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A review by kazuchuu
Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake
5.0
tw: rape, sexual assault, victim-blaming, homophobia, biphobia
after not picking up a book for, maybe, 6 months or so (or longer), i finally forced myself to buy a couple so i could put them in front of me and force myself to read
i'm glad i did.
and even though i haven't written a review since forever, i'll still try to assemble my thoughts into something resembling coherency.
girl made of stars left me infuriated and emotionally drained, for all the right reasons. at first, when i was nearing the end, i got angry that owen never truly gets what he deserves. he does something unforgivable and still more-or-less gets away with it. and i'm still mad, but that's just the thing right there: this is what normally happens. men rape girls, and they more often than not get away with it, and the victims are left to pick up the pieces.
this story is realistic and follows hundreds of narratives, and i realised that i'm angry more at the reality we live rather than the actual contents of the book.
and, really, kudos to ashley for making me feel this way. i always feel strongly when it comes to this sort of thing, but she really made me want to go and fight, to do something even though i know i'm basically powerless in the face of these issues.
ashley speaks for all the victims, since the beginning of time, whose stories have gone unheard, whose rapists were left unpunished.
when i first started reading, i was really curious to see how mara would handle her brother doing such a violent act. we all know how angry and resentful we would feel towards any rapist, but what if they were related to us by blood? what if we thought we knew them through and through and found out we didn't? these sorts of dilemmas are tackled really well and i appreciate ashley for being able to portray it properly. it's not an easy topic to handle.
and, more of a side note, really, but mara owning the title 'queen bitch' after she writes those feminist articles? hell yeah. that hit me hard, because i was the 'queen bitch' of my own school, and all this time i thought i ought to be ashamed for talking too much about women's rights, until this book reminded me that we can never talk enough. until rapists and child molesters get punished for their crimes as they should be, until victim-blaming ceases, until girls can wear skirts and not have to worry about being sent to the principal's office for causing a "distraction", we can never talk enough.
i adored mara and charlie and hannah, and i hope that there's more people in the world like them, who would have your back even if everyone else screams liar.
after not picking up a book for, maybe, 6 months or so (or longer), i finally forced myself to buy a couple so i could put them in front of me and force myself to read
i'm glad i did.
and even though i haven't written a review since forever, i'll still try to assemble my thoughts into something resembling coherency.
girl made of stars left me infuriated and emotionally drained, for all the right reasons. at first, when i was nearing the end, i got angry that owen never truly gets what he deserves. he does something unforgivable and still more-or-less gets away with it. and i'm still mad, but that's just the thing right there: this is what normally happens. men rape girls, and they more often than not get away with it, and the victims are left to pick up the pieces.
this story is realistic and follows hundreds of narratives, and i realised that i'm angry more at the reality we live rather than the actual contents of the book.
and, really, kudos to ashley for making me feel this way. i always feel strongly when it comes to this sort of thing, but she really made me want to go and fight, to do something even though i know i'm basically powerless in the face of these issues.
ashley speaks for all the victims, since the beginning of time, whose stories have gone unheard, whose rapists were left unpunished.
when i first started reading, i was really curious to see how mara would handle her brother doing such a violent act. we all know how angry and resentful we would feel towards any rapist, but what if they were related to us by blood? what if we thought we knew them through and through and found out we didn't? these sorts of dilemmas are tackled really well and i appreciate ashley for being able to portray it properly. it's not an easy topic to handle.
and, more of a side note, really, but mara owning the title 'queen bitch' after she writes those feminist articles? hell yeah. that hit me hard, because i was the 'queen bitch' of my own school, and all this time i thought i ought to be ashamed for talking too much about women's rights, until this book reminded me that we can never talk enough. until rapists and child molesters get punished for their crimes as they should be, until victim-blaming ceases, until girls can wear skirts and not have to worry about being sent to the principal's office for causing a "distraction", we can never talk enough.
i adored mara and charlie and hannah, and i hope that there's more people in the world like them, who would have your back even if everyone else screams liar.