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monetp 's review for:
The Stars We Steal
by Alexa Donne
One of my favorite books of 2020 so far!
5 STARS ALL THE WAY!!!!
This novel is a retelling of the classic [a:Jane Austen|1265|Jane Austen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1588941810p2/1265.jpg] novel [b:Persuasion|2156|Persuasion|Jane Austen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385172413l/2156._SY75_.jpg|2534720]. [a:Alexa Donne|16817128|Alexa Donne|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1493943389p2/16817128.jpg] does a fantastic job making subtle, sometimes not so subtle, references to Austen's novel. The obvious references are the characters' names matching up. One of the main characters is named Captain Eliot Wentworth, a nod to Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth in the original novel. It was so much fun to read through this book and find all the subtle references. When Evy almost falls and hits her head, it reminds me of when Louisa hit her head in Austen's novel. Also, there's a beautiful letter written to our heroine, a nod to one of Wentworth's most famous acts in "Persuasion." Overall Donne did a phenomenal job in writing a retelling and reinventing the story.
My favorite aspect of this retelling was how Donne incorporated modern life into the novel. Specifically, there are themes of sexism, body shaming, classism, and the struggles of lgbtq+ characters. Our main heroine, Leo, struggles to work in a world of men. In one profound scene early on in the book, Leo is body-shamed publicly and by someone she trusts. It's a brutal moment, but one of my favorites because I related to it. Even today with more relatable female characters in books and movies, it's rare for there to be a plus-sized or just medium-sized female character. I love that Leo is still depicted as beautiful and that there isn't one perfect beauty standard.
This novel also has FANTASTIC LGBTQ+ CHARACTERS! Evy, one of the best characters in the book, is looking for a woman while everyone else is looking for a husband. I love how quick she is to question heteronormative ideas. My favorite character is absolutely Daniel Turan. With Daniel, Donne creates a realistic and endearing portrayal of an asexual person. As someone who is asexual, Daniel's character resonated strongly with me. When he shares his feelings and thoughts with Leo, I found myself saying: that's exactly what I think! Asexual representation in books and media is so important because I've read all of three books with asexual characters, so there's hardly any representation out there.
As a small note, I am impressed with Carina's character arc. She is the opposite of her sister Leo; Carina is outgoing, bubbly, flirtatious, and extroverted. Since Carina has so much confidence, she tends to act selfishly. I really didn't think Carina cared about Leo until Leo sat down with her sister and told her everything. That was such a beautiful and moving scene. I got the feeling that Carina really understood what she had done wrong. From there on, Carina uses her confidence to boost up her sister and be her friend. An excellent example of women supporting women!
Final thoughts: the ending came as a complete shock. There were a few plot twists I didn't see coming! I was sad to have the book over so quickly and I kinda wish there was a sequel because I'm not ready to say goodbye to these characters! Not everything in the plot was wrapped up, specifically the peaceful protest plot. It was so important when it was first mentioned and then it disappeared??? I think a rebelling lower class would have made for prime plot filler! I actually thought the protestors were going to be the main focus of the novel because of how important they seemed at the time. This was the only issue I had with the plot.
5 STARS ALL THE WAY!!!!
This novel is a retelling of the classic [a:Jane Austen|1265|Jane Austen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1588941810p2/1265.jpg] novel [b:Persuasion|2156|Persuasion|Jane Austen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385172413l/2156._SY75_.jpg|2534720]. [a:Alexa Donne|16817128|Alexa Donne|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1493943389p2/16817128.jpg] does a fantastic job making subtle, sometimes not so subtle, references to Austen's novel. The obvious references are the characters' names matching up. One of the main characters is named Captain Eliot Wentworth, a nod to Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth in the original novel. It was so much fun to read through this book and find all the subtle references. When Evy almost falls and hits her head, it reminds me of when Louisa hit her head in Austen's novel. Also, there's a beautiful letter written to our heroine, a nod to one of Wentworth's most famous acts in "Persuasion." Overall Donne did a phenomenal job in writing a retelling and reinventing the story.
My favorite aspect of this retelling was how Donne incorporated modern life into the novel. Specifically, there are themes of sexism, body shaming, classism, and the struggles of lgbtq+ characters. Our main heroine, Leo, struggles to work in a world of men. In one profound scene early on in the book, Leo is body-shamed publicly and by someone she trusts. It's a brutal moment, but one of my favorites because I related to it. Even today with more relatable female characters in books and movies, it's rare for there to be a plus-sized or just medium-sized female character. I love that Leo is still depicted as beautiful and that there isn't one perfect beauty standard.
This novel also has FANTASTIC LGBTQ+ CHARACTERS! Evy, one of the best characters in the book, is looking for a woman while everyone else is looking for a husband. I love how quick she is to question heteronormative ideas. My favorite character is absolutely Daniel Turan. With Daniel, Donne creates a realistic and endearing portrayal of an asexual person. As someone who is asexual, Daniel's character resonated strongly with me. When he shares his feelings and thoughts with Leo, I found myself saying: that's exactly what I think! Asexual representation in books and media is so important because I've read all of three books with asexual characters, so there's hardly any representation out there.
As a small note, I am impressed with Carina's character arc. She is the opposite of her sister Leo; Carina is outgoing, bubbly, flirtatious, and extroverted. Since Carina has so much confidence, she tends to act selfishly. I really didn't think Carina cared about Leo until Leo sat down with her sister and told her everything. That was such a beautiful and moving scene. I got the feeling that Carina really understood what she had done wrong. From there on, Carina uses her confidence to boost up her sister and be her friend. An excellent example of women supporting women!
Final thoughts: the ending came as a complete shock. There were a few plot twists I didn't see coming! I was sad to have the book over so quickly and I kinda wish there was a sequel because I'm not ready to say goodbye to these characters! Not everything in the plot was wrapped up, specifically the peaceful protest plot. It was so important when it was first mentioned and then it disappeared??? I think a rebelling lower class would have made for prime plot filler! I actually thought the protestors were going to be the main focus of the novel because of how important they seemed at the time. This was the only issue I had with the plot.