And All the Stars

by Andrea K. Höst

Come for the apocalypse.
Stay for cupcakes.
Die for love.

Madeleine Cost is working to become the youngest person ever to win the Archibald Prize for portraiture. Her elusive cousin Tyler is the perfect subject: androgynous, beautiful, and famous. All she needs to do is pin him down for the sittings.

None of her plans factored in the Spires: featureless, impossible, spearing into the hearts of cities across the world – and spraying clouds of sparkling dust into the wind.

Is it an alien invasion? Germ warfare? They are questions everyone on Earth would like answered, but Madeleine has a more immediate problem. At Ground Zero of the Sydney Spire, beneath the collapsed ruin of St James Station, she must make it to the surface before she can hope to find out if the world is ending.

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Aliens, Dystopia, Fantasy, Romance, Post Apocalyptic

247 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 27, 2012

About the author

Born in Sweden and raised in Australia, Andrea K Höst currently lives in Sydney. She writes fantasy, but wanders occasionally into science fantasy.

Her novel "The Silence of Medair" was a finalist for the 2010 Aurealis Award for best fantasy novel. Her novella "Forfeit" won the 2016 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novella.

She also occasionally publishes romance under the name Karan K Anders.

Reviews

[Wendy Darling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, this book rocked my socks. And I cried! I freaking cried.

In the interests of full disclosure, I would have read this book, even if this hadn't happened:



But the fact that I crazily love it make it even more special.

Review to come.

[Jaidee · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 "well-meaning, baby-tea, dystopian" stars !!

Let me start with what I loved about this book.

1. The book cover. It is sooooo gorgeous. I found myself looking at it frequently. It appealed to me very much.

2. The description of this book tickled me pink and I repeated it many times to my partner, family, friends and even colleagues. It goes like this:

"Come for the apocalypse. Stay for cupcakes. Die for love."

I friggin love this description. I want a t-shirt in magenta that says all of the above. My partner said that this was not possible for I would eat all the cupcakes before anybody got there.
What a pal huh?

The book itself tried soooo hard that I wanted to give it more stars but I just couldn't. I was so bored most of the time. It was illogical and I often had to re-read passages to understand what was happening. I liked the positivity and strength of the female characters and it wasn't at the detriment of some very sweet male characters.

There were too many elements that just seemed convenient and although there were some very cool original concepts there were often too many loose ends.

All in all, pleasant but rather boring although I may have felt differently if I was a fourteen year girl reading this (but probably not).

So indulge me...let me repeat this one more time puhleeeeeeze.....

"Come for the apocalypse. Stay for cupcakes. Die for love." and I would add "Pass on the book"

[Andrea]

And All the Stars began as a discussion on Goodreads about another of my novels, Stray. Two readers, Flannery and Wendy Darling, were particularly taken with the first section of Cassandra's story, and encouraged me to write a survivalist or post-apocalyptic novel. I shrugged and said I don't write survivalist or post-apocalyptic novels...and promptly began thinking about what kind of survivalist or post-apocalyptic novel I would write, if I were ever to write such a thing.

[Estara · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to do a non-spoilery review of this? I think I'll have to save a real review until my next read - which won't be long from now - when the book is actually out and I can squee and discuss with more people, so here are some bookpushy highlights that hopefully don't give too much away:

I wrote this on the Booksmugglers On The Smuggler's Radar post this week (cleaned for spelling errors :P)

It’s teenage apocalypse without dystopia! It’s got humour, it’s got an action plot of breathlessness, it’s got multi-racial characters of all sexual persuasions (it’s even got a cross-dressing, suave, successful actor – who doesn’t look like, but whose vibe reminded *me* of Tim Curry as Franknfurter when he’s at his charismatic best). There’s love in the face of utter adversity, there’s sacrifice, there’s a Three Musketeers leitmotif.

BRILLIANT BOOK! If the world were fair it should catapult Andrea Höst into fans' minds as much as Code Name Verity did Elizabeth Wein this year.

That last bit was added because I cried three times after the big plot reveal in the last third of the book and it was well earned crying because the book really grabbed me by the jugular and shook me - which is why I enjoyed reading the epilogue especially. Otherwise the two books share great characterisation and female friendship, but everything else is different (so fellow CNV lovers, don't expect this to be a WW2 exploration of the awesomeness of female friendship - it's a sf exploration of the awesomeness of friendship in general, female friendship included)

This is an ensemble book - like the Touchstone Trilogy but more so, even though we have a clear main heroine. The people Madeleine meets become incredibly important to her AND all contribute to the story and everyone we share more than one scene with is their own person, even when they're fairly quiet.

This book is told from third person and is not a diary-entry book which makes the action and dialogue more prominent and more immediate. It's also somewhat a love-letter to Sydney.

And during the build-up I could NOT believe that the page amount of the book could ever lead to a satisfying conclusion and not feel cut-off, but the author really managed it for my money.

I've read all her published books and for my money, this is the tightest book she's written so far (bear in mind that I'm a reader for character and emotion so plot and action fine-tuning usually fly past me). It's unputdownable from at least the point that the core group get together for good till the end.

It would be a GREAT movie or TV series. The sf bits of the story hint at a consistent world of their own, but the focus is square on the group of friends in adversity. And it's an encouraging book with an ending of sweetness mixed with a deeply-felt dollop of bitter to remember.

ETA: And a very big thank you to Andrea Höst, who sent me this not only early, but in response to me making her aware of about 10 mistakes left in 800+ pages of Touchstone Trilogy (no longer, because she's incorporated the corrections by now) which I had sent without being asked, may I add. A class act all around!

[John Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot to love about this most interesting, yet flawed novel.

I loved the location, most took place within two blocks of where my last job was in Sydney, beautiful and historical Woolloomooloo. I loved the friendships developed in becoming the Blue Musketeers in the effort to save the world. The mix of young characters were excellent and fun. I loved the premise of the incredible and mysterious spires showing up in cities around the world and spraying dust on everything and everyone not protected. I loved the cover, which is why I bought it so many years ago, knowing nothing of the book or author. I only discovered after I started reading that Andera K Host was born in Sweden and now lives in Sydney and has written many books.

The main thing keeping this from being five stars was that the action scenes and actual descriptions of what actually was happening were incomprehensible, luckily this did not detract in the end from the story as I'm not so much interested in action scenes themselves, only the outcomes. The fact that there is virtually no mention or evidence of anything having to do with government, police, how the lights and water still run smoothly during this apocalypse, but who cares, the young school aged participants are there working to save the day. 4.5 stars, down to four due to the flaws.

For what it's worth, Goodreads noted that I had finished this book over 20 times (it actually said I had read it last year and I was unable to delete it from my year end review). I had to manually go into my read file and change it back to currently reading from read, and eliminate the reading for second or third or however many times it said I'd read it. It seems to be happening with a few books I'm reading on my kindle, anytime I go on and close the book down, it marks it as having been read. I've tried changing my settings, no luck. Suggestions welcome.

[TheBookSmugglers · Rating 4 out of 5]

And All the Stars caught me completely by surprise to the point where I must start this review with simply a: Wowza, that is one great Scifi YA book. A warning: it is impossible to talk about the book without including minor spoilers so if you don’t want to know details just know that in a nutshell: this is a good Scifi story featuring multi-racial characters with diverse sexual orientation (including a cross-dresser) in a complex ensemble cast that form a kick-ass team to fight for their lives. If you don’t mind minor details spoiled, please carry on reading.

When Madeleine comes to in the wreckage of St James Station, surrounded by fallen victims of whatever it was that destroyed everything around her and covered in weird (alien?) dust her only thought is to get up and to get out. Survive first, ponder later. Making her way to her cousin’s apartment in central Sydney is easier than she thought (as she walks through the empty streets, people barricaded behind closed doors and windows gasp in terror at her obvious exposure to…aliens?). Her parents seem to be safe back home and so Madeleine is alone in the apartment watching TV and the terrifying coverage of the Spires that spear through (up?) several cities across the globe, spreading clouds of dust. She wonders: what will be the effects of her close encounter with the dust? And so, the waiting game begins.

Then it hits her. The overwhelming hunger. The surge of power followed by paralysis. And the blue patches of velvety skin and impossible constellations that cover most of her body now.

With nothing to lose, Madeleine ventures outside in search of food and comes across a chef named Noi (also with patches of blue skin) who offers her warm scones, tea and company. They team up to find other Blues and come up with a plan for survival as the owners of the Spires finally decide to reveal their intentions.

