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findingmontauk1 's review for:
The Stars and the Blackness Between Them
by Junauda Petrus
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
THE STARS AND THE BLACKNESS BETWEEN THEM by Junauda Petrus is just a wonderful book that is so beautifully written. It is heartbreaking while also being uplifting, it's magical, and it is full of so much heart! It's Black, queer, YA, and so much! But the interesting thing about this book is that it's not necessarily a coming out book and it's not necessarily a full ON love story. Those features I saw plenty, yes. But the focus is on these two Black girls and their place in this world.
In the story we follow two young Black girls: Audre and Mabel. Audre is from Trinidad and falls in love with the local preacher's granddaughter. They are eventually found out and caught on the beach by Audre's mother who is so ashamed she sends Audre to live with her father in Minneapolis.
In Minneapolis we meet Mabel. She is just a care free, fun, and smart girl living her life and following her favorite music group, hanging with her friends, spending time in the garden with her family, etc. She and Audre have met before when Audre has visited the States in the past, but they do have a new friendship/relationship to rekindle.
As Audre struggles to fit in with her new life in Minneapolis and misses her life and love in Trinidad, Mabel also discovers she has a leukemia-like illness that puts the world upside down for her, too. How these two navigate their issues, become closer together in a world of love, and how a book by Afua begins connecting them even more all become the focal points of the book. And you just have to read this story to see how it all begins and ends!
The book is told in multiple POVs: Audre, Mabel, Afua (the author of the book that Mabel falls in love with), and there is a poem for each sign as the seasons change as interludes to help us see the passage of time. SO good! Those final 2 pages made SUCH a mess out of me... but I can't imagine it any other way. WHAT a powerful and moving debut novel! 4.5 stars!
In the story we follow two young Black girls: Audre and Mabel. Audre is from Trinidad and falls in love with the local preacher's granddaughter. They are eventually found out and caught on the beach by Audre's mother who is so ashamed she sends Audre to live with her father in Minneapolis.
In Minneapolis we meet Mabel. She is just a care free, fun, and smart girl living her life and following her favorite music group, hanging with her friends, spending time in the garden with her family, etc. She and Audre have met before when Audre has visited the States in the past, but they do have a new friendship/relationship to rekindle.
As Audre struggles to fit in with her new life in Minneapolis and misses her life and love in Trinidad, Mabel also discovers she has a leukemia-like illness that puts the world upside down for her, too. How these two navigate their issues, become closer together in a world of love, and how a book by Afua begins connecting them even more all become the focal points of the book. And you just have to read this story to see how it all begins and ends!
The book is told in multiple POVs: Audre, Mabel, Afua (the author of the book that Mabel falls in love with), and there is a poem for each sign as the seasons change as interludes to help us see the passage of time. SO good! Those final 2 pages made SUCH a mess out of me... but I can't imagine it any other way. WHAT a powerful and moving debut novel! 4.5 stars!