmarks holding the key to unlocking the future. The characters' peering at and studying each other’s body patterns felt extremely invasive and intrusive, especially when the boys and men felt entitled to examine the young women. (The father-daughter examination tradition at puberty--! And Miles's pushing into his sister's room--which is disturbing enough: privacy, please!--and expecting disrobing and peering to be allowed--! No no no.) The girls seemed mildly disturbed but not as horrified as I was as a reader. I felt on the edge of jumping out of my skin for most of the book.
It seemed especially off-putting somehow that Miles (who as a male had no markings) was so very interested in the markings and their meanings.
There are a lot of potential triggers here, and Walter explores a society in which victim shaming is common and justice isn't meted out to those in the wrong. It's enraging.
The most intriguing aspects of the story for me were related to characters' dreams of a world in which women had no markings, but I wished that the book more fully explored the cycle of prediction and realization that lies at the heart of its premise. Do predicted events bear out specific outcomes just by their existence? How much of the fated events are set in stone in Walter's imagined world? If no markings existed, would futures not be fated? Or would they be destined to occur, but remain unknown until they took place? And isn't centering so many lives around interpreting these marks perpetuating their power--and the women’s being at men's mercy, being showcased and examined and on display and exploited?
The education for (some of) the girls following their abductions was wonderfully imagined. I would've liked to spend more time at the school as they learned about themselves and the world around them. But I kept asking myself, what is any of it for if characters cannot change any aspect of their life path?
Body of Stars reminded me in some ways of The Power because of the young women's influence over society, but women ultimately seemed more empowered in that book.
I received a prepublication edition of this book through Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley.
In the world of Laura Maylene Walter's just-published young adult novel Body of Stars, the patterns of freckles, moles, and birthmarks on women’s bodies serve to predict their future—their career, the number of children they'll have, important aspects of their family members' lives--everything significant that lies ahead.
I had some trouble getting on board with Walter's premise of moles and freckles and birthmarks holding the key to unlocking the future. The characters' peering at and studying each other’s body patterns felt extremely invasive and intrusive, especially when the boys and men felt entitled to examine the young women. (The father-daughter examination tradition at puberty--! And Miles's pushing into his sister's room--which is disturbing enough: privacy, please!--and expecting disrobing and peering to be allowed--! No no no.) The girls seemed mildly disturbed but not as horrified as I was as a reader. I felt on the edge of jumping out of my skin for most of the book.
It seemed especially off-putting somehow that Miles (who as a male had no markings) was so very interested in the markings and their meanings.
There are a lot of potential triggers here, and Walter explores a society in which victim shaming is common and justice isn't meted out to those in the wrong. It's enraging.
The most intriguing aspects of the story for me were related to characters' dreams of a world in which women had no markings, but I wished that the book more fully explored the cycle of prediction and realization that lies at the heart of its premise. Do predicted events bear out specific outcomes just by their existence? How much of the fated events are set in stone in Walter's imagined world? If no markings existed, would futures not be fated? Or would they be destined to occur, but remain unknown until they took place? And isn't centering so many lives around interpreting these marks perpetuating their power--and the women’s being at men's mercy, being showcased and examined and on display and exploited?
The education for (some of) the girls following their abductions was wonderfully imagined. I would've liked to spend more time at the school as they learned about themselves and the world around them. But I kept asking myself, what is any of it for if characters cannot change any aspect of their life path?
Body of Stars reminded me in some ways of The Power because of the young women's influence over society, but women ultimately seemed more empowered in that book.
I received a prepublication edition of this book through Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley.
I finished up a few netgalley arcs in a fun vlog here:
https://youtu.be/ep16N2_KGj8
https://youtu.be/ep16N2_KGj8
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I loved the idea of this book. Some parts made me very uncomfortable, which I know was intentional and always a sign of a good author, but I didn’t find it super enjoyable. It was a ~good~ book not a great one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Kidnapping
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No