Book Review – Girl Made of Stars

Hey book lovers! Are you soaking up the last of summer? I went on a 2.5 hour, 4km hike in the woods with my family yesterday. The leaves are changing colours, some have already started falling. My body is so ready for Fall. Anyhow, I’m here with another review for a book on my secret TBR.

About The Book 📚

Title: Girl Made of Stars

Author: Ashley Herring Blake

Published May 2018 by HMH Books for Young Readers

Suggested Reader Age: 13+

Genre: YA Contemporary, LGBT

Goodreads Link

My Review

“Once upon a time, a brother and sister lived with the stars. They were happy and had wild adventures exploring the sky.”

› Girl Made of Stars takes place in early autumn in Frederick, Tennessee. Students attending the Nicholson County Center for Excellence in the Performing Arts at Pebblebrook High School tell an important story about teenage sexuality, friendship, and family. This is a heart-breaking story, TRIGGER warnings for rape, sexual assault, physical abuse, pedophilia, bullying, trauma, PTSD, and anxiety attacks.

“Even girls made of stars are captives, bound at the wrists and traded like property. Even girls made of stars aren’t asked, aren’t believed, aren’t considered worth the effort unless they can offer something in return.
Even girls made of stars buy into those lies sometimes.”

Mara is a chorus girl who founded a feminist group and newspaper freshman year called Empower. She has a harsh inner dialogue and anxiety. Mara is emotionally struggling after breaking up with her girlfriend Charlie. She’s not into partying, the complete opposite of her twin brother, Owen. Owen is smart, neat, organized. He plays the violin and wants to play in the Broadway Orchestra. But he has another side. Around his friends, he likes to “party hard” and act like a moron.

“The twins born in June, Gemini soaring through the sky.”

Hannah is a free-spirit who loves to dance. She has curly hair with random braids. She always had a smile on her face, until the horrible night when her boyfriend, Owen, rapes her.

Mara wants to believe her brother’s claims of innocence, but she also wants to support her friend Hannah. Mara forges a new friendship with Owen’s best friend, Alex, to deal with her feelings about Charlie, Hannah, and Owen.

“It’s changed me forever, but changed doesn’t have to mean broken.”

› Likes 😻
• The diverse cast: Charlie is gay and coming to terms with being non-binary, Mara is bisexual, Alex is Korean-American.
• I love how Ashley Herring Blake doesn’t shy away from discussing teenage behavior in a very raw and authentic way.

“It was bad enough when I came out as bisexual last year but to date a girl? It’s nothing but threesome jokes and passive-aggressive slut shaming every time I venture into the hallway.”

• Mara’s relationship with her twin brother is extremely complicated. I found it incredibly interesting to see the two sides of Owen.

“With me he’s a boy made of stars, soft and light and safe.”

Girl Made of Stars hit me hard. Reading a book like this isn’t an escape from reality. This is as real as it gets. It’s the reality that too many of us shy away from and don’t talk about. YET – this hard-hitting narrative carries a message of forgiveness, healing, hope, and love.

› Dislikes
• The ending was abrupt and unresolved. We didn’t get to experience a character arc for Owen.
• This book tried to do too much. Either it needed to be longer, or it needed to drop a couple of themes. Asking a short YA novel to talk about sexual assault, rape culture, consent, victim-blaming, feminism, LGBT issues, PTSD, anxiety, childhood trauma, and gender dysmorphia is just too much.
• I also wanted to hear more from Hannah. I mean, the whole point is for women to not be silenced, yet we hardly hear from Hannah. I realize a big piece of the message was about Mara facing her own trauma, however, Hannah’s rape is also a big piece of the story and I felt like we didn’t get enough.

› Final Thoughts
• You can only know a person for the piece of themselves that they show you and you can love someone who’s made a horrible mistake. Girl Made of Stars is memorable and poignant. This is a must-read for everyone, especially teens.

RESOURCES – HOW TO GET HELP

Sexual Abuse Counseling (Canada)

National Resources for Sexual Assault Survivors and Their Loved Ones

Get Help 24/7 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)

About The Author

“Ashley Herring Blake is a reader, writer, and mom to two boisterous boys. She holds a Master’s degree in teaching and loves coffee, arranging her books by color, and watching Buffy over and over again on Netflix with her friends. She’s the author of the young adult novels SUFFER LOVE, HOW TO MAKE A WISH, and GIRL MADE OF STARS, as well as the middle grade novels, IVY ABERDEEN’S LETTER TO THE WORLD and THE MIGHTY HEART OF SUNNY ST. JAMES.”

http://www.ashleyherringblake.com/