In Little Stars – review (AD)
I was kindly given an electronic copy of In Little Stars by Linda Green in exchange for an honest review*.
In Little Stars book blurb
In a divided northern England, love and hate are about to collide . . .
Sylvie and Donna travel on the same train to work each day but have never spoken. Their families are on different sides of the bitter Brexit divide, although the tensions and arguments at home give them much in common.
What they don’t know is that their eldest children, Rachid and Jodie, are about to meet for the first time and fall in love. Aware that neither family will approve, the teenagers vow to keep their romance a secret.
But as Sylvie’s family feel increasingly unwelcome in England, a desire for a better life threatens Rachid and Jodie’s relationship. Can their love unite their families – or will it end in tragedy?
My overall thoughts on In Little Stars
In Little Stars should be on every book club and school syllabus list – it is quite simply a must and should read.
This is the first book that has really affected me in quite a way since I first read Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman.
Aside from the wonderful characters and clever plot the serious themes Green addresses are brilliant.
It is set in the time of Brexit in Britain, and the racism that runs on the undercurrent of the book is brutally conveyed.
It is often painful to read, written to shock readers and highlight the attitudes of some people in Britain today.
There’s some serious topics throughout – racism, classism and terrorism to name but a few but there’s also love and being a teenager and hope for a better life.
It’s been dubbed a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet and while there are similarities – this moved me so much more than Shakespeare did.
The plot is so extremely well-constructed – the families whose lives, unbeknownst to them, cross several times, and become forever linked.
The reader has an incredible sense of foreboding and dread as the book progresses as it reaches the crescendo and this is through the multiple POVs.
The narrative and the text message conversations keep it flowing and keep the reader gripped and reading well into the night.
I also loved the Yorkshire accents of the characters it felt more real and authentic and showed the divides even more.
The ending is incredible.
I absolutely broke my heart.
My husband was convinced that I’d had bad news I was so upset – inconsolable.
I actually couldn’t speak for several minutes – I had to go and sit in our bedroom and just collect myself and I went through so many tissues.
The role of all the characters and the parts they play in the story shook me to my core.
I have not been this affected by a book in years.
It is one of my favourite books of the year and will be difficult to beat.
I genuinely feel like it has changed me as a person.
Read this book but be prepared to feel so many emotions and definitely have some tissues at the ready.
It’s five stars from me.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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*Disclaimer
This review has been written with 100% honesty.
I was not financially compensated for this post. I was given an advance copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions expressed in this post are completely my own based on my own experience.
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