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tibcanread 's review for:
Girl Made of Stars
by Ashley Herring Blake
TW: rape, pedophilia
Okay, there is a lot going on in this story. First, Mara has recently broken up with her non-binary partner, Charlie. Second, she has gotten close with her twin brother, Owen's, girlfriend, Hannah. Third, she has a really awkward relationship with Owen's best friend, Alex. Fourth, Hannah has come out and accused Owen of rape. Fifth, Mara has her own past with unwanted attention from a man.
The books opens practically in the middle of the initial action with barely any time to get to know the main characters and the first half of the book feels way too rushed. I feel like this book could benefit from maybe 50-100 more pages (being less than 300 pages right now), but I'm also the kind of person who likes to take their time getting to know characters and have a little build up to the main conflict, which there are several going on here. Also, Blake's build-up to Mara's "secret" was a little too heavy-handed for me and was way too obvious.
What kept me from giving this book a two star rating was the ending. The second half of the book slowed down to a pace I feel like the first half should have, but the way the events play out in the end had me tearing up and picking up my phone to talk to my own partner to remind her how much I love her and keep our relationship super honest as I am a survivor of rape myself. That was another thing that kept this story out of the two star bin. The way the accusation was handled was really realistic as well as the pull Mara felt between being there for her friend and supporting her, and being a sister to her twin and coming to terms with the fact that the person she leaned on and loved dearly could be capable of doing such a horrendous thing. The way Hannah's case was handled was unfortunately all too realistic and that kind of treatment of rape cases in real life seriously needs to change in this country.
In the end, and after giving it a few days to really think about this book, I think I ended up liking it. The only big issue I had was with the pacing and the length. The characters were super realistic, the way everything was handled was unfortunately all too real, as was the end outcome of everything. This is a good book that deals with this subject matter.
***If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please reach out for help. The Rape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) is there to provide help to those who seek it. Call 800.656.HOPE (4673) to be connected with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.***
Okay, there is a lot going on in this story. First, Mara has recently broken up with her non-binary partner, Charlie. Second, she has gotten close with her twin brother, Owen's, girlfriend, Hannah. Third, she has a really awkward relationship with Owen's best friend, Alex. Fourth, Hannah has come out and accused Owen of rape. Fifth, Mara has her own past with unwanted attention from a man.
The books opens practically in the middle of the initial action with barely any time to get to know the main characters and the first half of the book feels way too rushed. I feel like this book could benefit from maybe 50-100 more pages (being less than 300 pages right now), but I'm also the kind of person who likes to take their time getting to know characters and have a little build up to the main conflict, which there are several going on here. Also, Blake's build-up to Mara's "secret" was a little too heavy-handed for me and was way too obvious.
What kept me from giving this book a two star rating was the ending. The second half of the book slowed down to a pace I feel like the first half should have, but the way the events play out in the end had me tearing up and picking up my phone to talk to my own partner to remind her how much I love her and keep our relationship super honest as I am a survivor of rape myself. That was another thing that kept this story out of the two star bin. The way the accusation was handled was really realistic as well as the pull Mara felt between being there for her friend and supporting her, and being a sister to her twin and coming to terms with the fact that the person she leaned on and loved dearly could be capable of doing such a horrendous thing. The way Hannah's case was handled was unfortunately all too realistic and that kind of treatment of rape cases in real life seriously needs to change in this country.
In the end, and after giving it a few days to really think about this book, I think I ended up liking it. The only big issue I had was with the pacing and the length. The characters were super realistic, the way everything was handled was unfortunately all too real, as was the end outcome of everything. This is a good book that deals with this subject matter.
***If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please reach out for help. The Rape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) is there to provide help to those who seek it. Call 800.656.HOPE (4673) to be connected with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.***