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daisysbookmusings's review against another edition
5.0
Body of Stars is a complex novel; it is both whimsical yet harrowing. The narrative of rape culture and control posed upon women is entwined with beautiful descriptive magic of a future where the marking on a women's body predicts the future for her and sometimes male family members. It is all-consuming, and from the off, you feel as if you have deep dived into a story that is both familiar and foreign. It reflects society's views on victim-blaming and manipulation, making the reader feel the devastating reality of a society fixated on fate ultimately; however, it is a story of hope. It also raises questions regarding gender, gender roles, stereotypes as any identity other than heterosexual, cisgender a crime in its society—a complete triumph of a book that will indeed become a modern-day classic.
agirlandabook85's review
4.0
4.5 stars
This tells the story of Celeste who lives in a world where the future is foretold on women’s bodies. The unique moles and freckles of a woman are deemed to be similar to constellations in the sky which can be interpreted to show how her life will turn out. Within this dystopian universe men do not have this gift and as such rely upon the future being told upon the lives of women close to them. Around the age of puberty a girl becomes a woman when her markings change and her fate is set. But what happens when that future is something you want to prevent at all cost?
At this point I will include a CW: (This book contains Confinement, Drug use, Misogyny, Rape and Kidnapping).
The major theme within this book is topical for many of the conversations currently being held in our country right now. The objectivity of women, victim blaming, focusing upon the behaviour of women rather than the violence of men and as such it may be a difficult read for some at this time, please be kind to yourself.
In addition to the above vital social commentary of what it is to often be a woman in this world the book also left me puzzling my very existence. I loved the concept of fate and destiny... would you want to know how your life was going to turn out from the start? Would you prefer to have the knowledge of future so as to prepare but have no choice over what that might be?
This was an astounding debut and I throughly enjoyed reading it ✨
This tells the story of Celeste who lives in a world where the future is foretold on women’s bodies. The unique moles and freckles of a woman are deemed to be similar to constellations in the sky which can be interpreted to show how her life will turn out. Within this dystopian universe men do not have this gift and as such rely upon the future being told upon the lives of women close to them. Around the age of puberty a girl becomes a woman when her markings change and her fate is set. But what happens when that future is something you want to prevent at all cost?
At this point I will include a CW: (This book contains Confinement, Drug use, Misogyny, Rape and Kidnapping).
The major theme within this book is topical for many of the conversations currently being held in our country right now. The objectivity of women, victim blaming, focusing upon the behaviour of women rather than the violence of men and as such it may be a difficult read for some at this time, please be kind to yourself.
In addition to the above vital social commentary of what it is to often be a woman in this world the book also left me puzzling my very existence. I loved the concept of fate and destiny... would you want to know how your life was going to turn out from the start? Would you prefer to have the knowledge of future so as to prepare but have no choice over what that might be?
This was an astounding debut and I throughly enjoyed reading it ✨
brooke_review's review
4.0
If you could discover what the future holds for you, would you want to know? If you are a girl born into the fictional world portrayed in Laura Maylene Walter’s debut novel Body of Stars, you wouldn’t have a choice. Like in many societies where choices have been stripped from women, this one is no different, but here, girls are born with their futures told right on their bodies. In the form of moles, freckles, and birthmarks, a girl’s entire future is available for all to see and interpret right there on her skin. Girls have no choice but to know what awaits them in the upcoming years as they are constantly subjected to scrutiny and interpretation of their markings. Would you want to live in Walter’s exploitative world? I know I sure wouldn’t.
Walter’s debut is a timely and important book about a world different, but also akin to our own. Women’s bodies have been on display and obsessed over throughout time, and Walters takes this fixation a step further by putting the future of society on the skin of women. Skin that is examined, scrutinized, and obsessed over.
Even more harrowing, Walter writes of the time period during which a teenage girl reaches “puberty” - when she is a “changeling.” During this time, these young girls become irresistible to anyone who is near them and are often subjected to kidnapping and rape by men who cannot keep their eyes and hands off of them. At the end of the changeling period, the girls’ “wow factor” disappears, and all kidnapped girls are returned to their families. If you guessed that the girls are blamed for these attacks and that the men are rarely prosecuted, you are right - yes, in Walter’s twisted world, women are subjected to misogyny just like they are in today’s society.
