Friday, March 22, 2019

The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon (Young Adult Book Review)

The Sun Is Also A Star
by Nicola Yoon 
Published by Delacorte Press
on November 1, 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Length: 384 pages
Ages: 12-17

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Literary Awards:
California Book Award for Young Adult (Gold) (2016)
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction (2016)
John Steptoe New Talent Author Award (2017)
Michael L. Printz Award Nominee (2017)
Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Nominee (2017)
Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee for Honorable Mention (2018)
Missouri Gateway Readers Award Nominee (2018)

Synopsis:
Natasha: I'm a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I'm definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won't be my story. 

Daniel: I've always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents' high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store--for both of us. 


The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

My Thoughts:
Natasha has lived in the U.S. since she was 8 but she's undocumented and today is the day she's being deported back to Jamaica.
Daniel has to take up the torch of success now that his brother, Charlie, has flunked out of Harvard but it's not what he really wants.
Natasha needs help. Daniel wants a sign.
And then something like fate brings them together, again and again.
She doesn't believe in love and he is determined to change her mind and convince her that they are meant to be. 


This is a whirlwind love story gone awry, all taking place in one day, and with an ending that (deep sigh) was not what I was expecting. 

I mostly read this because of the upcoming movie adaptation (because I try to read the book first) and went into not knowing it was an insta-love story. I don't read those often and I can't say that I'm a fan, but I kind of didn't mind it here so much because at least one of the characters doesn't even believe in love and isn't willing to just fall head over heels, even if she eventually does. 

I loved all the existential contemplations about true love and fate and science and the universe. This book seemed to cover a lot of topics from immigration to prejudice to both strict and strained family relationships. It was all a little eye-opening for me. 

I also enjoyed all the small chapters involving side characters who had minor importance in Natasha and Daniel's day but still had big impacts on them or were impacted by them. Those really helped push the 'fate' narrative and round out the story. 

If you like contemporary or romance, I'd recommend reading this before seeing the adaptation! 


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