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bookmarked642's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I love anything to do with stars, the night sky, galaxies, constellations and so on, so naturally, I was drawn to this book instantly. I had no idea how much I would fall in love with it! It's beautifully written, addressing such potent topics while still being enjoyable, and has a fantastic sense of mysticality and magic realism alongside a torrent of emotion. It's a coming-of-age story with a strong feminist core that I think readers of varying ages can appreciate. It's not actually about /stars/ exactly, but rather the constellations of marks that females have across their bodies that can give insight into what one's future holds. All girls go through a 'changeling' period when they gain they adult markings. For this time, the girls have a sort of ethereal glow about them that draws others in. Many girls look forward to this time, but it can be extremely dangerous.
The book follows one particular girl, Celeste. She sees older girls becoming changelings, and often going missing. Then when they return, no longer in their changeling phase, they often can't remember a thing. Walter avoids any explicit details of what happens to these girls, but it's not hard to piece together. When they return, there is a huge amount of stigma around these 'taken' girls, and they are always blamed for what happened to them, rather than the men who actually abducted and abused them. Sound familiar? Yeah.
As I mentioned above, there is a lot of relevance in this book in regards to misogyny in society. Not just the blame on the taken girls, but also the amount of strange rules women and girls have to abide by, including showing their new marks to their fathers. In fact, the girls' bodies in this book are hardly their own; their marks must be regularly documented and interpreted.
There are also some key moments in Celeste's personal life. For one, her brother, Miles, has always been fascinated by the markings on his sister's skin. Boys don't get markings; they're also unable to pursue the career of interpreting, which is what Miles dreams of. When Celeste changes into her adult markings, Miles is desperate to see them, but Celeste refuses. She hides her marks from everyone; the stars on her skin have revealed a terrible truth that she is not ready to face.
There's so much more to this book than what I've written, though. There are girls who'd dreams are dashed by the abuse they suffered; girls who are raising children when they are hardly more than children themselves; there are even girls who are 'fated' to be taken. But I won't get into all that.
If you can't tell, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Even though I know the plot, I think it's one of those books I'd happily reread. It's definitely on my favourites list for 2021 - 5 stars!
The book follows one particular girl, Celeste. She sees older girls becoming changelings, and often going missing. Then when they return, no longer in their changeling phase, they often can't remember a thing. Walter avoids any explicit details of what happens to these girls, but it's not hard to piece together. When they return, there is a huge amount of stigma around these 'taken' girls, and they are always blamed for what happened to them, rather than the men who actually abducted and abused them. Sound familiar? Yeah.
As I mentioned above, there is a lot of relevance in this book in regards to misogyny in society. Not just the blame on the taken girls, but also the amount of strange rules women and girls have to abide by, including showing their new marks to their fathers. In fact, the girls' bodies in this book are hardly their own; their marks must be regularly documented and interpreted.
There are also some key moments in Celeste's personal life. For one, her brother, Miles, has always been fascinated by the markings on his sister's skin. Boys don't get markings; they're also unable to pursue the career of interpreting, which is what Miles dreams of. When Celeste changes into her adult markings, Miles is desperate to see them, but Celeste refuses. She hides her marks from everyone; the stars on her skin have revealed a terrible truth that she is not ready to face.
There's so much more to this book than what I've written, though. There are girls who'd dreams are dashed by the abuse they suffered; girls who are raising children when they are hardly more than children themselves; there are even girls who are 'fated' to be taken. But I won't get into all that.
If you can't tell, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Even though I know the plot, I think it's one of those books I'd happily reread. It's definitely on my favourites list for 2021 - 5 stars!
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
storyfilledflowers's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
Minor: Drug use
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