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A review by lenoreo
And All the Stars by Andrea K. Höst
5.0
4.5 stars -- wow. I actually finished this morning and have been sitting and stewing about this. The funny thing is that the writing style isn't exactly my favourite -- it's very....intelligent? I wish I could express myself properly. Anyways, the writing is well done, but personal taste wise -- I actually like simpler language. So when it started off all confusing, I was worried I wouldn't be able to finish the book. Wow, was I wrong. So in spite of the language being a bit too much for me (in that sometimes I wasn't always sure what the author was trying to say, and it required thought, and I'm not a fan of too much extra thought), this book was just....wow. I keep saying it, but it was so real. Yeah, I know, a dystopian future novel was "real". But the characters, and the emotions, and just....gah! Ms. Host just knows exactly how to dig into your heart, bury herself there and then manipulate your emotions over and over. Not to say this was an exhausting read...it actually wasn't. I mean, I cried a good deal near the end, but I didn't feel drained. I felt...shocked and wounded, but with hope.
OK, OK, OK....what am I trying to say. This book was fantastic. It had action/adventure, science, mystery, drama, romance.... And while I don't like fancy literary stuff, it really was a beautiful read. I loved all the characters...honestly, while Maddie was the MC, the supporting cast was oh so important. Even though I am terrible at pronouncing names, and I know Noi probably rhymes with "coy", yet I kept rhyming it with "mwah" (as in a kiss). I couldn't stop myself. I tried. Sort of. There were so many different personalities, and watching them interact with each other was nothing short of brilliant. It was really a character study, and they all felt so real, flawed and beautiful. And due to some twists in the story (which I personally didn't see coming, so I was right there with Maddie), this book is eminently rereadable...I want to do that right now, but I have so much on my queue I think I will let it sit and simmer for a while.
Sometimes the plot would build up to something and it would be more about the buildup and then would gloss over what you expected to be a big section of plot....and this *should* have bothered me, but it didn't. I don't know why.
On a side note -- thank you so much for the epilogue. It was perfect. I'm the kind of reader that *needs* a good epilogue, and this had just enough to satisfy me.
On another side note -- I just visited Australia this past fall, so it was so bizarre and exciting to recognize the names of neighbourhoods and other landmarks. I could seriously picture it.
So while Ms. Host's writing style is a bit out of my wheelhouse, her mastery of plot and characters means I would take another chance on her in a heartbeat. :)
OK, OK, OK....what am I trying to say. This book was fantastic. It had action/adventure, science, mystery, drama, romance.... And while I don't like fancy literary stuff, it really was a beautiful read. I loved all the characters...honestly, while Maddie was the MC, the supporting cast was oh so important. Even though I am terrible at pronouncing names, and I know Noi probably rhymes with "coy", yet I kept rhyming it with "mwah" (as in a kiss). I couldn't stop myself. I tried. Sort of. There were so many different personalities, and watching them interact with each other was nothing short of brilliant. It was really a character study, and they all felt so real, flawed and beautiful. And due to some twists in the story (which I personally didn't see coming, so I was right there with Maddie), this book is eminently rereadable...I want to do that right now, but I have so much on my queue I think I will let it sit and simmer for a while.
Sometimes the plot would build up to something and it would be more about the buildup and then would gloss over what you expected to be a big section of plot....and this *should* have bothered me, but it didn't. I don't know why.
On a side note -- thank you so much for the epilogue. It was perfect. I'm the kind of reader that *needs* a good epilogue, and this had just enough to satisfy me.
On another side note -- I just visited Australia this past fall, so it was so bizarre and exciting to recognize the names of neighbourhoods and other landmarks. I could seriously picture it.
So while Ms. Host's writing style is a bit out of my wheelhouse, her mastery of plot and characters means I would take another chance on her in a heartbeat. :)