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Falling Star #1
Catch a Falling Star
This is a New-Adult book/series.
While Venus explodes, raining down a beautiful shower of devastating debris on its neighboring Planet Earth, Shay Collins' childhood is effectively ended when the remnants she is hit with etch the event into the very fabric of her being.
Following the incident, Shay's exceptionally fast healing, pronounced with a vague greenish glow, lands her in the hands of Starfield's E.C.H.O.E. Research Facility.
For the next four years they hold her hostage as a human lab rat, until Jared Kingston comes along and decides to save her.
When Shay insists on bringing fellow lab rat, Aaron Miller, along for the escape things go awry; and Jared is caught.
Shay must make the decision to keep running with Aaron, or go back to rescue Jared. Either way, the best and brightest at Starfield were not about to give up on Shay. They were going to send a secret weapon after her, even if that meant creating a new one!
While Venus explodes, raining down a beautiful shower of devastating debris on its neighboring Planet Earth, Shay Collins' childhood is effectively ended when the remnants she is hit with etch the event into the very fabric of her being.
Following the incident, Shay's exceptionally fast healing, pronounced with a vague greenish glow, lands her in the hands of Starfield's E.C.H.O.E. Research Facility.
For the next four years they hold her hostage as a human lab rat, until Jared Kingston comes along and decides to save her.
When Shay insists on bringing fellow lab rat, Aaron Miller, along for the escape things go awry; and Jared is caught.
Shay must make the decision to keep running with Aaron, or go back to rescue Jared. Either way, the best and brightest at Starfield were not about to give up on Shay. They were going to send a secret weapon after her, even if that meant creating a new one!
232 pages, Paperback
First published February 28, 2014
4 people are currently reading
506 people want to read
About the author
Christine M. Butler
52 books430 followersChristine M. Butler writes under several pen names. The Christine M. Butler name is being retired in 2023 and all books will be shifted to publication under Christine Michelle and/or Anne Storm.
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If you want to learn more about Christine, her books, or her crazy adventures into the wilderness, you can find out more through the following links:
Universal links to everything
(social media, book links, and more)
https://linktr.ee/christinemichelle
WEBSITE & Newsletter signup:
https://www.moonlitdreams.org
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Friend or follow my personal page here:
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 14, 2014
*3.5 stars*
A comet hits Venus and debris from the impact starts to fall to Earth and cause mass destruction and enable people with some weird abilities. Christine M. Butler describes the beauty of the Venus incident wonderfully and I could see the picture she was building of the beauty and destruction vividly. Shay goes through a lot of pain and trauma due to the aftermath and occurrence of such a beautiful disaster. This book is another unique read for me, not that I have never read a post apocalyptic/ dystopian novel before, but it is the first I have read that deals with space and the affects hitting Earth. I loved the way at which Christine M. Butler approached writing and telling the story, a story within a story. I highly enjoy flashbacks, while you are still getting the story of what is presently happening. Shay is such a strong and brave character and you really feel for her and everything she has been through. I enjoyed this book, but I felt it lacked a little in action and intensity, but did contain some dark material. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the Shatter Me trilogy by Tahereh Mafi! At the end of the book I was craving more and have to say I can't wait to see what happens in the sequel, Replicas!
I would like to again thank Christine M. Butler for this copy of her novel Catch A Falling Star. (I won this in a giveaway on goodreads!)
A comet hits Venus and debris from the impact starts to fall to Earth and cause mass destruction and enable people with some weird abilities. Christine M. Butler describes the beauty of the Venus incident wonderfully and I could see the picture she was building of the beauty and destruction vividly. Shay goes through a lot of pain and trauma due to the aftermath and occurrence of such a beautiful disaster. This book is another unique read for me, not that I have never read a post apocalyptic/ dystopian novel before, but it is the first I have read that deals with space and the affects hitting Earth. I loved the way at which Christine M. Butler approached writing and telling the story, a story within a story. I highly enjoy flashbacks, while you are still getting the story of what is presently happening. Shay is such a strong and brave character and you really feel for her and everything she has been through. I enjoyed this book, but I felt it lacked a little in action and intensity, but did contain some dark material. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the Shatter Me trilogy by Tahereh Mafi! At the end of the book I was craving more and have to say I can't wait to see what happens in the sequel, Replicas!
I would like to again thank Christine M. Butler for this copy of her novel Catch A Falling Star. (I won this in a giveaway on goodreads!)
