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Lost Stars
Before her older sister, Ginny, died, Carrie was a science nerd, obsessively tracking her beloved Vira comet. But now that Ginny is gone, sixteen-year-old Carrie finds herself within the orbit of Ginny’s friends, a close-knit group of seniors who skip school, obsess over bands (not science), and party hard.
Fed up with Carrie’s behavior, her father enrolls her in a summer work camp at a local state park. Carrie actually likes the days spent in nature. And when she meets Dean, a guy who likes the real Carrie—astrophysics obsessions and all—she starts to get to the heart of who she is and who she wants to be.
Fed up with Carrie’s behavior, her father enrolls her in a summer work camp at a local state park. Carrie actually likes the days spent in nature. And when she meets Dean, a guy who likes the real Carrie—astrophysics obsessions and all—she starts to get to the heart of who she is and who she wants to be.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 4, 2016
38 people are currently reading
2352 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Selin Davis
8 books100 followersI'm thrilled/incredibly nervous about my debut non-fiction book, TOMBOY: The Surprising History and Future of Girls Who Dare to Be Different, out 5/5/20 with Hachette. I've also written a YA novel called LOST STARS and a grown-up novel called BELLY, way back when. I'm written essays and articles for The New York Times, Time, The Wall Street Journal and many other publications. Before that I worked in film and TV, doing props and other art department jobs, including a four-year stint making props for Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues. I live in Brooklyn (but, hey, I moved here before it was cool) with my family. I love doing book clubs, so please reach out if you'd like me to visit virtually or IRL.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews
September 30, 2016
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Bonnier Publishing and NetGalley.)
This was a YA story set in the 1980’s, about a girl whose older sister had died.
Carrie came across as the sort of girl who went out of her way to irritate people at times, and I could see why her father was so worried about her, especially after the death of her older sister.
The storyline in this was about Carrie being forced to take part in a bridge building summer job as a way to sort her out, and we also got a bit of mystery over how her sister died, and why her mother left and didn’t come back. There was a touch of romance towards the end, but this book dragged for me, and I found the details about sound proofing a room and building a bridge to be a bit boring.
The ending to this was okay, and things did seem to be looking up for Carrie a bit.
6 out of 10
“And then, for some reason, I hated my job twelve percent less.”
This was a YA story set in the 1980’s, about a girl whose older sister had died.
Carrie came across as the sort of girl who went out of her way to irritate people at times, and I could see why her father was so worried about her, especially after the death of her older sister.
The storyline in this was about Carrie being forced to take part in a bridge building summer job as a way to sort her out, and we also got a bit of mystery over how her sister died, and why her mother left and didn’t come back. There was a touch of romance towards the end, but this book dragged for me, and I found the details about sound proofing a room and building a bridge to be a bit boring.
The ending to this was okay, and things did seem to be looking up for Carrie a bit.
6 out of 10
September 2, 2016
This one took some time for me to settle into. I struggled with this story. Hard. And if not for a blog tour, I might have DNF'd.
Carrie is hard to like in the beginning. She's rude and mean and careless and perhaps a bit suicidal. There's been a lot of loss and upheaval in her world and her reaction is to act a fool. There are loads of secondary characters, but we don't really get to know them. It's an effective way to show Carrie's state of mind and how she feels alone.
The book is set at a very slow pace and parts did seem repetitive. Yet now that I've finished the book, I can see the slow transformation of Carrie. It's not perfect, and it's definitely not complete, but it is hopeful.
Overall, not quite what I was expecting, but good. I would have liked more of an ending, but I'm greedy and it sort of worked. I'm glad I stuck with it and finished.
**Huge thanks to HMH Books for Young Readers and Edelweiss for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review**
Carrie is hard to like in the beginning. She's rude and mean and careless and perhaps a bit suicidal. There's been a lot of loss and upheaval in her world and her reaction is to act a fool. There are loads of secondary characters, but we don't really get to know them. It's an effective way to show Carrie's state of mind and how she feels alone.
