Author: Nicola Yoon

Year of Publication: November 1st 2016

PLOT: 4/5

CHARACTERS: 5/5

WRITING: 5/5

CLIMAX: 5/5

ENTERTAINMENT: 5/5

BUY HERE

Plot:

Natasha: I’m a young woman who respects facts and science. not chance. not fate. or hopes that will never materialise. I’m absolutely not the type of girl who falls in love with a cute boy she meets on a busy New York City street. Not when my family’s deportation to Jamaica is just twelve hours away. It won’t be my tale to fall in love with him.

Natasha and Daniel are endearing, flawed, fully realised characters that make you feel as though you’ve known them forever. You will be rooting for them until the very last page since their love story is everything but straightforward. Nicola intersperses the narrative about them with exquisitely crafted and carefully thought-out reflections on many other characters, physics, history, treachery, and family. She then offered me one of my all-time favourite passages:

“And what about the lovers who spend hours staring into each other’s eyes? Is it a display of trust? ‘I will let you in close and trust you not to hurt me while I’m in this vulnerable position.’ And if trust is one of the foundations of love, perhaps the staring is a way to build or reinforce it. Or maybe it’s simpler than that.

In this book, the author explores how even the simplest actions may have a profound impact on a person’s life. How a girl may transform your life. How a person’s life can be irrevocably altered by falling in love with their secretary. Two teenagers meet after swerving in an automobile. Why contacting a security guard could save her life.

The book’s true focus, however, is on the difficulties faced by newcomers. On the one side, there is Natasha, a Jamaican illegal immigrant who is a science icon and will be deported at the end of the day when her father has been picked up. On the other hand, Daniel, a kid of South Korean immigrants, aspires to pursue a career as a poet against his family’s wishes for him to become a doctor.

Natasha is going through terrible things, and Yoon does not downplay their horror. Natasha has spent her entire life in this country, in America. Due to her father’s error, she has been picked up. She was not chosen, thus she has no responsibility. She did not cause her initial illegal immigration; it was her responsibility. She is unable to alter it. Yet here she is, having to leave her entire life behind because of someone else’s error. The way Natasha’s suffering is described in this piece is written in such an honest way.

That’s not all, though. This article talks about how black hair care businesses like the one Daniel’s parents own contribute to the social stigma against “poor hair,” or black hair. It is openly discussed whether you can quantify fate or put a box around love, as well as the difference between science and emotions. There is open discussion of many types of parent-child relationships as well as topics like fate, evil, and suicide.

What I liked about/didn’t like about the book?

This book was fantastic. I adore Nicola Yoon’s writing style and the way she tackled discrimination and dysfunctional families head-on while crafting this tale. This book didn’t seem to fall into the YA novel trap of having characters who are more intelligent and sardonic than others who are twice or three times their age.

I ultimately had a heartfelt sense of this book.

Final Verdict

The Sun Is Also A Star is a book that I adored. I don’t know why it took me so long to start reading this book, which I’ve owned for about a year now, but I’m so glad I did. This book was very delicious, and I heartily suggest it!