Take a photo of a barcode or cover
alexacj 's review for:
Her Name in the Sky
by Kelly Quindlen
First things first: if you are even slightly considering it, you MUST read this book.
It's been a while since I've come across a book that had me relate to its protagonist as much as I did with Hannah. As a girl who is further along the path to accepting herself than Hannah but still not quite to the end, Her Name in the Sky gave me a lot to think about. I'm not going to lie and say I did not cry, because I did. (Profusely, and through much of the second half of the book, I might add.) There are parts of the the plot that are painful to read because they ring so true, but this is balanced by the fact that the author really and truly understands what these characters are going through. The writing is realistic whether the emotion is despair or joy. It's for this reason that I couldn't put the book down.
Although the story focuses on Hannah and Baker, they are not the only characters that matter here. Hannah's relationship with her sister Joanie is important to the story, as well as that with her parents. Although much of this drives back to Hannah's struggle, that's not the only force at play here. The dynamic of Hannah and Baker's friend group, affectionately dubbed the "six pack," is also of huge importance in the novel, considering that it follows the group through the last half of their senior year of high school. The humanity present in this novel is astounding, and refreshing.
Another thing that made the book shine so brightly is the way that it explores religion and sexuality. Those passages were the ones that made me look away from the story because I needed a moment to process exactly what was being said. For a religious person such as myself, the experience of reading this was akin to drinking from a cold well after wandering for weeks in the desert. There is so much to love in this book because the book offers such a wonderful depiction of love, no matter the form.
In the end, it really is hard to list every wonderful thing about Her Name in the Sky. In addition to being an enjoyable and well-written addition to the YA genre, this book has helped me understand myself in a way that I can only cherish. I truly hope that it will go on to reach even broader audiences, because this is a story that deserves to be told.
It's been a while since I've come across a book that had me relate to its protagonist as much as I did with Hannah. As a girl who is further along the path to accepting herself than Hannah but still not quite to the end, Her Name in the Sky gave me a lot to think about. I'm not going to lie and say I did not cry, because I did. (Profusely, and through much of the second half of the book, I might add.) There are parts of the the plot that are painful to read because they ring so true, but this is balanced by the fact that the author really and truly understands what these characters are going through. The writing is realistic whether the emotion is despair or joy. It's for this reason that I couldn't put the book down.
Although the story focuses on Hannah and Baker, they are not the only characters that matter here. Hannah's relationship with her sister Joanie is important to the story, as well as that with her parents. Although much of this drives back to Hannah's struggle, that's not the only force at play here. The dynamic of Hannah and Baker's friend group, affectionately dubbed the "six pack," is also of huge importance in the novel, considering that it follows the group through the last half of their senior year of high school. The humanity present in this novel is astounding, and refreshing.
Another thing that made the book shine so brightly is the way that it explores religion and sexuality. Those passages were the ones that made me look away from the story because I needed a moment to process exactly what was being said. For a religious person such as myself, the experience of reading this was akin to drinking from a cold well after wandering for weeks in the desert. There is so much to love in this book because the book offers such a wonderful depiction of love, no matter the form.
In the end, it really is hard to list every wonderful thing about Her Name in the Sky. In addition to being an enjoyable and well-written addition to the YA genre, this book has helped me understand myself in a way that I can only cherish. I truly hope that it will go on to reach even broader audiences, because this is a story that deserves to be told.