July 21, 2014
I won this book through a goodreads first reads giveaway.
Catch a falling star was a very intriguing read which I had trouble putting it down. The story is told by Shay a 17 year old girl whom at the age of 12 caught some debris of Venus that rained down after a comet hit the planet. Once the debris touched her hand it burnt right through it but after a few hours the wound was miraculously healed. It is because of this healing that Shay's parents take her to a doctor who then puts her in the hands of a research facility.
The one small act of catching a falling star lands Shay in E.C.H.O.E research facility where for the next 5 years until she can escape she is put through tremendous amounts of pain, trauma and unthinkable acts all in the name of science.
Who can she trust? How can she escape? and what kind of world is left outside of E.C.H.O.E's doors
I really liked this book although I cringed at the things done to shay and Aaron but that was the point because if Christine M. Butler had have glossed over those things I would have found it unrealistic, so although I hated the things done to her I really liked Christine's ability to tell a story and am very excited to read the sequel.
* I'm still on the fence as to which of the boys I love best*
Catch a falling star was a very intriguing read which I had trouble putting it down. The story is told by Shay a 17 year old girl whom at the age of 12 caught some debris of Venus that rained down after a comet hit the planet. Once the debris touched her hand it burnt right through it but after a few hours the wound was miraculously healed. It is because of this healing that Shay's parents take her to a doctor who then puts her in the hands of a research facility.
The one small act of catching a falling star lands Shay in E.C.H.O.E research facility where for the next 5 years until she can escape she is put through tremendous amounts of pain, trauma and unthinkable acts all in the name of science.
Who can she trust? How can she escape? and what kind of world is left outside of E.C.H.O.E's doors
I really liked this book although I cringed at the things done to shay and Aaron but that was the point because if Christine M. Butler had have glossed over those things I would have found it unrealistic, so although I hated the things done to her I really liked Christine's ability to tell a story and am very excited to read the sequel.
* I'm still on the fence as to which of the boys I love best*
July 2, 2014
So a comet hits venus and debris hits earth giving people strange abilities one of them is shay and this book is about her journey after she catches that falling debris/star. I found the author did a job with telling this story. I felt she filled in all the holes at the right time. There were flashbacks and I dont normally like them in a story but I found they worked really well and I did enjoy them. I found the main character to be strong and brave you cant help but want the best for her after all she has been though. This is a really good read the author did an amazing job. And I cant wait to see what happens next.
May 25, 2014
Oh my goodness this book was fantabulistic. :) Christine's outdone herself by bringing us a world of wonder, evolution, pain, love, longing, loneliness and best of all.... hope. I can't wait for the next book in this series. I'm ready and waiting.
August 1, 2014
This book had a good premise and a glimmer of a decent plot, but the execution left a lot to be desired. (Keep in mind that this is a genre I read a fair bit.)
First of all, I warn everyone that there is a lot of swearing. A LOT. And I could forgive that (because whatever) if it wasn't a young adult novel and if it was actually consistent and wasn't quite so repetitive. I got tired of "where in the hell" and "what in the hell" multiple times in the same paragraph. So there's that.
Overall, the actual writing wasn't horrible, but it wasn't anything special, either. I have read better-written books and I have read worse-written books. The narrator definitely had a voice. However, the story got repetitious in places, the main character was really slow on the uptake in a few instances, and the dialogue got tiresome after a while.
Moving right along, this book needed a good proofreader. There are multiple instances of homonym confusion. "Week" instead of "weak," for example. There were also a lot of errant commas. Did you know that every single instance of the word "and" should have a comma before it? Yeah, neither did I. Also, run-on sentences that didn't make sense.
This book also needed a good copyeditor. Someone to point out that when the whole book takes place in Wyoming, you don't need to name the state every time you name a city. Someone to fix phrases like "unwelcome looking" ("unwelcoming" would have been better). Someone to point out that maybe being consistent about how you're spelling a character's name (Nurse Lily/Lilly) is a Good Thing. Sometimes it changed tense in the middle of a sentence, which was weird.
And this book needed a good editor, period. There were some things that were dialogue but written as a narrator, which just grated. But there were two plot points that bothered me.
First, they collected water from the stream in water bottles, and then they went and boiled the water (good) but then they put the water back in the bottles! Unless that water was actually boiling when they poured it into the bottles, it just got re-contaminated. This is not rocket science.