While marketed to adults, Body of Stars reads much like YA dystopian fiction, albeit with a little more meat and grit than you may find in the standard young adult fare. Therefore, this novel can be enjoyed by adults who love or grew up on the YA dystopian genre, but are looking for similar novels with a bit more substance. This book can also be appreciated by maturing young adults who are looking to move beyond the dystopian novels marketed to their age group.
Easy to read & get into with thought-provoking topics and lyrical writing, Body of Stars is a fresh take on the role and impact women and their bodies play in society.
Walter’s debut is a timely and important book about a world different, but also akin to our own. Women’s bodies have been on display and obsessed over throughout time, and Walters takes this fixation a step further by putting the future of society on the skin of women. Skin that is examined, scrutinized, and obsessed over.
Even more harrowing, Walter writes of the time period during which a teenage girl reaches “puberty” - when she is a “changeling.” During this time, these young girls become irresistible to anyone who is near them and are often subjected to kidnapping and rape by men who cannot keep their eyes and hands off of them. At the end of the changeling period, the girls’ “wow factor” disappears, and all kidnapped girls are returned to their families. If you guessed that the girls are blamed for these attacks and that the men are rarely prosecuted, you are right - yes, in Walter’s twisted world, women are subjected to misogyny just like they are in today’s society.
While marketed to adults, Body of Stars reads much like YA dystopian fiction, albeit with a little more meat and grit than you may find in the standard young adult fare. Therefore, this novel can be enjoyed by adults who love or grew up on the YA dystopian genre, but are looking for similar novels with a bit more substance. This book can also be appreciated by maturing young adults who are looking to move beyond the dystopian novels marketed to their age group.
Easy to read & get into with thought-provoking topics and lyrical writing, Body of Stars is a fresh take on the role and impact women and their bodies play in society.
mundinova's review
2.0
Want to feel outraged for the sake of being outraged?
The world-building for this story is great: a horrible society where women are abused and marginalized more than [b:The Handmaid's Tale|38447|The Handmaid's Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)|Margaret Atwood|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1578028274l/38447._SY75_.jpg|1119185]. There's so much for our protagonist to overcome ... which doesn't really happen. I'm mostly upset that she doesn't mentally grow as a character. I expected more from her, I expected her to take action. She's surrounded by characters who do take action, but not her.
Most of the scenes are created to make every woman on the planet sick to their stomach. It's misery porn.
Story: 2 stars
Character Development: 1 star
Writing: 2 stars
The world-building for this story is great: a horrible society where women are abused and marginalized more than [b:The Handmaid's Tale|38447|The Handmaid's Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)|Margaret Atwood|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1578028274l/38447._SY75_.jpg|1119185]. There's so much for our protagonist to overcome ... which doesn't really happen. I'm mostly upset that she doesn't mentally grow as a character. I expected more from her, I expected her to take action. She's surrounded by characters who do take action, but not her.
Most of the scenes are created to make every woman on the planet sick to their stomach. It's misery porn.
Story: 2 stars
Character Development: 1 star
Writing: 2 stars
cakedcrusader's review
4.0
3.5 stars only because I wish it had been longer. I wish we could have seen the growth of relationships and been given more depth of the character’s experiences (especially at the mountain school). But it was a very interesting, thought provoking, and creative story. I felt sucked in from the first chapter and really enjoyed the extra notes, stories, and illustrations before each chapter. Highly enjoyed!
kittykornerlibrarian's review
3.0
I actually liked this and it is well-constructed, AND I'm feeling the pressure of having too many library books checked out and so I'm not going to spend time on a book I'm not really loving. And reading this makes me feel like watching too many episodes of the Handmaids Tale on Hulu, it just keeps getting more and more depressing and the characters seem so powerless. I normally enjoy books that center women in a dark fantasy world, and I'm sorry I can't keep going with this one. It begins in the tone of a coming-of-age story, with narrator Celeste describing her relationship with her older brother Miles when they were children. In this world, girls' and women's bodies are marked with moles in identifiable patterns that can reveal the future. Instead of giving them power, though, the marks seem to make them more vulnerable to various forms of powerlessness and abuse. I'm stopping at the point where the worst has happened to Celeste, because it just feels pretty hopeless and I've got a huge stack of other library books waiting. Maybe I'm the wrong reader. Maybe it's the wrong time. I do think it's a strong book but I'm just not feeling it right now.
lifeinpoetry's review against another edition
DNF @ 50%-ish.
