A review by jerseygrrrl
Body of Stars by Laura Maylene Walter

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.