Most of And All the Stars happens in the first few months of an Apocalyptic Earth in the first stages of contact with alien civilisations as a small group of teenagers band together to survive. As such, the book absolutely excels at exploring those first moments, the different possible reactions of each individual and how people cope with the scenarios vividly presented in the novel. Although it often shows what is happening in the world, the story is mostly confined to how those events affect this small group of people surrounding Madeleine and Noi – a group that comes to be called the Blue Musketeers. Because it is more of a character-driven than plot-driven story, And All the Stars is an intimate story of friendship, love, growing up and survival. The bond formed between Madeleine and Noi is beautiful; the ensemble cast fight together and each person contributes differently to the dynamics of the group meaning that there are no real heroes or heroines here although Madeleine is the clear point-of-view protagonist. She is an artist, a painter and her journey of self-discovery is really interesting – from her self-image to the firm acceptance of what her art means to her. What kind of respect she expects from those she loves with regards to the way she connects with her art when she is so absorbed by what she is doing that nothing else matters. And finally, there is also romance – romance that develops slowly but surely and which has truly heart-wrenching moments as well as some seriously great exploration of what it means to fall in love.

I loved how Madeleine accepts her feelings and her sexual awakening easily and how it was acknowledged that maybe “this is the end of the world, let’s party before it is too late” reaction to what was happening can be a part of it. I also loved the complexity of this love story and how it is equal parts wrong and right – and what it means that is wrong and right at the same time (I am being so cryptic as I don’t want to spoil too much. You will thank me for it). And kudos to the author for writing a lovely-yet-extremely-clumsy first-time sex scene that pulled at my heart strings.

Of course, this choice of what drives the story means that I felt that book lacked a certain gravitas when it came to the larger issues about alien invasion – like for example, even though the aliens look very different from humans, there is a clear shared…emotional sensitivity. For all that the aliens’ plan for Earth was completely messed-up and unfair, I never felt they were completely alien. Furthermore, And All the Stars has very abrupt, awkward transitions between certain scenes which led to a feeling of rushing under-developed storylines; and the resolution was perhaps far too easy considering the stakes involved.

Those things said, this is the second Andrea K Horst novel that I read and just like Champion of the Rose, And All the Stars features a creative, very unique premise. Given the amount of horrible stories one hears, it is hard to believe hers are all self-published novels. The writing is excellent, the number of copy-editing mistakes minor (and nothing that I haven’t found many times in traditionally published novels) and the characters are well-written, believable and so naturally mirroring the real diverse world we live in, it makes one want to read ALL THE BOOKS (just recently bought her Touchstone trilogy, which I hear, is amazing).

And despite being covered in cheese, the epilogue was so completely endearing, I ate it all up with gusto. Highly recommended.

[Eleanor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having been burned by too many bad indie-published novels to be tempted, I admit I bought And All The Stars on the strength of the tagline alone. Come for the apocalypse. Stay for cupcakes. Die for love. Gorgeous. Based on this, I expected the novel to be of a certain strange, discordant feel and it did not disappoint. For the first 25% anyway. I loved how it was this cathartic survivalist story of one girl pitted against the elements, covered in toxic glitter while people hidden behind glass windows trying to stay safe stare out at her.

Unfortunately after the 25% mark, the novel completely dropped for me. I don't know why, maybe it was the particular scene at that point, too much explanation or something else which failed to catch and maintain my attention, but I found myself regrettably bored. The rest of the novel veered somewhat dramatically between me becoming interested again and being bored and wanting to skip pages. So although I enjoyed the style of writing and the voice, and I sense a lot of talent, I don't think the author has full grasp on the technicalities of build/pacing/structure. The last few chapters proved very dense, difficult and unpalatable for me.

Strangely, despite a lot of rousing speeches and displays of passion, I ultimately found myself cold toward the heroine and her group of friends. It has the feel of a beautiful glossy Hollywood movie, but for me lacks real heart. I found myself stirred only during the beautiful twist, but maybe not in the way the author intended. In the end I failed to understand or see what was so "bad" about the enemy beyond the obvious destruction and death they caused and this left me in a strange, sad space - on neither side of the battle and feeling weird.

A very ambitious novel, some beautiful imagery, talented author, but not for me.

[Keertana · Rating 4 out of 5]

And All the Stars and I got off to a slow start. For some reason, it was nearly impossible to get me to pick this one up. Perhaps it was because I didn't think anything with aliens could captivate me the way Doctor Who does or perhaps it was the fact that whenever I tried to read past the first page, my mind just drew up a giant question mark. Either way, I encourage you all to give this novel a chance for, truly, it is spectacular.

One of the biggest downfalls this novel has going for it, in my opinion at any rate, is its beginning. It throws you into an apocalypse at once, leaving you confused and puzzled for a few chapters before the pieces slowly begin to come together. While I know many readers love this method, I was rather thrown off by it, but as I kept reading, I became captivated with the story. Maddie, an artist aspiring to win a prestigious award, is on her way to her cousin's house to paint him for her competition. Suddenly, dust begins to coat the streets and before anyone can even begin to find their bearings at the strange occurrences, an alien invasion has happened. In it, Maddie and many others who were outside and infected have been split into two groups, distinguished by the rapidly changing color of their skin: Blues and Greens. Now, it is a race for both survival and a journey to band together to somehow save Planet Earth before their race dies out.

In And All the Stars, Host proves her worth as a writer by gently peeling back the multiple layers of her world. Maddie, a powerful Blue, meets and join Noi, who in turn is joined by another group of people who stay together and experiment with their developing abilities. None of them know who the aliens are, what they want, or what has happened to them, but they try to make the best of their situation. Each of these characters is very complex and Host depicts them in such a manner that the reader both simultaneously knows them and doesn't know them completely. As the narrator, Maddie is the most understandable of all the characters and I loved gleaning insight into her artistic mind, observant capabilities, and unique way of thought. Without even knowing it, I was slowly drawn into the characters of this tale, feeling for them and their plight in ways I didn't think were imaginable. It was this strong connection to the characters themselves that truly made this novel as astounding as it was for me. I found myself fist pumping, cheering, and generally joining them on their race for survival as newer and newer difficulties cropped up as their duration as Blues and Greens continued.

Fisher, one of the young men who joins Maddie and Noi, is an enigmatic and quiet person who Noi affectionately nicknames "Science Boy." Needless to say, I doubt there is anything more attractive than a nerd except a hot nerd and Fisher fits the bill perfectly. Maddie and Fisher's relationship was very slow, drawn-out, and extremely realistic. Both of them acknowledge that they may have never gotten together unless the apocalypse had occurred and furthermore, they don't even label their relationship as "love." Best of all, perhaps, is the fact that Maddie slowly begins to fall for Fisher because he understands her in a way no one else does, appreciating her artwork and taking the time to understand her unique persona that is built around that hobby. Maddie, much like us bibliophiles ourselves, is very easily drawn into the life of her art, tuning everything else out and remaining anti-social - until now. Thus, it is Fisher who understands her tendencies to be alone, to focus solely on her artwork, and her gradual change into a person who trusts and works with others as well. I found Maddie's entire journey to be very compelling and the outside perspective we were witness to from Fisher's reactions towards her was an eye-opener as well.

And All the Stars is a novel that will appeal to everyone. It has a beautiful, blooming romance that is done to near perfection; it has heart-pounding action and edge-of-your-seat suspense; it contains a healthy dose of sci-fi and intrigue that will keep you flipping the pages frantically; its narrator is a unique protagonist unlike any other; its secondary characters are well fleshed-out and real, but best of all, it's a story you are not likely to forget. It has plot twists, sacrifice, friendships, laughter, romance, fear, hope, distrust, betrayal...it's a perfect blend of everything and I have been rendered speechless by it. I can't recommend this novel enough and although this is only my first Host novel, it certainly will NOT be my last.

You can read this review and more on my blog, Ivy Book Bindings.

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just. Wow. I loved this book, though I'm having a difficult time articulating why without so many spoilers as to defeat the purpose of a review. The story is set in a near-future Sydney (as in, Australia); though the events are world-wide as alien spires erupt in hundreds of Earth's cities. Spores dispense from those spires, changing those it comes in contact with (often enough to the state of being dead). Those that survive have blue or green (never both) patches appear on their skin.

