If you haven't stopped by lately, I'm hosting a reading challenge for 2017 called the Read & Watch Challenge. Each month has a new theme word to guide you in picking a book and movie/TV show for the challenge. January's word is BEGIN. (Still time to join in if you're interested!)
And in my post earlier this week, I shared that the book I was probably going to read for this month's challenge was The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon.
This is a book I got via my new favorite bookish thing, the Book of the Month club, and I chose it for the challenge because it is about the start of a love story, the first day two people meet. In fact, the whole book is about just that ONE DAY.
I thought that concept had potential to drag. A whole book about one day. But my fear was totally unfounded. It hooked me from the very start. In fact, I started it with my 5-pages a day reading habit that I talked about earlier this week, but five pages turned into a hundred that first night. I ended up finishing the book in three evenings.
So, so good. I won't go into the whole story because I'll post the back cover summary below, but y'all, trust me when I say you'll get swept away. (And I just squeed when I saw it's going to be a movie because it was a very cinematic book.) Beautiful language. Funny. Compelling POVs that include not just the two main characters, who are fantastic, but people the main characters interact with for only a moment.
At the heart of this novel is the idea that we all affect each other in some way. A moment that seems innocuous or mundane (talking to the cashier at the grocery store, getting caught in a traffic) can change the trajectory or your life and others without you realizing it. It's a romantic and sometimes scary idea. What if we missed the life we were meant to have because of one minor decision? (That's the scary part.) Or what if that thing we thought was an inconvenience actually brought us closer to a happily ever after? (The romantic part.) This book explores both sides of that coin and I loved it.
Also, if you're looking to read books with a diverse cast written by diverse authors, this is a great choice. The heroine is Jamaican, the hero Korean-American. The author explores the complications this causes with their families with a deft hand and gave me new insight into things I didn't know about (for instance, there's a chapter about why the majority of black hair care stores are owned by Korean immigrants.) I liked how the author dropped in chapters on historical topics like this in the narrative. It added an extra layer to the story.
On top of all that, it's incredibly romantic. And I love that the hero is the romantic poet type and the heroine the hard-nosed scientific type. Bottom line: I loved this book. Go read it. :)
Here's the info:
The dazzling new novel from Nicola Yoon, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything (in theaters May 2017!), will have you falling in love with Natasha and Daniel as they fall in love with each other!
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?
A 2016 National Book Award Finalist
A New York Times Notable Book
A BuzzFeed Best YA Book of the Year
A POPSUGAR Best Book of the Year
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
A Booklist Editor's Choice
A New York Public Library Best Book for Teens
An Amazon Best Book of the Year
Buy the book: Amazon | B&N | Book of the Month club (*You can't get it as this month's selection but you can add it to your monthly pick if you sign up.)
So what are you reading this chilly Friday?