A review by sarah984
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

hopeful reflective 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? Yes

5.0

This book has a lot of disparate elements (violin history and culture, refugee experience, trying to find community as a multiply marginalized person, LA food culture, aliens, demons and more) but ties them all together in a way that kept me engaged. The characters were mostly great, and while the author is realistic about the difficulties in our world today it also carries both defiance and hope. I like the way history is presented in the book where change over time is noted and discussed without putting the old against the new.

One of the plot lines wrapped up a little weird and there was a strange dig at vegans near the beginning that felt crueler than the rest of the content but it wasn't a big enough issue to make me drop a star.
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