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onceuponanisabel 's review for:
The Sound of Stars
by Alechia Dow
This book. This. Book.
The Sound of Stars follows main characters Janelle (human) and M0rR1S (Ilori) during the alien invasion of Earth by a race called the Ilori. Lovers of books, music, and art, Janelle and Morris meet and connect immediately. Embarking on a road trip to save themselves and humanity, the two bond over the universalities that connect them and the forms of expression they both love.
Right away, I loved this book. About seventy pages in, I preordered it. Janelle was a massive bookworm and having her reference the YA books I read was so fun. She was strong and brave and ace and loveable. I was slightly less attached to Morris, but I've always loved SciFi for the opportunities for the invention of wild and beautiful new worlds, and through Morris, Dow was able to do this in a fun way.
The book was also peppered with mini-chapters about Janelle's favorite band: The Starry Eyed. We get song lyrics, podcast episodes, and interviews about them, and I actually found that to be a delightful inclusion.
I think the stars just kind of aligned for me with this book. One of my absolute favorite childhood books was [b:The True Meaning of Smekday|1194366|The True Meaning of Smekday|Adam Rex|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442598983l/1194366._SX50_.jpg|1182420], and this book felt A Lot like that one, in the diverse, slightly older targeted way I've always wanted. I'm also the kind of person who not only always has to be listening to music while she reads, but the person who has to listen to The Right music, and I nailed it with this one (Dow even references the band I chose later as inspirations for The Starry Eyed (: So, like. Listen to M83 with this one just sayin).
The reason this book is four stars instead of five is the action. Dow did really well with the slower, more slice of life scenes. The action, though, felt rushed and half-baked, at times. Because of this, the climax of the book kind of fell flat for me, and the last 25% or so had me kind of losing the insane "Ilovethisbooksomuch" energy that I'd had for the entire book up until that point.
All in all, I highly recommend this book. I really, genuinely loved it, even despite its flaws. A big round of applause for our first entry on the "Favorite Books of 2020" list.
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley
The Sound of Stars follows main characters Janelle (human) and M0rR1S (Ilori) during the alien invasion of Earth by a race called the Ilori. Lovers of books, music, and art, Janelle and Morris meet and connect immediately. Embarking on a road trip to save themselves and humanity, the two bond over the universalities that connect them and the forms of expression they both love.
Right away, I loved this book. About seventy pages in, I preordered it. Janelle was a massive bookworm and having her reference the YA books I read was so fun. She was strong and brave and ace and loveable. I was slightly less attached to Morris, but I've always loved SciFi for the opportunities for the invention of wild and beautiful new worlds, and through Morris, Dow was able to do this in a fun way.
The book was also peppered with mini-chapters about Janelle's favorite band: The Starry Eyed. We get song lyrics, podcast episodes, and interviews about them, and I actually found that to be a delightful inclusion.
I think the stars just kind of aligned for me with this book. One of my absolute favorite childhood books was [b:The True Meaning of Smekday|1194366|The True Meaning of Smekday|Adam Rex|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442598983l/1194366._SX50_.jpg|1182420], and this book felt A Lot like that one, in the diverse, slightly older targeted way I've always wanted. I'm also the kind of person who not only always has to be listening to music while she reads, but the person who has to listen to The Right music, and I nailed it with this one (Dow even references the band I chose later as inspirations for The Starry Eyed (: So, like. Listen to M83 with this one just sayin).
The reason this book is four stars instead of five is the action. Dow did really well with the slower, more slice of life scenes. The action, though, felt rushed and half-baked, at times. Because of this, the climax of the book kind of fell flat for me, and the last 25% or so had me kind of losing the insane "Ilovethisbooksomuch" energy that I'd had for the entire book up until that point.
All in all, I highly recommend this book. I really, genuinely loved it, even despite its flaws. A big round of applause for our first entry on the "Favorite Books of 2020" list.
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley