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A review by streetwrites
The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
5.0
My thoughts are swimming right now. This book was good on a level that other books strive to understand. By many standards, it was written in an unorthodox way, breaking many rules and norms of structure and voice. But by the end, I found myself thanking the universe (appropriately enough, considering the story) that Nicola Yoon decided to toss every convention out the window.
The voices in this book give it so much power. Natasha and Daniel represent situations that are unfamiliar to me, but that felt so relatable because of the authenticity and authority of their voices. I felt the pain of their situations. I felt joy and sadness and sudden hopefulness and tragedy and love and desire and a sense of destiny. That last one came from a third, unexpected voice: the universe itself. From a technical perspective, the author used a third-person narrative as a means of pulling away from the first-person back-and-forth of our two protagonists. In doing that, we got an amazing glimpse of how those characters impacted and changed the lives of other people they touched. From a less technical standpoint, that writing strategy provided a look at how all of our stories might be connected in reality. That's not to say that they ARE connected, but just he possibility that, in a world of 7 billion people, they MIGHT BE in some significant way, is truly humbling and thought-provoking.
Daniel's and Natasha's one-day, whirlwind romance is at the heart of this story, but the author conveys so much more than a tale of teen angst and love. It's rare that a story about such a quickly developed relationship (almost a love-at-first-sight kind of tale) can actually be so poignant and relevant. The characters don't conform to the usual tropes and norms, and both of them bring their own ideals and values to the table when it comes to the possibility of changing one's mind about something as important as love.
One of the most impressive things about the novel, if not its single greatest aspect, is that the majority of the narrative takes place in one single day. And, as YA goes, it's a pretty standard-length tome. But the amount of information conveyed, and the details and depth of plot and character development make it feel so much richer and longer and more worthwhile in the end. There is so much heart and humor and tragedy in this book, it will make you feel ALL the things. Those last hundred pages, MAN! The way Natasha's problem (and, really, the principle struggle of the story) hinges around one action, and the way that the story is resolved...it makes you realize that it's difficult to point out a single antagonist. Truthfully, the antagonist of this story is less a person and more a societal construct.
Definitely an emotional read, and a book that I would LOVE to see turned into a film.
The voices in this book give it so much power. Natasha and Daniel represent situations that are unfamiliar to me, but that felt so relatable because of the authenticity and authority of their voices. I felt the pain of their situations. I felt joy and sadness and sudden hopefulness and tragedy and love and desire and a sense of destiny. That last one came from a third, unexpected voice: the universe itself. From a technical perspective, the author used a third-person narrative as a means of pulling away from the first-person back-and-forth of our two protagonists. In doing that, we got an amazing glimpse of how those characters impacted and changed the lives of other people they touched. From a less technical standpoint, that writing strategy provided a look at how all of our stories might be connected in reality. That's not to say that they ARE connected, but just he possibility that, in a world of 7 billion people, they MIGHT BE in some significant way, is truly humbling and thought-provoking.
Daniel's and Natasha's one-day, whirlwind romance is at the heart of this story, but the author conveys so much more than a tale of teen angst and love. It's rare that a story about such a quickly developed relationship (almost a love-at-first-sight kind of tale) can actually be so poignant and relevant. The characters don't conform to the usual tropes and norms, and both of them bring their own ideals and values to the table when it comes to the possibility of changing one's mind about something as important as love.
One of the most impressive things about the novel, if not its single greatest aspect, is that the majority of the narrative takes place in one single day. And, as YA goes, it's a pretty standard-length tome. But the amount of information conveyed, and the details and depth of plot and character development make it feel so much richer and longer and more worthwhile in the end. There is so much heart and humor and tragedy in this book, it will make you feel ALL the things. Those last hundred pages, MAN! The way Natasha's problem (and, really, the principle struggle of the story) hinges around one action, and the way that the story is resolved...it makes you realize that it's difficult to point out a single antagonist. Truthfully, the antagonist of this story is less a person and more a societal construct.
Definitely an emotional read, and a book that I would LOVE to see turned into a film.