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A review by juliette_dunn
The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus
5.0
This was stunning. I’m shocked this is one of the lesser known YA F/F books. The writing, the plot, the characters, the cover...all were gorgeous.
Audre lives in Trinidad with her mother and grandma Queenie, but when her homophobic mom catches her with her girlfriend Neri, she is sent to live in Minneapolis with her father.
Mabel lives in Minneapolis and is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Through a memoir from a Afua, an innocent Black man on death row, she connects to the spirituality of her ancestors and finds peace through astrology.
Audre and Mabel meet and develop a deep bond which turns into love. This book could be classified as a romance, but its themes extend beyond the love story. This is a book about spirituality, astrology, and choosing how to live your life even when you are being controlled by others, whether it be cancer or a racist prison industrial complex.
The past and present weave together, and the stories of Queenie’s past, Afua’s past and present, Mabel, and Audre intermix and connect. Trinidad and the United States are far from each other, but spirituality can be found in both. Afua believes that when he is executed his spirit will join with others and become a part of the sky and stars, an integral part of the universe. Mabel finds comfort even if she doesn’t know what happens beyond death.
Even in doomed situations, the characters find connection and purpose in the short time they have. Things don’t work out the way any of them hoped. Sometimes, no matter how hard you fight, you don’t achieve freedom or justice. But you can find freedom in refusing to let individuals or systems define you.
The story is mostly grounded in reality, yet there are moments where it takes on a fantastic, incorporeal state which blends perfectly with its themes. It lifts up and celebrates Black queerness, and is a spiritual resistance against a colonized and materialistic world. It’s the story of two lives brought together for just a few short months who find love, and it’s a story of all the connected people through the past, present, and future.
YA has a reputation of being less deep or meaningful than “true” literature. It all depends on the book, and this book is certainly far better than much adult literature I’ve read. If you only have room on your tbr for just one YA romance, make it this one.
Audre lives in Trinidad with her mother and grandma Queenie, but when her homophobic mom catches her with her girlfriend Neri, she is sent to live in Minneapolis with her father.
Mabel lives in Minneapolis and is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Through a memoir from a Afua, an innocent Black man on death row, she connects to the spirituality of her ancestors and finds peace through astrology.
Audre and Mabel meet and develop a deep bond which turns into love. This book could be classified as a romance, but its themes extend beyond the love story. This is a book about spirituality, astrology, and choosing how to live your life even when you are being controlled by others, whether it be cancer or a racist prison industrial complex.
The past and present weave together, and the stories of Queenie’s past, Afua’s past and present, Mabel, and Audre intermix and connect. Trinidad and the United States are far from each other, but spirituality can be found in both. Afua believes that when he is executed his spirit will join with others and become a part of the sky and stars, an integral part of the universe. Mabel finds comfort even if she doesn’t know what happens beyond death.
Even in doomed situations, the characters find connection and purpose in the short time they have. Things don’t work out the way any of them hoped. Sometimes, no matter how hard you fight, you don’t achieve freedom or justice. But you can find freedom in refusing to let individuals or systems define you.
The story is mostly grounded in reality, yet there are moments where it takes on a fantastic, incorporeal state which blends perfectly with its themes. It lifts up and celebrates Black queerness, and is a spiritual resistance against a colonized and materialistic world. It’s the story of two lives brought together for just a few short months who find love, and it’s a story of all the connected people through the past, present, and future.
YA has a reputation of being less deep or meaningful than “true” literature. It all depends on the book, and this book is certainly far better than much adult literature I’ve read. If you only have room on your tbr for just one YA romance, make it this one.