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A review by autreads
Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee
3.0
To be honest, I don't know why Goodreads recommended this to me (probs the LGBTness), but it sounded cute and mindless, and I was having trouble concentrating on more serious books, so I decided to read it. And it turned out to be cute - and definitely middlegrade. If you're looking for a complex book then you won't find it here, but that's ok! It was still a solid, enjoyable (and super quick) read.
It's an important book about finding oneself. There's obviously lgbt rep (well, the main character is bi, that's pretty much it), and the names of the side characters are fairly diverse, although that doesn't form a key part of the book (tbh I don't remember physical descriptions of characters being much of a thing here). The characters were well written for a middlegrade book; I thought Mattie was well characterized. I liked the way her friends were portrayed too: I liked that they had their own interests and sometimes did their own things and sometimes there was a bit of conflict (but nothing too drastic). Their friendship wasn't super cliquish, I meant. Gemma is somewhat of a manic pixie dream girl though. I did like that she was friends with Willow, the main...I guess antagonist? But antagonist isn't the right word because she isn't really evil or bad, she's just another kid, who doesn't seem to like Mattie. Gemma being friends with her feels more realistic somehow.
The whole Shakespeare conceit didn't 100% work for me but then again, I'm not the intended audience for this book (Mr. Torres and his obsession with the play were kinda weird, at least it felt that way to me). The frame worked mechanically, at least.
It's an important book about finding oneself. There's obviously lgbt rep (well, the main character is bi, that's pretty much it), and the names of the side characters are fairly diverse, although that doesn't form a key part of the book (tbh I don't remember physical descriptions of characters being much of a thing here). The characters were well written for a middlegrade book; I thought Mattie was well characterized. I liked the way her friends were portrayed too: I liked that they had their own interests and sometimes did their own things and sometimes there was a bit of conflict (but nothing too drastic). Their friendship wasn't super cliquish, I meant. Gemma is somewhat of a manic pixie dream girl though. I did like that she was friends with Willow, the main...I guess antagonist? But antagonist isn't the right word because she isn't really evil or bad, she's just another kid, who doesn't seem to like Mattie. Gemma being friends with her feels more realistic somehow.
The whole Shakespeare conceit didn't 100% work for me but then again, I'm not the intended audience for this book (Mr. Torres and his obsession with the play were kinda weird, at least it felt that way to me). The frame worked mechanically, at least.