TWs: incest, rape, homophobia
Spoiler
While I went in knowing this was a misogynist dystopia this story moves like treacle and is rife with (semi-)incestuous moments both casual and ritual within the community (MC's brother & father feel entitled to 'read' her nude body for her/their fortunes via a series of birthmarks & moles, the ritual nude photographs by her father after she becomes a 'changeling' for the newly updated fortune telling birthmarks & moles), homophobia, toxic masculinity, toxic female friendships, a preachy MC (who enforces the misogyny, homophobia, and toxic masculinity), etc. It honestly felt like a barely there premise and there was zero warmth between the characters.TWs: incest, rape, homophobia
strangecandy's review
4.0
Interesting story about how the girls are born with markings that determine their juvenile fate. As they become women, changelings, their markings change overnight to determine their permanent fate.
This story is about a brother and sister that are determined to change how fates are predicted and how they can be changed.
I enjoyed the book. Beautifully written and hard to put down. I definitely recommend this for fans of dystopian stories like The Handmaid's Tale or Vox.
This story is about a brother and sister that are determined to change how fates are predicted and how they can be changed.
I enjoyed the book. Beautifully written and hard to put down. I definitely recommend this for fans of dystopian stories like The Handmaid's Tale or Vox.
zeljana's review
3.0
Imagine you are a woman in the universe of this book, wherefrom the moment you're born you have markings on your skin that tell your future. Then, around the age of 16 you undergo a process of change into your adult person and you get more detailed markings, that set your future in stone. You are also overwhelmingly attractive for that short period of time, which can lead you to your doom.
It is a privilege to know, the characters tend to believe, and men who do not have this privilege are obsessed with knowing. They reserve the right to read the markings of their family members in order to learn more about themselves. They also get strangely attracted to all the changelings and that is when many girls are abducted, their future ruined. Because it is only their fault for allowing it to happen.
The setup for this novel was genius. What a great way to explore female agency and objectivization of the female body. But, the delivery was not great. The characters remained superficial, there were some plot holes and strange deus ex-machina solutions. More importantly, I didn't care much for the characters as there was not much depth to them. This book is centred around its message, but whenever the message is so strong, I prefer seeing more substance in the actual novel.
It is a privilege to know, the characters tend to believe, and men who do not have this privilege are obsessed with knowing. They reserve the right to read the markings of their family members in order to learn more about themselves. They also get strangely attracted to all the changelings and that is when many girls are abducted, their future ruined. Because it is only their fault for allowing it to happen.
The setup for this novel was genius. What a great way to explore female agency and objectivization of the female body. But, the delivery was not great. The characters remained superficial, there were some plot holes and strange deus ex-machina solutions. More importantly, I didn't care much for the characters as there was not much depth to them. This book is centred around its message, but whenever the message is so strong, I prefer seeing more substance in the actual novel.
jerseygrrrl's review
4.0
Fantastic book. At first, I wasn't sure if the author was creating a false science like phrenology in the practice of reading futures from the markings on a woman's body. Soon it became clear that the markings were real and did have some connection to the future. However, as the book points out, the markings are used as a way to limit and control women. In this way, the world that Walter portrays is no different from our own. Benign qualities are used as excuses to limit and control.
Besides the feminist message, this book also offers a coming of age story of a girl grappling with fate, free will, and the tensions between desire, ambition, and socially constructed limitations. That sounds pedantic, but the book is readable and compelling. I very much enjoyed it and couldn't stop turning pages.
Besides the feminist message, this book also offers a coming of age story of a girl grappling with fate, free will, and the tensions between desire, ambition, and socially constructed limitations. That sounds pedantic, but the book is readable and compelling. I very much enjoyed it and couldn't stop turning pages.