Our viewpoint character, Madeleine, is a young girl (uh, young adult girl, late teens) who happened to be near ground zero for the spire at Sydney and received a spectacular dose and somehow managed to survive. We see the cataclysm through her eyes as she struggles to adapt to the changes brought by what appears to be an alien invasion. I won’t get more detailed than that because it's a fantastic ride as Madeleine and her friends work to figure out what is going on and what they can, let alone should, do about it.

Höst does a characteristically superb job thinking through all the complicated cascade of changes these events would precipitate and an even better job showing us Maddie's adaptations in her newly altered world. People come together, others pull apart as the fabric of society strains with the devastation of our largest urban centers. And then they find out that more has happened to the infected survivors than the merely surface...

I'm not much of a fan of post-apocalypse fiction, but this book wasn't really that. Indeed, finding a market slot to characterize this book is devilishly difficult. Most of society still functions, more or less. The spires all appeared in cleared zones of those large cities (parks and transit stations and the like) so outright casualties were light. Most stuff still works, really. It's just that there are some very important changes and people are more than a little bit paranoid, even as they're working together to ameliorate what damage they can.

Wherever it fits in the book-publishing-pantheon, the book is a stand-out read with an edge-of-your-seat action plot and spell-binding characters. Maddie is great and her new friends are awesome as well. There's even a romance, though once again, Höst isn't one to look for the easy way out when her characters go looking for love. I can't recommend this story strongly enough, though not really for younger readers.

A note about Steamy: This book is rare, possibly unique, in that I've rated it both steamy and young-adult. There is some frank talk about sex and an explicit sex scene. It's handled well, and integral to the story, and short enough when all's said. I'd hate if the frank sexual thoughts and events in the book prevented mature teens from reading it. Indeed, the sexuality in the book is handled very well and is brief, non-prurient, and realistic. Whether the details fit your personal moral standards or not, they fit the story completely and any other choice under the circumstances would strain credulity and warp the fabric of events. More importantly, it would significantly neuter the very deep emotional impact of one of the finest illustrations of choice, redemption, and forgiveness I've read in years to have removed or even significantly toned down this aspect of the story.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the last year or so I’ve been pushing myself to read more SciFi, but even still there’s one thing that I’ve always completely shied away from: aliens. I just…I don’t know, it’s not my thing I guess. I prefer my wizards and fairies and dragons, I’m not so much of the ‘take me to your leader’ ‘phone home’ crowd. But then I was seduced by a gorgeous cover (which accurately reflects the character it portrays–huzzah!), and raving reviews by friends (knowing this was dedicated to my buddies Wendy and Flannery didn’t hurt), and I was willing to go out of my box for And All the Stars.

I am oh so glad that I did. Höst has found that magical formula for using alien invasion to show humanity at their best that has heretofore only been seen by me in Doctor Who. She created a completely original apocalypse and populated it with one of the best exhibitions of friendship and endurance I have had the pleasure to read.

And All the Stars throws you directly into the action, and lets the world building flow naturally rather than slamming you with info dumps. The trade off is that for a good chunk of the book we as readers have little to no idea of what’s actually going on. We uncover the truth in time with our characters. Personally, I loved the mystery and the horror of uncertainty, but this may be a dealbreaker for some readers. I did find myself blinking in confusion on occasion during action scenes and from certain world building aspects, but I was so completely taken with the players in this character-driven plot that these stumbles hardly seemed to matter.

Our story is told through the eyes of Maddie, a young artist who is separated from her family and forced to find a way to survive an alien invasion. Caught at Ground Zero when an alien Spire rose from the ground in Sydney, Maddie finds herself more acutely affected than perhaps any other known survivor. But Maddie does survive, and not on her own–she survives by forming friendships with other teens she would otherwise never have met. United by fear, loss, and a need not just to survive, but to live as free beings, this group of teens bands together to form the Blue Musketeers and take on the apocalypse.

Yes, at times the Blue Musketeers were downright cheesy and idealistic, but sometimes a bit of idealism is all that rests between hope and giving up. I loved this group of friends. I loved knowing that most of this group would never have been friends even if they had met prior to the Spires rising from the ground, but that an event meant to divide and conquer could instead unite these young leaders with a cause. Watching people build unexpected relationships strengthened me as a reader, and these characters in their story–it gave them something to be happy about. Höst provides us with diversity (racial, sexual, identity, etc.) in the right way–it’s there because it exists in the real world. The diversity also helps to show us how it is possible to come through the experiences we face in And All the Stars.

And oh those experiences. Twists? This book has them. Höst managed to completely surprise me multiple times in quick succession. This is what I love about a well-done limited perspective narrative–we really don’t see it coming if they don’t see it coming. It’s also one of those rare stories where I love the side characters even more than those featured. Noi, who hides her pain so well and can set her mind to planning anything, Lee who can crack a joke or deliver a stirring monologue on queue, Emily who wants so badly to be a part of something–they’re all wonderful. But of course, the story couldn’t have been really told from any perspective but Maddie’s. Maddie who sees the world through an artist’s eye and is willing to open her heart in a time of chaos.

At times, emotional dialog seemed to be written rather than natural…but then upon finishing I also felt this made sense for the characters involved. Höst includes an epilogue flash forward, which I felt was unnecessary (I am one of those sick people who likes open endings), but I also feel it will satisfy many readers to know how things turn out down the road.

I laughed, I teared up, I got very angry, I fist pumped, and I even slow clapped un-ironically, and at the end of the day there isn’t much more you can ask for from a book.

Original review posted at Bunbury in the Stacks.

[Nafiza · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reason this novel resonated with me so deeply is because of the logical manner in which events progressed. Say that something like the premise actually happens in the far off future, preferably when I am dead and long gone, I can see humanity reacting the way it does in the novel. Host’s novel is utterly believable that’s not an easy feat for a book featuring parasitic aliens.

For such a slim novel to deliver the way it did was astonishing. Host’s characterizations and portrayals of friendship both of the female variety and the male, platonic as well as romantic, is charming. I liked how each character seemed larger than life but not stereotyped. The novel is also multicultural, featuring a cast that is diverse in race and culture, and I really liked that. Instead of white protagonists fighting white enemies and defending white people, the novel is better reflective of an actual population that contains people from all sorts of walks of life.

The writing also is very engaging and there is no point where I was flung out of the narrative. The pacing was fast and things happened quickly as they needed to because of the length of the novel. The portions that did give me pause included the ease with which the teens adapted their new identities as greens and blues. It felt like an entire culture sprung up almost immediately that separated the two and I would have liked more information and exploration about the differences in the colours – what makes one more dominant than the other? Was the coloring arbitrary or did the colour depend on something in your blood and mind? Who were these greens? I also thought that the resolution was reached a bit too easily. Things don’t simply happen that simply. The main character was reminiscent of Katniss in Mockingjay but I didn’t understand why. No one in her family dies. Not a single person and considering the losses suffered by other characters, her stoicism seems a bit artificial. Yes, she is the strongest of them all but I didn’t feel as connected to her as I did to any of the other characters. I felt that the reader was being ushered into treating the main character as this super-strong, long-suffering protagonist and had the novel been a trilogy or something that allowed me to go deeper into her psyche than we got a chance to, maybe I would have bought that but as it stands, I did not really get that vibe from her.

All said and done however, I did enjoy this novel and I do think that if apocalyptic novels are your thing, you may enjoy it too. Give it a chance.

[Rachel Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Come for the apocalypse.
Stay for cupcakes.
Die for love.

Solid, inventive, well-characterized YA science fiction. By “science fiction,” I mean “cool powers and alien invasion,” not “paper-thin dystopia in which the government’s main concern appears to be micro-managing the love triangles of teenagers.”

Madeleine, an aspiring artist, visits Sydney to paint her cousin Tyler’s portrait. Tyler is a famous cross-dressing actor, and probably my favorite character in the book despite his comparatively small part.

Her plans are stymied by an alien invasion. Starry towers rise up from the cities, and dust falls from the sky. Some people are given powers, others strange vulnerabilities, and still yet others are possessed by aliens. Stars shine from Madeleine’s skin, and she gets together with other teenagers to learn to use their powers and try to save the world.

The opening sequence, in which Madeleine tries to escape from a wrecked subway station, gets the book off to a great start. I stalled out for a while in a slow sequence in which the teenagers are interminably holed up in a hotel, but the story picks up enormously after that.

Host has a lot of respect for teenagers, and I liked the unabashedly heroic tone of the story. Rather than taking the apocalypse as an excuse for an orgy of rape and cannibalism, Host’s characters band together, form a community, explore their new relationships, take the time to make plans that make sense, and risk their lives for a cause they believe in. It’s engaging, uplifting, and, by the end, surprisingly moving.

