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A review by ladygetslit
See All the Stars by Kit Frick
4.0
I picked this up on a whim. It was an unclaimed ARC in the break room, and I was hooked after reading the first chapter. See All the Stars is one of those books that keeps you going because you just have to know what happened in the past to cause the situation of the present. For me, at least, I didn’t necessarily see it coming.
What impressed me about this was the lyrical writing, paired with the unflinching examination of pure teen angst. I can see how some would read this book and see it as over-dramatizing. It’s essentially Mean Girls, but with a darker twist and a severe lack of Tina Fey’s humor. But I loved it.
Here’s my take: we always need more stories about the complex nature of female friendships. Ret, the complicated, toxic group leader in this story, isn’t just a “mean girl” and can’t just be boiled down to her actions. Even when she’s binge drinking and sleeping around, Ret’s actions all come from a specific place of her own inability to cope with life. Even when Ellory, our protagonist, is hating Ret, she still loves her friend. As over-dramatic as the plot of this book seems when laid out on paper, it does an amazing job of showing just how traumatic toxic friendships can be for everyone involved. We, as adults, would do well to pay attention to this—and maybe find better ways of talking about it.
This is also a great exploration of grief in a way that I haven’t necessarily seen before. One can grieve for lots of reasons: loss of a parent or parents divorcing, a bad breakup with a significant other, or even a breakup with a friend. But so rarely do we talk about friend breakups, how they’re part of life but can also be incredibly painful.
All that being said, See All the Stars is a pretty intense examination of the dark side of teenage relationships, and it’s probably not for everyone.
What impressed me about this was the lyrical writing, paired with the unflinching examination of pure teen angst. I can see how some would read this book and see it as over-dramatizing. It’s essentially Mean Girls, but with a darker twist and a severe lack of Tina Fey’s humor. But I loved it.
Here’s my take: we always need more stories about the complex nature of female friendships. Ret, the complicated, toxic group leader in this story, isn’t just a “mean girl” and can’t just be boiled down to her actions. Even when she’s binge drinking and sleeping around, Ret’s actions all come from a specific place of her own inability to cope with life. Even when Ellory, our protagonist, is hating Ret, she still loves her friend. As over-dramatic as the plot of this book seems when laid out on paper, it does an amazing job of showing just how traumatic toxic friendships can be for everyone involved. We, as adults, would do well to pay attention to this—and maybe find better ways of talking about it.
This is also a great exploration of grief in a way that I haven’t necessarily seen before. One can grieve for lots of reasons: loss of a parent or parents divorcing, a bad breakup with a significant other, or even a breakup with a friend. But so rarely do we talk about friend breakups, how they’re part of life but can also be incredibly painful.
All that being said, See All the Stars is a pretty intense examination of the dark side of teenage relationships, and it’s probably not for everyone.