Reviews with content warning for Death - Light from Uncommon Stars

Good enjoyable read. It was a surprisingly hopeful story, especially given the premise. I went into the book completely blind, a friend handed it to me and said I'd like it. It was fun to be surprised as certain things kept getting added which you'd know if you read the synopsis or even the back of the book. A 19 year old transgender woman who flees an abusive family and is a violin prodigy... a violin teacher who made a deal with Hell and now has to deliver 7 souls or else her own is forfeit...

a space alien family fleeing a galactic war and plague

who now run a donut shop . The book is weird, with those things, but it's delightful.

There were a couple spots where it felt like "more" was needed to fulfill a particular storyline or character arc, which stopped me from feeling completely fulfilled. A character from early on reappears briefly in the second half

and it gives the impression they'll do more... but then they drift out again until the last few pages

. It felt incomplete. Another character does something horrific and it's not REALLY addressed.

They kill a bigot, that's fine and dandy... but also murder the person the bigot is dating, who they have a crush on, while hating themselves for even liking them

. That was jarring.

They get put into a stasis and don't directly appear again but that's it. I wish something different had been done there

.

The ending is good but on the contrived side.

All that said, the book really was overall enjoyable.

There's multiple minor plotlines woven in that I loved, and a big theme running through it all of what it means to be human and a person and alive, and of joy and soul.

Content Warnings

suchacommotion's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

This book is so devastatingly emotional and philosophical and reads just like an old friend. The themes of identity, family and acceptance under the blanket of music in a sci-fi/fantasy setting all make this book complex, fascinating, and engaging from start to finish.

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grey_poppy's review

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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ashlee2319's review against another edition

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It's hard to follow, weird page breaks and formatting indicating POV changes. Some significant points were written in a very insignificant way. There's a huge amount of text about violens and food, but the story line was lacking. There's a lot of missed opportunities to expand on the story and I just got tired of trying to make it work. I didn't feel like taking the time to finish it when I have others on my tbr shelf to enjoy.

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scifi_rat's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

3.5

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pan_dulce08's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I felt the book started out really strong with the main protagonist, Kristina, really intriguing me as I found her relatable but also somewhat mysterious with how she acted, and I wanted to see her develop and come into better circumstances. I also liked the setting of Southern California and how it is picked apart and commented on by the character of Shizuka. However, I feel with everything that was added as the story progressed and how long the cast-list came to be the book fails a bit with balancing the diverse set of themes present in it. It also fails in some ways to really think critically about what is portrayed in it, which makes the characters feel less... human.

(Yes, I know some of the characters are literally in-human, but even so, actions like murder of multiple innocent people should still be treated with the gravity that action deserves by the alien characters as well, as that act is still wrong where they come from!)

For example,

Shizuka offhandedly mentions how she had done sexual favors for people in exchange for nice things like the car she drives, and later on Katrina begins the same practice... as a seventeen year old minor. Katrina was involved with sex work before, however it was clear the abuse she suffered while on the job was simply endured by her because she needed the money from it to stay alive, and the harsh nature of the clients she had to see and what they would make her do was given the narrative weight it required, but that theming and narrative standard does not carry through with what Katrina does later on in the story.

I feel like this carelessness about the acts of sexual exploitation of young women in a male-dominated industry is very confusing with what a lot of the book's focus seems to be, which is that on two women, one younger and one older, who both have scratched and clawed their ways to succeed in what they are passionate about. If anything, those acts should be treated with far more heaviness than they are by the book so as to not confuse the reader so much!

Sorry this is so long... I enjoyed a lot of aspects and characters from the book when I read it, but a lot of things about it bothered me as well and I wanted to talk about those things...

Content Warnings

laguerrelewis's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

“When two violins are placed in a room if a chord on one violin is struck
the other violin will sound the note”
—Say Yes, Andrea Gibson

Light From Uncommon Stars is difficult to distill. A plot synopsis often leaves your audience thinking “how does that fit together?” This is actually Stars’ greatest strength—it contains multitudes, and its insight is fathomless. Like Gibson says in the poem quoted above, Ryka Aoki is able to play the exact chords that resonate and sound in the reader. The result is a moving and incredibly affecting story of legacy, love, connection, community, mistakes, the condition of being alive, and the connective power of music and donuts. These words will stay with me for years to come. Keep tissues on hand, and do not read this book hungry.

Content Warnings

alienguy's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring tense 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? Yes

4.25

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