Published: 31st October 2016
Publisher: Random House Children’s Publishers UK
Pages: 348
Format: Paperback
Genre: Young Adult
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars
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?
I can’t believe I waited so long to read this book. I loved it. I loved the unique characters, the different experiences they’d had and the different lives they both lived, and I loved how Yoon makes an entire day feel so long and life changing. I simply adore books that take part in one day but feel like many more. This a full day of so many experiences that make you realise all the possibilities that can happen in one day. It also helps being in New York City because there’s heaps more things to do and transport between places is infinitely simpler.
Both Daniel and Natasha felt like real people. They had experiences behind them, complications in their present lives, and hopes and dreams that are so different from one another but stem from the same desire to live their lives how they want. There is instalove but the way Yoon portrays it is with a feeling, or instinct; there is a connection felt between them which neither can truly ignore. It isn’t just they love each other after a day, there is actual effort in trying to understand one another and an ease when the two interact.
There are a few moments where both of them can be insufferable. But I think it’s important to remember that at 17 these kids are in their own worlds. Natasha has a crisis in her life which brings out her selfishness and her pessimism, while as a poet Daniel is always going to be a cringy teen romantic. I think enough credit isn’t given to Natasha that while Daniel can be weird, Natasha doesn’t have to keep engaging him. Her own curiosities and self-proclaimed connection intrigues her and yes Daniel can come across as pushy and stalkery but if we keep pointing this out it takes away some magic, which is what these stories are all about.
The story is filled with moments that show the flow on effect on people’s actions. How one simple act creates a butterfly effect and small moments can result in bigger things that impact on more than just the lives involved. The writing is incredible, it’s profound without being over the top, there are some beautiful sentences and thoughts expressed that show the issues everyday people face and how deep the everyday can be.
It is a wonderful story about how passion can be a gift or a downfall, dreamers and realists coming together and having an effect on each other’s lives. Yoon explores the fascinating debate about love, fate, and destiny through the story and with three narrators – Natasha, Daniel, and The Universe – you see the different perspectives and learn about secondary characters in quite a poetic way. The structure is perfect and Yoon has stitched together these moments into the main story so it still flows seamlessly and each added bit of info adds a lot of context and explanation in a fantastic tone.
Secondary characters, while only being brief a lot of the time, felt full and complete. With different narrators you see different sides of the characters so you understand them quite well even when they are only present for a brief while. The ending is curious because you get answers and you don’t. And for all the coincidences throughout there are still lives at stake that can be impacted on by the decisions and whims of other people which may change paths completely. I can understand how people can see this as fanciful and unrealistic, but from the very beginning I was invested in this story. I loved how the story didn’t go where I thought it would and I loved the narrative dynamics.
You can purchase The Sun is Also a Star via the following
Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible
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