This isn’t a flawless novel. Some events are confusing or poorly set-up, some of the dialogue is clunky, and I read the explanation of the alien invasion three times and I still don’t understand it. Too many characters are introduced in too-quick succession, and I didn’t realize that “Emily” and “Millie” were the same person with a nickname until I got to the cast of characters at the end. The sequence at the end with Gavin was really confusing, too. The book could have used one more rewrite.

However, so could at least half of the professionally edited YA novels I’ve read recently, many of which have glaring continuity errors, nonsensical motivations, ridiculous worldbuilding, unlikable characters, and, often, proofreading errors and poor formatting. In some cases, they are nothing but a string of action sequences strung together by plot holes.

And All the Stars isn’t Code Name Verity. But it’s imaginative, well-thought-out, and heartfelt. I will definitely read more of Host’s books.



I was not expecting Theoden. That really made the book for me, though I think the sequence would have been even more powerful if it had been longer and less rushed. So many fascinating, emotionally powerful twists occur late in the story that I think the book would have benefited from having them happen earlier so they could be explored in more depth.



And All the Stars. Only $4.99!

Host self-publishes because of the glacial pace of traditional publishing, which got one of her novels stuck in review for TEN YEARS.

But there may be other reasons as well, which have nothing to do with the quality of her writing. Again, I'm not saying that she's one of the absolute best YA writers out there. But based on this, she's certainly one of the better ones. And when I say "better ones," I mean "compared to all the YA novels I've been reading that come out from major publishers," not "compared to the slush pile."

Speaking only of American publishing, which is the only publishing I know anything about, I can see why this novel would be a hard sell. It is not set in America, it involves aliens, and the tone and style are different from most YA sf I've read recently. (And there are gay characters, though in the supporting cast.) For a first-time author, those could be insurmountable obstacles.

M. C. A. Hogarth has a thought-provoking article on those issues. Maybe the audience for books about middle-aged female Hispanic space Marines is small. Maybe the audience for psychic Australian teenagers fighting aliens is small. But I'm glad that e-publishing makes it possible now for those books to find their audience.

[Laura (Kyahgirl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

March 2023:

Its been such a long time since I read this book that I had forgotten most of it. This time I listened instead of reading. It was good.

3.5/5; 4 stars; B+

I really enjoyed many aspects of this book, especially the way the author depicts teenagers and young adults. She has a real gift for detailing the energy, curiosity, vulnerabilities and wild emotional highs and lows particular to people in this age group. The characters, Noi, Nash, Pan, and Madeline really were awesome. The lack of adult caretakers served to highlight how competent and effective a group of 'kids' can be. I also enjoyed the lack of gender and sexual stereotypes. And, most importantly, I really enjoyed the creative world building, the nature of the alien invasion, and the spires and conversion concept.

One of the challenges with any kind of sci-fi book is coming to understand what is going on enough to enjoy the story. In this book, I felt a bit too baffled at times to enjoy the story as much as I could have. Right about the time when the group was caught I was starting to feel frustrated that not enough was happening to move the story forward and I needed to understand more about what was going on. When Fisher, near the end, is doing the broadcast to explain the En-Mott's history, motivation I couldn't quite understand everything the author was trying to convey. However, it was very clear that the danger the occupants of earth faced was not going to go away until they were destroyed. That provided excellent impetus for the rebellion and attack they Blues mounted at the end.

One thing I really liked in this book was the dimension added when it was revealed that Theoden wanted to end the death and destruction and that he'd been kind of working as a double agent as he 'rode' Fisher. I love the idea that Maddie might have fallen in love with the alien as much as with the human. I also liked the revelation at the end that many of the moths weren't keen on the end goal and were just going along with their alien counterparts as part of the tide. Maybe I'm guilty of ascribing human values to aliens but that seems so much 'human nature' too. Very few people are really evil but many people don't have the ethical core and backbone required to go against the tide.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most dystopian's tend to be the story of what came after, of how the Earth had changed and how lives were transformed. In 'And All The Stars' we get a glimpse into the inner-workings of the change while it's actually happening and affecting people now. Strange clouds have spread across the skies of the city and sparkling dust is emanating from them.

'The rest, from just below her collarbone down, was an unbroken dark blue, studded with motes of light. Galaxies, nebulae and fiery novae. They weren't on the surface of her skin, but seemed to float below it, as if she had become a window on a night sky at the centre of the universe.'

As time progresses, Madeleine's symptoms begin to show: from extreme hunger cramps, all-over body aches, and then the velvet begins appearing on her skin. She has no idea why this is happening and who is behind all of it but she's determined to survive this.

The story incredibly original and the writing was extremely well-done and descriptive. Unfortunately I still felt that things weren't as clear as I would have liked and I felt myself getting completely lost in the story. Highly original story that focuses more on friendships than relationships and just so happens to be a stand-alone novel. Recommended for fans of dystopians with a sci-fi twist.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay. I loved this. How has a major publishing company, NOT picked this up.

I know this story started off as pretty much an extended wish by some very fun bloggers, but thank goodness for these people. I really really loved it.

Basically And All The Stars, is a apocalyptic novel that works. This story didn't need extensive world building or mystery, because most of the facts of what happened were present right from the beginning. Madeleine the narrator, is a bit of an outcast and really starts to come out of her shell when survival is her top priority. It also helps when you meet people fighting for the same things, that are generally good people to associate with.

In this setting, these "alien-like" towers spiral from beneath the earth, and begin a takeover of epic proportions by these droid like things that I can only describe by small invaders floating around with a form of light as a face. But these things are not the only things that need to be avoided throughout the book, because when the takeover begins, anyone outside at the time begin to have some side effects. These side effects literally include them changing colors, blues and greens. Depending on your color there are other side effects, such as being controlled by outside sources, having special abilities to move people via the air or needing energy from other blues/greens to live at all. Maddy and her group of blues are constantly hiding an running from all of these different factors.

First off the characters, they were all so diverse and awesome in their own ways. I feel like with every book I read there are characters that just annoy me even if they aren't bad in anyway, that simply was not the case here. I adored their little group of misfits, and their interactions between each other. There is of course a few love interests between the group, that I also loved. Nothing was instant, and everything seemed real for the situation they were in.

Madeleine's love interest specifically takes a turn for the worst near the end of the novel, that really pulls at your heart strings, yet still gave you hope and a reason to cheer as the ending unraveled.

There was enough action and a whole bunch of suspense throughout. I feel like the author really separated this novel from being dystopian/apocalyptic, which was one reason I really loved it. The world crashing around the characters did not leave to a revolution or anything that could sway the story from what it really was.

Pan was probably my favorite character. He was generally hilarious, and his over the top acting moments killed me. He was the kind of person that doesn't falter when the group was in a particularly bad situation. His speech near the end of the book made me so happy and I may have actually cheered out loud. Whoops.

I really hope more people read this book, I think people will be pleasantly surprised. I literally had no idea what I was getting into, but I'm so happy I did.

I got this book via Net Galley. But I will be buying it for physical copy soon. It's that kind of a must have.

[Maria Elmvang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing book. Absolutely amazing. So amazing, in fact, that I have to calm down a bit and pick myself up off the floor before I can sit down and write an eloquent review. It's Tomorrow, When the War Began meets The Host. Amazing.

Edit, the following day: Okay, I will see if I can be a bit less squee-ful in my review now.

And All the Stars is the story of an alien invasion. Madeleine has skipped school in order to paint her beautiful, androgynous cousin, Tyler. However, this put her in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time to be targeted by the mysterious onslaught of an alien invasion.

In a world gone mad, Madeleine has to trust the odd group of people, fate has thrown her way, and together with them try to find a way to rid the world of the alien invasion without getting possessed themselves along the way.

As I wrote above, this book is a delightful mix of "Tomorrow, When the War Began" (John Marsden) and "The Host" (Stephenie Meyer) in both atmosphere and plot. What I assumed at first would be a fairly straight-forward science fiction novel, threw me with its twists and turns and managed to surprise me more than once.

There are three things I especially appreciated about this novel:
1) The characters. Both the characters and the relationships between the main characters turned out to be a lot more complex than I had anticipated, and Madeleine's transformation from being self-sufficient to having to trust and rely on other people was very well done and believable. Madeleine and Noi, Madeleine and Tyler, Madeleine and Fish, Noi and Pan... None of them were left for the reader to think up themselves, but eloquently described through their interactions.

2) The atmosphere. This is where the comparison to "Tomorrow, When the War..." is most apt. It was just as thrilling, and left me just as much at the edge of my seat. I found myself imagining only too vividly what such an invasion would be like.

3) The fact that it - in spite of my original fear - turned out to be a stand-alone novel. There are so many series being published these days, that a true stand-alone novel is a rare treat.

For these, and many other reasons, And All the Stars blew me away. I can't remember when I've last had this strong a reaction to a novel, and it's well placed to be labelled my "Best Read of 2012".

Reread in 2015: Not quite as blown away by this as when I first read it, but I'm going to leave it at 5 stars just the same. A very, very good read :)

Reread in 2022: I'm going to downgrade the rating to 4 stars because for some reason it took me ALMOST NINE MONTHS to finish it this time around. Granted, some of that was a SERIOUS bout of corona fatigue that made me not want to read anything at all, but still - no 5-star book should be that easy to put down for that long.

I don't even quite get why... the plot is good and is right up my aisle, but something about the writing kept me at a distance, and I never got fully invested in the characters or the plot... and since I'd already read it before, I didn't have any urgency to see what happened next. But to be fair, I think that's got a lot more to do with my headspace while I was reading it, rather than the quality of the book itself.

[Stefani Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Allow me a moment to sound like a lovestruck teenager please. I love this book, cue sigh. No, I lurv this book! Cue more dramatic sighing. Okay, lovestruck fangirl moment has passed, let’s get on with this reviewing business. I admit that the synopsis of this book made me think long and hard about if I wanted to read it or not. But I do love apocalypse novels and the idea of potential alien invaders was fantastic. It piqued my interest enough that I requested a copy for review. Part of me wants to rave about this book from the rooftops all night, but first let’s get the things that got on my nerves out the way. Don’t worry, it’s short.

The descriptions of the dust coming down from the sky and covering everything was interesting at first, but I thought that it went on a little too long. After awhile I found myself thinking, “Okay, I know, the violet dust is EVERYWHERE! Now please talk about something else.” I found that this happened a few other times as well, where I just felt that some things went on a bit too long and I was skimming for a few pages until we moved on. For example when Maddie was looking through empty apartments that was rather cumbersome and when they were planning their attack on the invaders I wanted to get to the actual attacking sooner than I did. These were minor annoyances and frankly didn’t really impact how much I enjoyed the book but I thought it should be mentioned.

Now for the good parts, Maddie was fantastic. She is the YA heroine I have been searching for for months! She is strong, smart, kicks ass when she needs to, and knows when to step aside and let someone else take charge when necessary. I love this heroine so much. All of the female characters in this book were like her in a lot of ways. In general, the characters were very genuine and authentic and not stereotypical or cliche at all. Oh, and we also have a lesbian couple in the book…you don’t see it until near the end but there is. That is rare in YA as well, putting in any LGBT characters. Tyler, I am not quite sure if he was transgendered or a crossdresser but he is in there as well. There are Asian characters and white characters, and lesbian characters, and transgendered characters and NONE OF IT SEEMED FORCED. All of the characters were natural and fit in this world and that was so refreshing to see. No token “a black man walked down the street” moments in this one!

The plot was also very unique and interesting. I loved the idea of it and also the way it was written. Everything was explained without feeling like the information was just being dumped on me. I liked the way the plot played into social structures in our society without hitting you over the head with it. It was a statement about our society but was never preachy. And the ending was a cause for celebration and also sadness. It made me cry, and I rarely shed tears at a book. I felt the emotions of these characters very clearly and my heart broke for them.

I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t enjoy this book. It is a worthy book to buy and I doubt it would disappoint. Give it a try, even if the synopsis doesn’t seem like your thing. It just might turn into one of your favorites by the end.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and thoughtful review. No monetary compensation or promise of a positive review was given.

This and other great reviews at my blog, Stefani's World of Words

[Christina (A Reader of Fictions) · Rating 3 out of 5]

And All the Stars is a book I got from NetGalley many moons ago but actually never read. I was looking through my backlog of missed books and curious if I could clear any, and this one had a good audio available on Scribd, so heyo here I am. And All the Stars felt to me like Tomorrow, When the War Began with aliens.

Choosing to read a book with a pandemic-adjacent plot maybe wasn't my best idea? Though thankfully the circumstances are disparate enough I only had a few minor twinges about that. The book opens with a mysterious attack, which leaves all major cities covered in this weird dust, which ends up turning people who breathe it in either green or blue (not fully, but like marbled, and they kind of look like they have galaxies on them?). I couldn't help laughing to myself about how this books theme song would be Eiffel 65's Blue.

The plot's weird. Like, all the way through, it was weird. Not bad! But weird as hell. It actually made the book really fun and unpredictable most of the time, but the blue, velvet-feeling skin was not something that ever felt anything but weird to me. There's also the way the alien stuff works, which is also very odd (because I was starting to feel like weird wasn't a word anymore). It reminded me a bit of Hank Green's books, though obviously this came out first, so that's a terrible comp, but whatever it's my life and my review.

The characters form up and manage to hide out during the initial wave of the danger, forming a group they call the Musketeers, doing their best to learn and plan for how to defeat their invaders. But also there's romantic drama and moments of friendship as well. This, really, is what reminded me of Tomorrow. While I didn't really emotionally invest in the characters and few felt multi-dimensional, there was enough here character-wise to keep my attention throughout. And I did really like how messy and fucked up it got in the end, mostly anyway. Fisher was an alien all along DUN DUN DUN. Except the alien really loves her and is willing to sacrifice itself for them and also gives them the knowledge they need to defeat the aliens, which absolutely felt a bit cheat-y in terms of plot, but also I was going WAT, so that was fun. And I do like the commitment in the fact that Maddie still has feelings for him, and that her feelings for Fisher are also kind of present and it's all just weird and messy. The epilogue felt a bit Shakespearean comedy in the way it paired people off into HEAs, but maybe that was intentional given all the Shakespeare references?

This was a fun listen. It's nice to read a book that takes me out of my head, and this did that. I'm glad I ventured into the old NG review fails for this one.


I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

[Rachel Neumeier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, yeah, I finally read my first self-published book. Well, almost my first. Actually my second. The first was okay, more or less, in a decidedly mediocre kind of way. But this one was excellent. I picked it up primarily because of a review by Heidi over at Bunbury in the Stacks. I’d seen a couple other reviews, but this one tipped me over the edge, especially when I happened across an offer of the title in kindle format for 99c. I mean, at that price, there’s no actual risk involved in the purchase, right?

Heidi winds her review up by saying, “I laughed, I teared up, I got very angry, I fist pumped, and I even slow clapped un-ironically, and at the end of the day there isn’t much more you can ask for from a book.”

Yeah, I feel the same way!

I really enjoyed this alien invasion. I don’t know what to compare it to. It sure wasn’t your ordinary vision of an alien invasion, presuming you have a vision of what an ‘ordinary’ alien invasion should be like. Anyway, there are all these twists! You say to yourself: Okay, THIS is what they have to deal with. And then everything changes. That happens more than once. I can’t believe anybody would see these twists coming, and yet the most unexpected twist IS foreshadowed, you just miss it in all the action.

I really loved the characterization, too. You know what this book reminded me of? John Marsden’s TOMORROW series, that starts with TOMORROW WHEN THE WAR BEGAN. Which is pretty impressive right there, because that is a fabulous, fabulous series. And it’s not the Australian setting which makes Höst’s book seem like a natural companion to Marsden’s series: it’s the great job writing a bunch of teenagers striving to save the world. Except Höst does it all in one book, and her epilogue shows a happier ending. I don’t mean the whole thing is happy-happy-joy-joy, because no. There are certainly dark moments. But overall, you are going to find that this story has a very positive vibe.

Plus, the writing is excellent. Lots of wonderful dialogue — I hardly know what to pick. I laughed out loud when one character says shakily to another, “I almost wish she’d come at us yelling ‘Brainnnsss!’ Then I could justify running away.” No kidding, Noi, that was one creepy lady.

There are lots of wonderful moments where the characters play off one another; nice, vivid descriptions that don’t slow down the action; just plain good writing all through. No need to be worried about typos in this self-pubbed title: I noticed four missing commas and that’s it. Pretty impressive given the layer and layers of line editing it takes to clean up a manuscript.

A top-notch story. I will definitely be picking up more titles by this author.

[Nona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm unabashedly an Andrea K. Höst fan. I need a little time to digest this novel, re-read some areas and pontificate on the length of time I can manage without another dose of her writing.

I'll bullet point the strengths which are usual per Host's novels:

-Relatable leads
-Crush-worthy love interests
-Amazing secondary cast
-Dynamic & well-rounded
-Focuses on friendships, and handles the romance with a light hand rather than cramming it down your throat per YA's usual fare.
-A plot that makes you say: what the hell is going on here, and where are we going?
-Tearjerker!
-The story catches you off-guard. It's a rarity these days to be surprised by novels for me, and it was a pleasant juxtaposition to the other ones I've read this year.

More to come.

[Tsana Dolichva · Rating 5 out of 5]

And All the Stars is the first novel I've read by Andrea K Höst, self-published Australian author. I usually only self-published books by authors previously known to me — there are so many books out there, one has to filter somehow. However, Höst caught my eye because I remembered her being the first self-published author to be shortlisted for an Aurealis Award (last year, for the 2010 award). The shortlisting is a pretty good indication that her writing doesn't suck. Add that to science fiction element and I was sold. My copy of And All the Stars was provided by the author through Netgalley.

The novel opens with an apocalyptic alien invasion. Spires, piercing the ground, appear in many large cities around the world, including Sydney where our protagonist, Madeline, lives. Madeline survives the impact of the spire piercing the train station she was just leaving only to be infected by the mysterious alien dust the spires belched out. The dust gives her, and those others who survive the infection, blue (or green) patches of skin and some super powers. Then the invasion begins in earnest.

When I first read the blurb I wondered whether it might bear some resemblance to The Orphans Trilogy by Sean Williams and Shane Dix because of the spires, but it didn't even a little bit. If anything it was more like Tomorrow When the War Began but with aliens and Sydney instead of foreigners and a small country town. Particularly with the teenagers versus the invaders theme.

Madeline starts off coping with the invasion alone, but that doesn't last long. She soon meets Noi, an apprentice chef, and they quickly team up with some boys from a boarding school who'd had the presence of mind to get organised after people got sick and started dying from the dust.

There is a lot to like about And All the Stars. The writing is strong and tight, the characters are delightfully varied, including a diversity of cultures and sexualities representative of modern Australia. I particularly liked the part where Höst took into account that many boarding school kids would be rich international students since the rich local students don't need to board. It has a realistic (read: slightly embarrassing) first-time sex scene, something which is often avoided in YA or over-idealised if it isn't. Although the science fictional element surrounding the aliens is on the soft side (their powers might as well be magic, although fields and electricity are mentioned), the methodology of the characters in working out how all the new stuff works is rigorously scientific.

The aliens were alien. Not little green men, but something more strange and other. Their actions were mysterious at first but, by the end when their motivations were known, they weren't so baffling as to be completely incomprehensible.

The setting — modern Sydney — also reflects real modern technology. A bunch of people die when the aliens come, but the survivors tweet information to each other and use youtube to share videos of useful things. Some TV news services keep going and the electricity stays on. Just because an apocalypse is in progress, doesn't mean that society collapses immediately. It takes time for our infrastructure to run out of resources or break down. It was nice to see aliens not arbitrarily disable everything for flimsy reasons.

I was concerned while I was reading that this would be the first book in a trilogy or series but it was entirely self contained. Which was a relief not because I wanted it to be over, but because I'm sick of stories needlessly drawn out into trilogies.

And All the Stars was a solidly good YA book. I recommend it to science fiction readers as well as fans of YA. I'll definitely some of the author's other books to my mental TBR pile.

5 / 5 stars

You can read more of my reviews on my blog, Tsana's Reads.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another very successful novel from Andrea K. Höst. I thoroughly enjoyed her Touchstone Trilogy. This new novel, again set in Australia and with a SF-based mystery, was published about the time I finished that series, so I bought it as soon as it was released.

I really enjoyed it. Höst has come up with a fascinating premise and then slowly unfolded it and revealed more and more clues until we come to know what is really going on. I liked Madeleine a lot and enjoyed the way the story and characters developed with her at their centres.

The development of things between Madeleine and Fisher and how it ended up was wonderfully done and I'd just about be prepared to recommend the book on that alone, although what makes it wonderful is the the context of the story around which it all develops, crashes, burns a bit and maybe takes off again (I think that metaphor's got a bit out of hand). I can't say more without spoiling anything, but don't deny yourself the chance to explore this complicated and unusual piece of character and relationship building.

As I read the book something about the whole idea of Blue and Green kept nagging at me as a familiar concept until I finally tracked it down to an old episode of the 1970's The Tomorrow People called The Blue and the Green. Plot wise, they were quite, quite different, but I'm wondering (without doing any in depth analysis) if there are some thematic overlaps beyond the use of the two colours because the two stories are insisting on sitting side by side inside my head.

I really enjoyed the Australian setting. If I can't have a New Zealand one, then yay for the land across the "ditch".

One thing I did find interesting was the significant lack of adult characters. Tyler would have been the oldest at about 25 by my calculations, which still isn't really very old (or in the story that much). I guess this is something that has always been done in books for younger (YA in this case) readers, to side step the parents. (Look at all those holidays the Famous Five went on; given all the adventures they had, I wouldn't have let them off the property!) From the crusty old age of 43, I'm starting to notice this sort of thing more. I'm not saying it was a wrong choice - I don't think the Blue Musketeers could have succeeded with adults dragging them down - just that I notice it now where once I didn't.

Another most enjoyable book by Andrea K. Höst. In the more practical terms of writing quality and editing (since this is a self-published book), I think the writing is much tidier and more self-assured here, compared to the Touchstone books. There are certainly less typos and the like. I'd say I noticed maybe five or six where I went back to check if a word was right or not - and in some cases it was but I'd read it in my mind with the wrong inflections, making the sentence stop making sense. Actually, it did.

Personally, I think I enjoyed the Touchstone books more, but that was about the kind of story appealing to me a little more than this one did. But if I'd read this first, I might have put it at the top of the list instead. I'm not sure if Höst has written any other science fiction. I'm much more in an SF mood at the moment (especially with that touch of a puzzle of a mystery to solve), but I shall go and look at her fantasy novels, because she is most definitely an author to keep a watch over.

[Aryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly, this cover is friggin' gorgeous. I thought the little thumbnails I'd seen were beautiful, but when I blew it up for this review I realized how much detail I was missing, in the model's eyes, specifically. and all the stars, obviously refers to the stars under the model's left eye, but honestly the more I look at this cover, the more I like it - it also could have been a reference to the sparkle in her eyes, or even the freckles on her neck. Basically, the cover art gets a full five stars from me; the photographer in me enjoys all the details.

The books opens on Madeleine, regaining consciousness, in what used to be a train station - used to be. She's surrounded by rubble, dead bodies, and a bizarre glittery dust is in the air. All this destruction is caused by giant, featureless towers that seem to have sprouted from the Earth, spraying the strange dust that sparkles. Finding her way out of the rubble, she is able to call her parents, and make her way to her famous cousin's apartment, where she showers off the glittering dust that she has become coated with.

Watching the news, and her own body, Madeleine discovers that she is turning ... blue. Some of the population, like her, is turning blue, and some are turning green. Not everyone is surviving this transformation, however, and soon those that do are seeking each other out to test what other changes this dust has brought to them.

The answer? Hunger Games for body-hopping aliens!

I must say, I enjoyed quite a lot about this book. The story was interesting and a bit unique in that it's definitely a post-apocalypse, but cell phones and news networks are still working and running - being taken care of by those that survive. Usually post-apocalypse stories have a much more pessimistic view of the population, that people would chip in and actually keep things running, even if they're teens? I don't know if I love it because it's got an optimism to it, or hate it because I'm not sure I can believe that that would happen. I chose to love it.

I really liked the people that Madeleine teams up with, I find them to be fairly accurate representations of our teenage population. My problem however, with these people is that they're fairly interchangeable. They all different skills, but I had a really hard time remembering which one was which person. It was rather confusing.

I also found the flow of the writing not quite right. Personally, I was definitely thrown by the amount of Australian slang, but that wasn't the only reason that I didn't think it flowed well. Some of the sentences, I read quite a few times and they still didn't make sense, even within the context of the sentences before and after.

My last complaint was the Epilogue. The book ended in a satisfying way, and then there was this epilogue that felt like someone screaming AND THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER! THE END!!! This is a problem I've seen in quite a few YA novels, the authors want to tie everything up, but it doesn't need to be gift wrapped for us. Nothing wraps up that nice in the real world, and it seems like a cop-out.

