Reviews

See All the Stars by Kit Frick

alidy's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No

2.5

lornforr's review

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3.0

The story was compelling, and I enjoyed the protagonist. However, given its similarities to other psychological/mystery YA novels, it was predictable. The ending, while well written, was not the huge plot twist I hoped for.

zanybibliophile's review

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3.0

A story of Then and Now showing just how much has changed in a year and how one's actions can have a lasting impact.

Ellory Holland is a rather reserved teenager who lives a simple life by following her friend Ret's lead. She was meek Then but it most certainly awkward and reserved Now and the other girl's lives have all changed from one year to the next.
Jenni Randall is Ret's oldest friend and is not fond of Ellory. Jenni is the type who dreams of being a wife and mother - the exact opposite of Ret.
Bex is headstrong, free-willed and the newest addition to the group. She does not seem to be as dependent on Ret as the other two, but still seeks her approval.
Margaret 'Ret' Johnston, the 'sun' they all revolve around and a rather controlling young woman. She is the one they all follow and she seems to live for their devotion.

The story flicks between time, the Then and Now, making it a little difficult to follow. I personally think it is best to read in one this book in one sitting, especially if you are one who loses track of the plot easily. I thought the writing was good but the plot was, in my opinion, somewhat bland. It was similar to other contemporary YA books in that the bully/problem character is one of the main character's friends but they do not see that what their bully/problem friend is wrong until it is made obvious. It was clear from the first page that Ret was going to be the "problem" character, I just did not yet know in what way.
I was actually thrown off by the ending. Thinking back over the story now, the signs were all there but I did not see it coming. However, I did not like it. I can understand why it was done that way and I suppose it does sort of fit the story, it is just not how I was expecting it to go and I did not like how it wrapped up the drama of the book.

Overall, I liked the book but I was not overly keen on all the story elements. I will say it is worth reading as I think my not-so-positive feelings towards the book are more personal rather than a reflection on the quality of the book.

kpbq81's review

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2.0

Normally I enjoy the mean girl high school stories. But these characters were pretty one-dimensional and not even interestingly unlikeable. None of them developed over time, or had depth. And not much happened in the story either. Most of the actual events happened in the last 40 pages.

maeghin's review

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3.0

’Two roads diverged in a wood, and I...’

A coming of age novel about a group of friends that are torn apart by lies, secrets and betrayals.

This story follows 2 timelines. It bounces between the main character, Ellorys’, junior and senior year in high school.

It opens with an ‘incident’ that happened to Ellory that you do not find out about until the very ending of the book. This ‘incident’ was the only reason I kept reading, I was waiting for it to reveal itself.

I felt the story was very slow paced and I didn’t connect with any of the characters. I also did not like the groups fixation on their ‘leader’. The bulk of the story was about the group fighting for her attention. It got old quickly.

brittrivera's review

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3.0

See All the Stars is one of those books I raced through because I wanted to know how it ended. What event could possibly be so terrible as to tear these 4 girls, this solar system apart? Even as I found myself absorbed in the story I knew the big reveal wouldn't be satisfying. And in some ways it wasn't. But I still enjoyed reading Ellory's story. Ret is a fascinating character and I still want to know so much about her; the book answered the major question, but not so many lingering little ones I had. I also really liked the positive representation of therapy and the metaphors for healing and letting go.

meggomyeggo1210's review

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4.0

Well I started out thinking this was a typical teen drama and I was mostly right until the twist hit me and now I'm crying. I got a little annoyed at the dragging out of the big reveal of what happened and that was pretty predictable to me but the rest was kind of a shock. I liked Ellory and I'm glad she figured her stuff out. Something that bothered me throughout reading this book was that the descriptions of their clothes seemed reminiscent of the 2000s/2010s to me, which was a little weird and I was surprised every time I checked the publication date (2018).

librarianshell's review

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2.0

Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for the ARC of [b:See All the Stars|32718970|See All the Stars|Kit Frick|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1532537586s/32718970.jpg|53300771] by [a:Kit Frick|7210822|Kit Frick|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1499480938p2/7210822.jpg]! First off, I think it is a mistake to compare this to [b:We Were Liars|16143347|We Were Liars|E. Lockhart|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1402749479s/16143347.jpg|21975829].
Spoiler It gave too much away, if it's like [b:We Were Liars|16143347|We Were Liars|E. Lockhart|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1402749479s/16143347.jpg|21975829], then hmmm, maybe someone is dead. I wasn't wrong.
I think it would be best to read this book without any reference point, and see what you think of it from there. Honestly, I'm not sure what I would have thought if I read it without the comparison in mind. I may have enjoyed it a bit more.

[b:See All the Stars|32718970|See All the Stars|Kit Frick|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1532537586s/32718970.jpg|53300771] is the story of Ellory and her friends that spans about 2 years of their lives. We see how their friendship falls apart-this is not a spoiler-we see it from the beginning since the book is divided into "now" and "then" chapters. We know something happened- "the fall"-, but we don't know what (unless you figured it out). Their lives all revolve around Ret, the leader of the group. Ret is not necessarily a very likable character, but she is a character with power. She reminds me of some of the girls in [b:Little Monsters|40670509|Little Monsters|Kara Thomas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1530296046s/40670509.jpg|52952419] or [b:13 Minutes|26842622|13 Minutes|Sarah Pinborough|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1443998343s/26842622.jpg|46877233]. Hah, there I go making comparisons after just saying to read it with a clean slate.

I don't know what your high school experience was, but mine wasn't filled with so much drama and manipulation from my friends (key word-friends). Not to say it doesn't happen, this just means I had trouble relating. Maybe if your friends aren't nice to you, they shouldn't be your friends? But I know there is such a strong desire to belong, to be a part of something. ANYWAY.

I think Ellory's journey was a good one to follow, although her character's voice was a bit dry at times. We see her grow through her pain and the events of "the fall" that we are working towards/away from. It was a good picture of healing from hurts, although Ellory seems to be an extreme loner, I wish she would accept the help of those around her. And in a small way, I supposed she did.
Spoiler She listened to her counselor, right? She took steps to let go of each person who had wronged her and who she had wronged in return
. I think I just wanted to see a little more unity, especially between her and her parents.

Overall, [b:See All the Stars|32718970|See All the Stars|Kit Frick|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1532537586s/32718970.jpg|53300771] was an okay read. It didn't leave me emotionally charged, but it did leave me with a vague sense of healing/forgiveness.

tmleblanc's review

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4.0

This story blew me away. The two opposite timelines coming together near the mid-point of the story added just the right amount of tension to keep me reading.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

book_gal's review

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was quite slow throughout until the plot twist at the end. It definitely hard to get into and written very strange ( switching between now and then)