Second (and this totally ruined the book for me, I was going to give three stars and probably read the rest of the series until this happened), at the end of the book they take Lily and leave her in the middle of nowhere, right? This leaves them with a TWO DAY OLD BABY and NO WAY TO FEED IT. If they did have a way to feed it, they sure as heck didn't mention it. Two days old? This infant still requires MILK. You have baby food, but this baby is NOT old enough for baby food, not in any way, shape, or form. Do they have bottles with nipples? Shay doesn't have milk in her breasts, she's not the one who gave birth. The baby is going to die. I am done.
I highlighted 30 things that I would have changed the wording or the spelling. I made 15 actual notes. I didn't bother marking the punctuation errors.
I can't even critique anything else about this book, it was just that bad.
First of all, I warn everyone that there is a lot of swearing. A LOT. And I could forgive that (because whatever) if it wasn't a young adult novel and if it was actually consistent and wasn't quite so repetitive. I got tired of "where in the hell" and "what in the hell" multiple times in the same paragraph. So there's that.
Overall, the actual writing wasn't horrible, but it wasn't anything special, either. I have read better-written books and I have read worse-written books. The narrator definitely had a voice. However, the story got repetitious in places, the main character was really slow on the uptake in a few instances, and the dialogue got tiresome after a while.
Moving right along, this book needed a good proofreader. There are multiple instances of homonym confusion. "Week" instead of "weak," for example. There were also a lot of errant commas. Did you know that every single instance of the word "and" should have a comma before it? Yeah, neither did I. Also, run-on sentences that didn't make sense.
This book also needed a good copyeditor. Someone to point out that when the whole book takes place in Wyoming, you don't need to name the state every time you name a city. Someone to fix phrases like "unwelcome looking" ("unwelcoming" would have been better). Someone to point out that maybe being consistent about how you're spelling a character's name (Nurse Lily/Lilly) is a Good Thing. Sometimes it changed tense in the middle of a sentence, which was weird.
And this book needed a good editor, period. There were some things that were dialogue but written as a narrator, which just grated. But there were two plot points that bothered me.
First, they collected water from the stream in water bottles, and then they went and boiled the water (good) but then they put the water back in the bottles! Unless that water was actually boiling when they poured it into the bottles, it just got re-contaminated. This is not rocket science.
Second (and this totally ruined the book for me, I was going to give three stars and probably read the rest of the series until this happened), at the end of the book they take Lily and leave her in the middle of nowhere, right? This leaves them with a TWO DAY OLD BABY and NO WAY TO FEED IT. If they did have a way to feed it, they sure as heck didn't mention it. Two days old? This infant still requires MILK. You have baby food, but this baby is NOT old enough for baby food, not in any way, shape, or form. Do they have bottles with nipples? Shay doesn't have milk in her breasts, she's not the one who gave birth. The baby is going to die. I am done.
I highlighted 30 things that I would have changed the wording or the spelling. I made 15 actual notes. I didn't bother marking the punctuation errors.
I can't even critique anything else about this book, it was just that bad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 1, 2014
Although not completely unique, I have to admit I was engrossed from the start.
After a meteor hits Venus, debris from the destroyed planet hits Earth's atmosphere with varying degrees of damage to the planet and people. Through contamination of the land and water supply, people either get radiation sickness and die, or their genes mutate and they find themselves with extra-special abilities. At the age of 12, Shay disobeys her parents and sneaks out to see the meteor shower from a hill close to home, when one of the falling pieces hits her. Next thing she knows, she is carted off to a research facility that begins experimenting on her in the most horrific of ways. Since the accident, Shay now has the ability to heal herself and the scientists at the facility have found a way to use that ability by harvesting her blood, tissue, and organs. After 5 years, she meets someone with similar abilities as herself and learns that he gained those abilities through a transfusion of her blood. With the help of one of the employees, someone she had gotten the chance to know and become friends with, she and Aaron, the other boy like her, escape. While out in the real world, they learn how different the Earth is and how much negative impact the debris has caused. Trying to stay one step ahead of the scientists searching for her, they'll learn that they are not the only ones being experimented on, and that Jared, the friend captured during their escape is still alive, though altered. They'll also learn the results of one of the experiments carried out on them, and will risk their freedom to go back to the facility to rescue the others still there and hopefully, destroy the people hurting them.
I'm definitely hooked and looking forward to the next book. Although the main characters are teenagers, this book does have some dark aspects and is something an adult who likes sci-fi or paranormal books would enjoy.
After a meteor hits Venus, debris from the destroyed planet hits Earth's atmosphere with varying degrees of damage to the planet and people. Through contamination of the land and water supply, people either get radiation sickness and die, or their genes mutate and they find themselves with extra-special abilities. At the age of 12, Shay disobeys her parents and sneaks out to see the meteor shower from a hill close to home, when one of the falling pieces hits her. Next thing she knows, she is carted off to a research facility that begins experimenting on her in the most horrific of ways. Since the accident, Shay now has the ability to heal herself and the scientists at the facility have found a way to use that ability by harvesting her blood, tissue, and organs. After 5 years, she meets someone with similar abilities as herself and learns that he gained those abilities through a transfusion of her blood. With the help of one of the employees, someone she had gotten the chance to know and become friends with, she and Aaron, the other boy like her, escape. While out in the real world, they learn how different the Earth is and how much negative impact the debris has caused. Trying to stay one step ahead of the scientists searching for her, they'll learn that they are not the only ones being experimented on, and that Jared, the friend captured during their escape is still alive, though altered. They'll also learn the results of one of the experiments carried out on them, and will risk their freedom to go back to the facility to rescue the others still there and hopefully, destroy the people hurting them.
I'm definitely hooked and looking forward to the next book. Although the main characters are teenagers, this book does have some dark aspects and is something an adult who likes sci-fi or paranormal books would enjoy.
March 27, 2014
Unique, Intriguing, Edge of your seat kind of read
First, I wanted to say, that while I do know this author, this review is in no way swayed by our friendship. I am probably Ms. Butler's toughest critic when it comes to books, and will absolutely point out everyt single thing that I didn't like and explain why.
That being said, Catch A Falling Star, definitely caught me by surprise. It's unlike anything Ms. Butler has ever written. The beginning immediately throws you into a story within a story, and after a chapter or so you are reading hungrily, anxiously waiting to find out why, how, when, and where this is going. Shay (the main character) definitely brought some smiles out of me with her witty and sarcastic humor, while at other times made my heart bleed for the toturous experiments she had to endure. Aaron is who I fell in love with the most in this story. What he wouldn't do to keep Shay safe, while at the same time coming to grips with his own feelings. I wanted Shay to Love him! I was also starting to think that we weren't going to meet Jared in Book 1 of this series, and then all of a sudden I was off the edge of my seat and actually pacing as the book exploded into a dramatic conclusion that couldn't have been done any other way. The tie ins were well exectued, and certain pieces of the story delivered at just the right moment where it literally make you say WOW! I didn't see that coming! I was mad at myself for not finishing/reading this book sooner, and then I was also upset that the next book in the series won't be available for another month or so. But I'm waiting for it! Catch A Falling Star is a brilliant blend of flashbacks and reality that crash together in a heart pounding adventure that won't disappoint. Wonderful story telling on the author's part and I gave it five stars because it really deserved. I can only imagine what book 2 holds.
First, I wanted to say, that while I do know this author, this review is in no way swayed by our friendship. I am probably Ms. Butler's toughest critic when it comes to books, and will absolutely point out everyt single thing that I didn't like and explain why.
That being said, Catch A Falling Star, definitely caught me by surprise. It's unlike anything Ms. Butler has ever written. The beginning immediately throws you into a story within a story, and after a chapter or so you are reading hungrily, anxiously waiting to find out why, how, when, and where this is going. Shay (the main character) definitely brought some smiles out of me with her witty and sarcastic humor, while at other times made my heart bleed for the toturous experiments she had to endure. Aaron is who I fell in love with the most in this story. What he wouldn't do to keep Shay safe, while at the same time coming to grips with his own feelings. I wanted Shay to Love him! I was also starting to think that we weren't going to meet Jared in Book 1 of this series, and then all of a sudden I was off the edge of my seat and actually pacing as the book exploded into a dramatic conclusion that couldn't have been done any other way. The tie ins were well exectued, and certain pieces of the story delivered at just the right moment where it literally make you say WOW! I didn't see that coming! I was mad at myself for not finishing/reading this book sooner, and then I was also upset that the next book in the series won't be available for another month or so. But I'm waiting for it! Catch A Falling Star is a brilliant blend of flashbacks and reality that crash together in a heart pounding adventure that won't disappoint. Wonderful story telling on the author's part and I gave it five stars because it really deserved. I can only imagine what book 2 holds.