In Summary: Good book, with some problems.

I received this book for free from the publisher, via NetGalley. This review was originally posted at RATS.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, the twists and plot reveals in And All the Stars are among the novel’s strongest points, so this review will be vague and short in order to prevent spoilage.

This is a marvelous scifi/post-apocalyptic YA novel (there are tinges of romance and lots of action as well, so basically every genre ever is represented here). Here are the top reasons why you should read it:

1. a hilarious and original cast of characters: why is it that fictional characters are so much better than most of the people I interact with in real life? I always lament this fact, and in And All the Stars I met a bunch of new characters that struck me down with this sadness again. From Madeleine, the artsy protagonist, to Noi, the no-nonsense best friend, to all the boys from a local boarding school, there are too many possible favorites. Bonus factor: the characters are diverse! Go away completely heterosexual, white casts! And All the Stars features multiple races and sexual orientations.
2. an ode to friendship: if required to provide a main theme from this book, I’d say friendship and the importance of having people to rely on. This theme is well explored, especially through the inclusion of the aforementioned outstanding characters and their constant allusions to Dumas’ The Three Musketeers. All for one, one for all!
3. awesome plot twists: no elaboration here, because I want readers to experience them personally, but oh my god, they are worth it. Even minor plot reveals were stunning and really upped the stakes (not that they weren’t sufficiently upped, you know, with the apocalypse and all)

Some things I didn’t like (but shouldn’t discourage you from reading it!):

1. action scenes could be confusing: I noticed this in Höst’s other YA work, the The Touchstone Trilogy, as well. In scenes with a lot of movement and fighting, I can get a little lost in who is doing what to whom.
2. mushy, overly feel-good epilogue: Another weakness I’ve noticed with Höst; she is a bit prone to overly perfect endings. This one especially stung since the final line of the actual book was so wonderfully ambiguous, which was then marred by the epilogue. It was somewhat ameliorated by a pretty good but not quite as good final epilogue line.

This is simply a fun read. I was particularly impressed because having read some of Höst’s earlier work, I can see that her craft has greatly improved, though it wasn’t too shabby to begin with! She is a promising author that I will be watching closely.

[Roslyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be rather different in many ways than Höst's other novels, and it's my least favourite so far. At the same time it does share some central issues and features evident in Höst's other work, and I found I enjoyed the novel on the whole despite my reservations.

This is the most ‘conventional’ so far of Höst’s novels. This might seem to be because it’s set firmly in our world, a few years in the future, in Sydney (an aspect I really appreciated, along with the Aussie colloquialisms - the teenagers sound like Australians, not Americans), but the real reason is that it’s basically an alien invasion story and employs many tropes of that sub-sub–genre. The alien invasion narrative usually involves a group of resourceful characters finding a way of defeating the invaders (’the small band of intrepid characters’ trope.) That’s precisely the plot outline for 'And All the Stars’, with the difference that this plot is developed in Höst’s particularly charming and interesting style.

My biggest issue with the novel is one of credibility. Höst is a gifted enough writer that she can infuse life into the situations she creates, so I was able to enjoy this even though part of my mind just wasn’t buying crucial parts of the story. I didn’t quite manage to buy (although I almost did) the notion that a group of teenagers would be able to overthrow a powerful alien culture intent on domination and with all cards stacked in its favour. Granted, the teenagers had help – I won’t put in spoilers about this (I can never work out how to insert spoilers), but nevertheless, the level of sophistication, resources and skills required seem to me to go beyond the bounds of credibility. And the fact that these particular talented and extraordinary teenagers happened to survive the original crisis and meet one another also stands right at the boundaries of credibility for me.

There’s also the the question of the behaviour of one of the characters immediately after the invasion. When someone has just lost their entire beloved family, I can imagine them pulling themselves together to deal with a crisis, but Noi’s behaviour didn’t ring true to me. But that wouldn’t have bothered me so much if there hadn’t been the larger credibility problem.

This is really 3 and a half stars for me and given my reservations, that might seem overly generous. It's partly that I enjoyed the characters and their interactions, and it’s partly just Höst's sheer inventiveness and style. But what ultimately redeemed the novel for me was the story of the central romance and its part in the plot. Although this, too, wasn’t free of credibility issues for me in several ways, the depiction of the central relationship nevertheless represents Höst at her subtle, complex best, and for me was the best part of the novel.

[Sherwood Smith]

Madeleine, an artist, sneaked off on an art-related trip rather than going to school, when the world is attacked.

She finds herself in the wreckage of a station, wading through weird blue dust. She discovers a strange wall where there had not been one, and many victims of the forceful appearance of that wall, before she makes it to her cousin's to collapse.

She wakes up changed.

Eventually she goes out to find others, find out what's going on, and of course to seek help. But everyone is doing the same.

Madeleine ends up making friends for the first time. Not only friends. As information comes in, the group makes their plans for resistance, knowing that they are in danger.

And danger happens.

The pacing was fast--in some parts totally absorbing--and I loved the characters. I loved the relationships between individuals and how a group forms. I love the handling of "insiderness" of groups, especially for survival--and I absolutely loved the mystery within a mystery.

Maybe some elements weren't as developed as they could have been, and there were some tiny bumps when crucial info was fitted in as throwaways after the fact (and the usual scattering of copyediting oopsies) but those were minor glitches in a story I could not put down.

[jesse]

usually i don't bother buying a book which practically landed in my lap for free (netgalley arc!). usually. this isn't one of those occasions, even though i skipped parts of it, i think this is a book that deserves to be heard of. so i additionally bought the e-book copy of this, to contribute in a small way.

the honesty and realness of the situations played out, is what actually made the story so different and original from any other book with ya-characters on the market. feeling pangs of sorrow on behalf of théoden. i bow to you, andrea!

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is official: I AM HOOKED ON SURVIVAL STORIES. Every YA book I've read with major survival elements has ranged from really good to absolutely brilliant. This one falls closer to the latter extreme. I read Stray a few months ago, and it was a close choice between reading this next and reading Lab Rat One. I'm so glad I chose this one, because oh, what a fantastic effort on Host's part. It didn't find a place on my list of favorites, but it came close.

The best part was the wonderful cast of characters. This book has among the best... hell, the best cast I've ever read about. I found myself genuinely connecting to every single one, and being worried about their ultimate fates. This is especially amazing considering how large the main group of characters was (The Blue Musketeers, as they called themselves), and even more amazing that not a single one felt underdeveloped or two-dimensional. As multiple friends of mine pointed out, they're in a very dangerous situation, which might support this connection I feel. But the thing that Host did to really strengthen the connection was that there was no asshole who's ultimate death was obvious from his first appearance - anyone could die in this narrative, and that made me savor what little time I had with the characters. : In fact, there was one point where it looked like all of them except Madeliene, or narrator, had died. I knew that there would be a retcon, because obviously Host wasn't going to kill everyone at once, but I WANTED the predictable retcon, simply because I wanted more time with the characters. There was no other way that plot element would work, and Host pulled it off beautifully.

Their relationships with each other were also a lot more complex than what I'm used to reading. It went beyond simple love or hate with no gray area between the extremes. Instead, we got a nice and tender friendship between Madeliene and Noi, a slow-burning romance between Maddie and Fisher, a brilliant plot twist that turned the said relationship on its heels, and a... I don't even know what was going on between Nash and Pan, only that it kicked ass. I've experienced and seen a lot of these gray areas before, and it's nice to see an author that acknowledges that these things happen, too.

As for the writing... well, I feel sort of bad writing this, because the rest of the book was crazy awesome, but from a technical perspective, the writing wasn't great. It was obvious this was self-published, much more so than Stray. There were multiple run-on sentences, missing commas, fragments, and sentences I had to read over a few times to understand. I went in with the expectation that it wouldn't be obvious how little editing the book went through, but sadly, that wasn't quite the case.

But the problems were only surface-deep. Where it really counts, Host's writing actually shines quite well. She knew exactly when to pull out descriptions of settings and characters' personalities. The language she used wasn't quite fancy, but it wasn't simplistic, either, and there were no real artistic problems. As I once said to my friend when editing her novel for NaNoWriMo, "From a technical standpoint... well, it wasn't great. [...] But from an artistic standpoint, it couldn't be better. So keep it up. We can fix technical problems. It's a lot harder to fix artistic ones." The statement applies here as well.

