The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon - Reshelved Books

Hello fellow Deweys! 

Today I finished reading Nicola Yoon's The Sun is Also a Star.  I absolutely loved her novel Everything, Everything so I was excited to see a copy her latest book on my library's ya shelf.  The Sun is Also a Star is a love story that tackles the scientific perspective of love against the romantic perspective, by finding ways to blend the two together in order to find an example of a love that is real.  This novel also goes beyond the typical ya romance by broaching tough issues such as deportation and family racism.  

Natasha and her family are from Jamaica.  Natasha's father came to America to pursue a dream of acting.  A dream that has not been able to support the family of four.  When the family's visa's expire and Natasha's father is in trouble for a DUI, the family faces deportation.  Natasha, who has dreams of going to college, tries to fight her own deportation but nonetheless fails.  At one point the reader feels sympathy for Natasha.  Is it her fault that her family came to America, allowed her to grow up here, and ultimately let her down?  Should she pay for her parent's mistakes?  In the novel, Yoon mentions that Natasha knew her family was illegal and that her mother was going to buy her a Social Security Card with real stolen numbers so she could go to college.  Knowing that her mother was going to do that for her, and now can't, makes Natasha's heart break a little.  However, Yoon also mentions through the voice of Daniel, the boy Natasha falls in love with, that Natasha shouldn't be blamed because "She was a kid.  She didn't have choice.  It's not like she could have said Mom, Dad, our visa expired.  We should go back to Jamaica now" (Yoon, 2017, p. 294).  This makes the reader wonder could Natasha have said something?  Or is this newly found love blind? 

The relationship between Natasha and Daniel forms within 1 day.  In fact, the entire novel minus the last 10 or so pages encapsulates that of a single day.  For me this seemed to diminish the credibility of their love.  Personally, I believe in love at first sight because I've experienced it. Is it a love that works and lasts forever?  Well, that's up in the air.  But it definitely is and can be a love that is real.  It's the amount of activities and conversations within the novel that take place within a single day that I don't believe in. Along with the relationship of Natasha and Daniel, Yoon ties in the struggle of familial racism.  Daniel, a Korean boy, is supposed to fall in love with a nice Korean girl.  Not Natasha. Yet they do anyway.

While the format of The Sun is Also a Star mainly bounces between the perspectives of Natasha and Daniel, other perspectives are also thrown in, such as Natasha's father, a server in a Korean restaurant, a flight attendant, and explanations of science.  For me this gave the novel a unique and well rounded spin.  However, that one day story line sort of irked me. So For the Love of Dewey Readers, I leave you with a rating of 3 out of 5 Coffee Beans.    

Copy Referenced: 
Yoon, N. (2016). The sun is also a star. New York: Delacorte Press.

Everything, Everything By Nicola Yoon - Reshelved Books

Hello fellow For the Love of Dewey Readers!  *Woof, Woof!* I just read an amazing book that left we with a complete and utter book hangover.  This book, just like the photo below, is EVERYTHING. 

Dogs and books are everything. 

I stumbled upon Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon while I was scrolling through Facebook one evening before bed.  Someone had shared a trailer to a movie that was coming out and it looked good. I don't really watch movies, but when I found out it was also a book I got SO excited.  I immediately placed it on hold at my library, and it was everything I hoped it to be and more.   

I LOVED photographing this book. 

So, what would you do if you had a terrible illness that suppressed your immune system to the point where you had to live inside, be homeschooled online, only see certain visitors monitored for their health, and breathe filtered air?  What kind of person would you be?  Do you think that you would know what you were missing if you never knew it was there?  For Madeline Whittier this is her reality and the only life she has known.  Madeline  has a rare disease known as SCIDS, which the novel describes as a disease that surprises her immune system to the point where any "trigger" has the point to kill her.  I have never heard about SCIDS before, so I decided to learn more about it.  As a future librarian and person with anxiety, I probably shouldn't have Googled it but I did.  Did I mention that I wasn't feeling well when I read it?...  Anyway for those of you who are curious, here is a link to a website dedicated to SCIDS.    

Back to the book. 

One day, a new family moves into the house next door.  The boy, who is about her age, and his sister go to Madeline's house to bring over a bundt cake, but over course they can't come in and Madeline's mother cannot accept the cake.  This sparks an interest and  online friendship that blossoms into sneaky yet sterilized visits between Madeline and her new neighbor, ultimately causing Madeline to question her life, her dreams, and love.  

A For the Love of Dewey rating of 5 out of 5 coffee beans! This book is gripping, it is inspiring, and it's a bookish love story.  Check out the trailer to the movie to be released this year!

~Jessica

P.S.  Nicola Yoon liked our post on Twitter!