June 22, 2014
Catch a Falling Star (Falling Star Series) Christine M. Butler
4.5 stars
Young Adult
I found this book through a Summer Reading Challenge on Facebook... and I'm glad that I did.
I'll leave the synopsis to others, who will do a much better job, I'm sure. What I would like to speak of is the wonderful characterization that Christine M. Butler did with the main character, Shay. At the beginning of the novel, I was confused by the childishness of Shay. She seems to be this weird mixture of preteen and young woman (don't worry, it is explained) and she grows as the story line evolves. Aaron and Jared seem to be mainly present for her growth as a character--which is the only reason I knocked off half a star, I would really like to see some more development of these two.
I was fascinated by the premise that Venus (destroyed by a rogue comet) causes so much destruction, death, and weird superpowers among the people of Earth. The description of the debris field, so very beautiful, yet causing so much havoc, was fantastic.
I look forward to seeing more of this series... and am now on my way to search for more of Butler's works.
4.5 stars
Young Adult
I found this book through a Summer Reading Challenge on Facebook... and I'm glad that I did.
I'll leave the synopsis to others, who will do a much better job, I'm sure. What I would like to speak of is the wonderful characterization that Christine M. Butler did with the main character, Shay. At the beginning of the novel, I was confused by the childishness of Shay. She seems to be this weird mixture of preteen and young woman (don't worry, it is explained) and she grows as the story line evolves. Aaron and Jared seem to be mainly present for her growth as a character--which is the only reason I knocked off half a star, I would really like to see some more development of these two.
I was fascinated by the premise that Venus (destroyed by a rogue comet) causes so much destruction, death, and weird superpowers among the people of Earth. The description of the debris field, so very beautiful, yet causing so much havoc, was fantastic.
I look forward to seeing more of this series... and am now on my way to search for more of Butler's works.
August 23, 2016
I really enjoyed this book... it was sci-fi / dystopian / romance - it had all of my favorite things in story. I was invested in the well being of the characters by the beginning of the first chapter, and eager to learn more about what was going on. The author kept me completely entranced throughout the entire book. I felt horrible for the main character, Shay. She was treated as a specimen just because she was touched by planetary debris, stuck in a hidden lab, experimented on and tortured daily. As the story progressed, you learn more of what was done and feel even worse. Her lone bright spot is Jared, but soon even he causes her pain. The author had all of these surprising twists and tie-ins that kept you guessing about who everyone was and what was going to happen next, and I eagerly await the next book in the series.
July 2, 2014
I really liked this book...but it was in serious need of a good editor. So many words were misused (soul in place of the word sole, gorilla for guerrilla, the list is enormous), left out, inserted in places they didn't belong, and just grammatically wrong (to/too, your/you're, basic third-grade mistakes).
This story has great potential, and parts of it were believable. When something is written that doesn't match up with the science that is known today, the author has to work harder to make us believe in the world they've created.
Some may claim this book ends in a cliffhanger, but I would disagree. I feel it ends with hope, and leaves me to imagine the possibilities myself as to how the HEA could work out. I give it 3.5 stars, but with a rewrite and editing, it has the potential for a big five stars.
This story has great potential, and parts of it were believable. When something is written that doesn't match up with the science that is known today, the author has to work harder to make us believe in the world they've created.
Some may claim this book ends in a cliffhanger, but I would disagree. I feel it ends with hope, and leaves me to imagine the possibilities myself as to how the HEA could work out. I give it 3.5 stars, but with a rewrite and editing, it has the potential for a big five stars.
July 4, 2014
Catch a Falling Star by Christine M. Butler takes the reader to a dark, dystopian world created when a comet hits Venus then rains debris down onto Earth changing life as we know it. Butler tells the deeply traumatic story of Shay after she innocently catches a piece of the falling star and develops a unique healing ability. The story easily pulls the reader in with its tale of pain, sorrow, love and hope leaving you breathless for more.
July 7, 2014
Holy freakin cow that was a dam good scary creepy book! So not fair I have to wait for the next one! It It is basically another of those books where the main characters are experiments. God I really hate humanity sometimes especially certain types of scientist! Makes me wish they had to all be tested for empathy in order to be lowed to be a scientist! Endless to say be prepared to cry be pusses off and want more!
July 6, 2014
I enjoyed this book. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series!!
July 13, 2014
Great read. Really loved Shay and her kick ass take no nonsense approach to the awful conditions she's handed. Looking forward to reading book two but I hope Jared gets his act together!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews