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A review by abookishaffair
Stardust Summer by Lauren Clark, Laura McNeill
3.0
"Stardust Summer" is a story about redemption, dealing with grief, and family. There is also a little pinch of romance. Clark brings together some great characters in order to illustrate these things. I really liked the characters. Grace was probably my favorite character in the book. Her relationship with her father was fraught with issues after she loses her mother at a very young age. Grace can't really forgive her father and she doesn't have a real relationship with him. It was interesting to see how she deals with this relationship. I felt bad that she couldn't put the past behind her a little more so that her son, Evan, could have a real relationship with his grandfather. Luckily, Grace eventually realizes that sometimes it is much better to make peace with the past instead of holding on to old, unhealthy feelings.
I also really liked the morphing of the relationship between Grace and Kathleen, her step-mother. They have a really interesting back story and it is easy to see why they do not really have a good relationship at the beginning of the book. I liked watching their relationship transform from something pretty bad to something deeper and more real and loving. I really wanted the relationship between Grace and Ryan to be explored a little bit more. I wanted to know more about their attraction to each other.
Overall, the writing is fairly engaging. I did think that there was some details in the book that could have been tightened up a little. There was also a lot of telling rather than telling and reiteration where the reader could have definitely come to their own conclusions without more statements or words.
Bottom line: A good family story!
I also really liked the morphing of the relationship between Grace and Kathleen, her step-mother. They have a really interesting back story and it is easy to see why they do not really have a good relationship at the beginning of the book. I liked watching their relationship transform from something pretty bad to something deeper and more real and loving. I really wanted the relationship between Grace and Ryan to be explored a little bit more. I wanted to know more about their attraction to each other.
Overall, the writing is fairly engaging. I did think that there was some details in the book that could have been tightened up a little. There was also a lot of telling rather than telling and reiteration where the reader could have definitely come to their own conclusions without more statements or words.
Bottom line: A good family story!