Host also did an exquisite job creating the aliens in this story. I'm not sure if I can exactly call it worldbuilding, since it wasn't technically a world, but everything was handled consistently and sensically, which is more than I can say for a lot of authors. More importantly, the creation of the aliens was complex and creative. The way they were revealed was also constantly surprising - every time I felt like I knew the rules of this universe, Host pulled the rug out from under me again, with another surprising twist. Moreover, while each twist was a surprise, it always felt like a natural extension of what I already knew. Instead of thinking, "Um... what? I need an infodump," (cough, The Demon's Lexicon), I thought, "Of course!" These twists were foreshadowed so that they were never deux ex machinas, but I can't see how you could possibly predict them. These were reveals at their best.

Other than the reveals, the plot was equally good. As with most survival books, the pacing was slow, but I did not give a fuck. There's always something that the author uses to fill the empty spaces between events that makes it interesting. In survival stories, it's easy - as long as the author has a handle on everything that's going on around them, they can fill in the empty spaces quite well. Host is a bit unusual in that she splits the empty spaces between survival scenes and character development scenes. I could've used more attention to the survival scenes (more on that later), but the character development couldn't have been better (see above), and neither could've the gradual reveals that accompanied it (also see above). Once the book got out of its survival loop (it admittedly lasted a bit too long), the plot still worked well - it was very tense and dramatic, with a great villain (who says you can't subvert always chaotic evil and still fight the aliens wholeheartedly?), and heroines that felt believable in their roles. They didn't step up to the plate against all odds - we saw them figure out exactly how to fight, and they got a lot of help from reasonable adults.

Other than the writing, the only other problem I had was that Host didn't quite consider the physical or emotional ramifications of an apocalypse. First, the physical ramifications: I did not believe for a second that they would have reliable electricity, running water, news, and internet when half the population was infected by diseases that often killed you and got rid of your ability to work. It wouldn't be too hard to do something about this - simply having to boil water to drink and giving the characters less reliance on the internet and news channels would've done the trick - but as it was, the apocalypse felt very isolated in that outside of what we saw, everything seemed to be functioning fine.

More importantly, the characters often seemed a bit too light and happy given what they were going through. There were emotionally intense character scenes, but they mostly involved their relationships with each other, and not the world surrounding them. In my opinion, this was an enormous missed opportunity. Right now, I'm writing something about vampires (not at all inspired by Twilight, I haven't even read the book), and when one character gets turned into the said creatures, one thing I tried to capture exactly what it would feel like for everything you know to change - that intense feeling that nothing will ever be the same again. It's a scary feeling, let me tell you. I just spent ten thousand words getting into the head of someone going through it. All the best post-apocalyptic novels acknowledge this - I'm thinking of The Way We Fall in particular. And All the Stars doesn't acknowledge that nearly enough - the characters were shown to be mostly happy, and at times, the apocalypse was actually treated as a good thing. And it was this, not the writing, that kept it off my list of favorite books. That is what I read survival stories for, and it was sadly missing here.

But the rest of the novel is so fucking awesome that I had to give it five stars anyway. Trust me when I say that it will appeal to anyone and everyone. There are great action scenes, aliens that are plain out awesome, lovely characters, and good writing. And at only 99 cents in e-book form, there's no reason not to try it. I can almost guarantee you'll love it.

[Lexie · Rating 5 out of 5]

First things first--Höst is one of my top five favorite authors.  She has not, to date, let me down at all in any of her books I've read.  And I've read practically all of them.  As such I'm a bit of a fangirl when I talk about her to my other reading friends.  That said I am as completely unbiased as I can be given the above statement.

This is definitely a powerful novel.

I've always felt that Höst's main characters are relatable. Cassandra from the Touchstone books wasn't this all-powerful super-ninja--she had to learn everything just like anyone else and learned from the mistakes she made. Medair fouled up; both in her role as a hero and in her prejudices, and in the end she still wasn't fully 'okay' with the situation, but she was willing to learn to adapt. And Soren (from Champion of the Rose) was an emotional cauldron most of the time, unable to really untangle herself from things at times. Their emotions, their fears and happiness, these things all felt real.

But Maddie felt the most real of all. Part of that may be because she exists in a not so distant future, and while she's obviously in Australia (and I've never been), her concerns are all immediately understandable. Is her family safe? What does the dust mean? Can she trust these people? Can she trust herself? What is the world going to be like post-dust? What about her dreams? Everything about Maddie--minus the scifi stuff--was grounded in reality. And that made this a powerful book.

This is also a book that should be read at least twice--there's a couple of twists involved that change how certain interactions break down once revealed.  Maddie is not your typical main character sort; if at all possible I fully believe she would have struck out on her own and stayed on her own if that had been at all practical.  And likely not suffered too greatly for it.  The other characters as they are introduced--Noi, Pan, Fisher, Gavin, Tyler, etc--are easier to get along with possibly or identify with.  Though as Maddie notices, they're all very good at keeping things close to their vest (at first at least).

The near-future feel to the story works to its advantage, there's nothing so far out from what we have now or are proposing technology wise to make this feel so alien.  I think this is important for when the Moths attack (or invade, since there's little attacking going on at first) because it grounds the story in enough reality for the reader to wonder 'Would I be able to do that? Do I know someone who can do that?'.

For spoiler reasons I can't explain how much I really loved this one character.  After everything goes down, I went back and re-read about this character and was like 'That is so well done.'.  Höst lays out a mystery within a mystery within a survival game that at its reveal makes perfect sense and bolsters a few of the other plot threads that would have been mildly problematic.  

To be fair this book has exciting moments, but its not action filled.  Its largely a character driven plot with a lot of potential to be heart breaking depending on which character's story you invest in.  The end isn't sunshine and rainbows--its a compromise and acknowledgement that nothing can be cleaned up perfectly.  

Overall this is my favorite book of Höst's--the pacing is well handled, the twists are well choreographed, and there's enough to think about in how the Moths act, how humanity acts because of the Moths and how determination and sacrifice can bring about change, that it should get a reader to think.

[Tahlia Newland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every now and then, I come across a book that blows me away with its perfection. This is one of them. I knew early on that it was going to be a great book because it was so well written. Frankly, I was surprised to find out it was a self-published book. If anyone dares to tell you that Indie books are inferior quality, tell them to read this one, then shut up.

And all the Stars is completely unlike anything else I’ve ever read; a three phase take over of the world by human-possessing Aliens. First the spires and the dust appear, then either blue or green streaks appear on the skin of those infected by the dust. Next, stars appear in the blue. Madeline has her own little galaxy on her skin. I can’t tell you what happens after that without blowing the story to some extent, but what I can tell you is that she meets a group of other teens and they set about surviving the apocalypse as best they can.

It’s an unpredictable, tightly written, totally unique story that holds you from beginning to end. The pacing has plenty of variation with times of high action or suspense, and other times where you can relax and go more deeply into the characters and their relationships. The multicultural cast of teen characters are well drawn and the group dynamics are very realistic.

There is nothing extraneous in the writing and nothing missing, just as it should be. The imagery varies from evocative descriptions of a mundane world in turmoil to the startling beauty of an alien race. Höst impressed me with her sensitive portrayal of Madeline as an artist, and with her ‘alien-building’, both visually and conceptually.

In this apocalypse, the power and the internet keep running, and television and social media are a vital tool for gaining and sharing information to support resistance. The kids never moved bases without their laptops and webcams.

Like all good young adult fiction, there’s a touch of romance; this time with a startling twist about ¾ of the way through that leaves Madeline reeling. While this bunch of delightfully intelligent kids is trying to save the world, on a more personal note, we’re wondering if Maddie ever had a relationship to save. The end is fabulous, uplifting but not soppy and with an epilogue that leaves you perfectly content.
The primary theme is a common one, but no less important for that—great things can be achieved when people work together in a team that acknowledges the strengths and weakness of it individuals, encourages and honours their unique contributions and supports them through their trials. The novel also models acceptance of diversity, the nobility of self-sacrifice for something you believe in, and a compassionate approach to dealing with enemies. (How do you get the possessor out of the body without killing the innocent body as well?)

Having lived for many years right where it all takes place, I really enjoyed the central Sydney setting. I found it all too easy to visualise St James station in the disarray described at the beginning of the book. Though universal in relevance, I recognised the characteristics of these kids’ acceptance of each other regardless of race or sexual orientation, their positive attitude, resourcefulness and determination to survive as a very Australian combination. I loved that Sydney led the world, and the final image of the concert in the park was totally Sydney.