The Laughing Listener
May 2019
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Bahni Turpin, Raymond Lee, & Dominic Hoffman
Length: 8 hours & 4 minutes

Story Rating: 5 Stars
Performance Rating: 5 Stars
Overall Rating: 5 Stars (Because alas, that’s all Goodreads let’s me give)

Wow. Wow wow wow wow wow. I don’t even know where to start with this review. This novel touched my heart in a way I can’t even describe. Have you ever read a book that feels like it was written just for you? Like the author peered inside your thoughts and constructed a novel around them?? Because that’s what it was like reading Yoon’s words. I’m completely blown away. Buckle in kids, I think this is gonna be a long one. I’VE GOT SOME THINGS TO SAY.



Even though I’ve never read her other novel [b:Everything, Everything|18692431|Everything, Everything|Nicola Yoon|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1450515891s/18692431.jpg|26540216] I did go and see the movie and I was… well, um… underwhelmed. I have no idea what the book is like, but the movie was sappy, predictable, and boring to be completely honest. It turned me off and I had no desire to read any of her books. Cut to me this week, needing something new and feeling like a contemporary. I had been seeing movie trailers for The Sun Is Also a Star all week and my interest was peaked enough to take a chance. So I did, completely unprepared for the emotional rollercoaster this was going to take me on.

At the heart of this story is a cute and adorable romance. Natasha is a very strong, but cynical teen who I related to almost immediately. Daniel has an artist’s soul and an amazing sense of humor. Together their romance only spans one day, which normally would make my eyes roll, but it seemed strangely believable in this book somehow. Honestly though, the romance isn’t why I love this so much. More than anything this story is about people. The people we don’t notice, the people who change our lives, the people we change without even realizing it. It’s about how we’re all connected, even in the smallest ways and it was so beautiful to read about.

And Listen. I am very white, so I won’t pretend to completely relate with Daniel and Natasha’s struggles with their immigrant heritage. The way Yoon wrote about it though, was amazing. I love love LOVE that she’s writing about this issue and making it so accessible to teens who will soon be building our future. Now more than ever we should be tearing down walls instead of building them and I think this book does an excellent job of reminding everyone of the people these issues affect. Even though we all come from different backgrounds, we can still relate the pain of another person.

I may not have an ethnic background, but similar to Natasha, I have a strenuous relationship with my father and I can’t tell you what it was like to read about that from her perspective. I’ve never been able to articulate my feelings about it well, but Yoon captures those emotions PERFECTLY. It was such a tremendous relief to see it written down on paper. To know that someone out there feels the same way and I can’t thank Yoon enough for that.

FINAL WORD

If you’re like me, you see this book is about a romance that takes place in a day and roll your eyes. But I’m telling you. I’m TELLING YOU. It’s so much more. Read it.