Title: The Sun Is Also A Star
Author: Nicola Yoon
Genre: YA, Fiction, Romance
Published: November 1, 2016
Pages: 384
The Carpenter Confessions Rating:★★★ (3 Stars)
The Sun Is Also A Star is a heartfelt love story that makes you believe in the impossible. There’s a quest for love that makes the adventure all the more thrilling. This book isn't the common love story, but gives another way of thinking about how love may creep up on you. While this book didn’t meet my standards of a romance novel, it definitely made me think about all the ways life gives the unexpected whether you were looking for it or not.
The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon is a first person narrative of two seventeen year olds, Daniel and Natasha, living in New York. Daniel sees Natasha on the street, follows her to a book store then challenges her that he can make her fall in love with him in just one day. Natasha, who is skeptical of love in general, gives him a chance to see what may come about. Here’s the catch, Natasha is set to be deported back to Jamaica that night. While Daniel, who is Korean-American and an aspiring poet, has a family who highly disagrees with him getting involved with anyone or anything that doesn’t align with the Korean-American culture. This story shows how love can be powerful, but also how it also can feel impossible to achieve.
Nicola Yoon did a great job at reaching a more youth centered group. Her writing made you feel like somehow you were apart of the story. The way she went in between the narratives of Daniel and Natasha was very smooth and you felt like everything flowed. She was creative with how she incorporated other characters and definitions without making it a main point. She pulls in how deportation can affect lives and how hard it is just to stay somewhere you have loved. To have to leave behind the relationships you have cultivated throughout the years. She also brings to light family traditions can be very important in some cultures and how hard it is to follow your own dreams. All the while not letting your family down.
The reason I gave this book a three out of five stars is because I felt the story was in a more youthful tone than what I prefer. It felt like I was stuck in my high school years instead of a more adult feel. While I’m not too far out of high school, it still felt very naive from a love story perspective. In addition to that, the whole falling in love in one day or less, just felt very unrealistic and in a way childish. You don’t walk up to a stranger on the street and tell them you are in love with them and you will get them to fall in love with you in just one day. It all felt odd to me. That being said it wasn’t a horrible book, I don’t regret reading it, and would recommend it to a teenager who is getting into romance novels. I am also a very picky reader because I tend to compare books. I know you shouldn’t have biases towards books, but I know what I like and not every book is going to match my expectations.
Up Next: Good Girl by Mary Kubica
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