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A review by camiandkitread
Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I haven’t read a Libba Bray book since middle school/high school—shout out to “A Great and Terrible Beauty”—so I wasn’t sure what to expect from “Under the Same Stars.” But I saw the description included WWII and a friend was scrapping for an ARC so I figured this was one to prioritize on my TBR.
1940s Germany, 1980s Berlin, and 2020 New York didn’t initially seem like they’d blend well together. But if it’s about WWII, I’m probably sat, so I gave it a try and boy were my expectations shattered. “Under the Same Stars” took three separate, distinct historical events and used them as a background to tell a narrative about the power of love and resistance.
The book was well researched and handled the different historical events believably. Although I personally thought the 2020 scenes were a little heavy handed in regards to the pandemic, the scenes set in the 1940s with the war and Holocaust and the 1980s scenes with the dangers and differences between East Germany and West Germany were written beautifully. They seemed very respectful to those who suffered—to all different degrees—during the oppressive regimes.
1940s Germany, 1980s Berlin, and 2020 New York didn’t initially seem like they’d blend well together. But if it’s about WWII, I’m probably sat, so I gave it a try and boy were my expectations shattered. “Under the Same Stars” took three separate, distinct historical events and used them as a background to tell a narrative about the power of love and resistance.
The book was well researched and handled the different historical events believably. Although I personally thought the 2020 scenes were a little heavy handed in regards to the pandemic, the scenes set in the 1940s with the war and Holocaust and the 1980s scenes with the dangers and differences between East Germany and West Germany were written beautifully. They seemed very respectful to those who suffered—to all different degrees—during the oppressive regimes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Alcohol