Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - Das Licht ungewöhnlicher Sterne

Not a bad book, but hard to recommend. I feel like this book has too many things going on. They all make sense by the end, but I think it's doing too much. I guess I don't like the combination of the fantasy and scifi elements without going too in depth about the fantasy elements.

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adalinemccormick's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious reflective slow-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

4.5

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alyssadorn's review against another edition

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hopeful medium-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? It's complicated

3.75

3.75 ⭐️

This book was bizarre and cerebral and also so fun?? It has HEART. There’s so much pain and hope, despair and healing— some parts had me grinning and others had me crying. The genre mashup of fantasy (demon deals and violins that may or may not be magical) and sci fi (intergalactic war refugee and starship captain who relocates her family to a donut shop in the valley) was a really fun concept, but the worldbuilding was a bit messy, confusing, and unclear until just before halfway through — or maybe that’s when I just decided to suspend disbelief to the degree the characters did in accepting each other, alien or deals with a demon or what have you— and from there it was a fun and poignant read!

There are subtle, intelligent moments of humor (I mean, an alien being so impressed by an Olive Garden in Cerritos or karmic acts befalling people who are transphobic to Katrina being subtly and casually mentioned??? So good); the head-hopping was really well done; and the queer experience was depicted with vulnerability and authenticity. I really enjoyed not just seeing Katrina’s growth/healing and Shizuka’s (the Queen of Hell’s) surprisingly nurturing nature, but also Astrid’s motherly tendency to feed as a way to heal and Lucia’s experience with imposter syndrome and her father’s/grandfather’s careless misogyny and the magic she brought to repairing violins.

The personification of both instrument and music in a world depicted with magic and demons makes it hard to tell if the instrument is truly alive in this book, if the music truly transports players and listeners into a memory or state of feeling together. But after a while I found myself letting go and just enjoying as Shizuka and Katrina started to affect each other’s music and memories— as Katrina tries to protect her teacher from those memories and as her teacher learns how to support Katrina in her healing and growth and creative expansion. As even an AI person finds herself diving into memory or her own truth, drawn by Katrina’s music.

I was cheering Katrina on this entire book, and the integral hope and slight absurdity of some of the situations brought refreshing lightness to the dark themes explored and ensured the book never felt heavy. It’s a story of home, found family, familial love, legacy, food that feels like home, and healing. The characters a flawed and make mistakes but still clearly care for each other deeply.

Definitely check the CWs (sexual assault and rape— not graphic—, physical abuse by a parent, racism, transphobia, homophobia, misgendering, dead-naming)

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