The book is set at a very slow pace and parts did seem repetitive. Yet now that I've finished the book, I can see the slow transformation of Carrie. It's not perfect, and it's definitely not complete, but it is hopeful.
Overall, not quite what I was expecting, but good. I would have liked more of an ending, but I'm greedy and it sort of worked. I'm glad I stuck with it and finished.
**Huge thanks to HMH Books for Young Readers and Edelweiss for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review**
September 21, 2016
After the death of her older sister Carrie becomes the typical rebellious teen acting out in her grief. She's begun hanging out with the older crowd that were friends with her sister and doing all the wrong things. Getting fed up with her behavior Carrie's father insists she go to a summer work camp at a local state park to hopefully get Carrie back under control again. Carrie meets Dean that summer, a guy who sees the real her and helps to pull her back out of the wild crowd she'd gotten herself into.
Ok, I have to admit my first attraction to this book was simply a main character named Carrie. But with Lost Stars dealing with loss and grief I was hoping for an emotional read to fall in love with. When finished though I didn't quite get that connection I had hoped and it just really never broke too out of the mold of many other stories dealing with the loss of a sibling.
What I really did like during this read however was the musical references and Carrie's astronomy obsession. These little bits made the story a bit more unique and enjoyable along the way. Carrie herself though seemed a bit selfish through most of the read with her hateful acting out behavior instead of someone to sympathize with. Her actions became a bit more clear later in the story but I had wished it was told sooner so I could feel a bit more for her.
Overall, an OK read but one that didn't stand out or become particularly memorable to me in the end.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.wordpress....
Ok, I have to admit my first attraction to this book was simply a main character named Carrie. But with Lost Stars dealing with loss and grief I was hoping for an emotional read to fall in love with. When finished though I didn't quite get that connection I had hoped and it just really never broke too out of the mold of many other stories dealing with the loss of a sibling.
What I really did like during this read however was the musical references and Carrie's astronomy obsession. These little bits made the story a bit more unique and enjoyable along the way. Carrie herself though seemed a bit selfish through most of the read with her hateful acting out behavior instead of someone to sympathize with. Her actions became a bit more clear later in the story but I had wished it was told sooner so I could feel a bit more for her.
Overall, an OK read but one that didn't stand out or become particularly memorable to me in the end.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.wordpress....
February 15, 2017
Despite the really beautiful cover and the potentially heartbreaking premise, Lost Stars did not engage me at all. I actually picked it up multiple times over a number of weeks, waiting for that moment of utter attention to strike, but after perhaps the fifth time I just gave up because it just never happened. Had this not been a review book, unfortunately, I probably would’ve DNFed it pretty early on.
Set in the 1980s, Lost Stars is the story of Carrie, a teenage girl living in the aftermath of a family tragedy. Life for Carrie is difficult: her mother has taken off to a meditative retreat; her relationship with her remaining sister is strained; her friends don’t seem to really care for her; she’s grief-stricken and lonely after the older sister that she looked up to died:
“Before Ginny died, that was how it felt when I got upset: like I was about to throw up. Ginny used to be the one to talk me down, to stand at the door of my room and say, softly, “Caraway, take a deep breath, come here, hold my hand.”
Carrie was incredibly hard to like. She was angry and bitter, always putting herself (and her feelings) first before everybody else. She was also oftentimes needlessly cruel to others and hell-bent on self-destruction. After Ginny’s death, she took on the role of their family’s rebellious child — smoking, getting drunk, doing drugs — which was frustrating to see.
Lost Stars touched on mental illness — specifically impulse control disorder, I believe — but I can’t say that I loved it. Obviously I was very disconnected from the characters and could’ve very easily read it wrong, but I felt like the romance acted as a bit of a quick-fix to it, and given that I also didn’t really have a very strong grasp on Dean’s character, it just didn’t work for me.
“Eventually every star will explode. There’s no getting around it.”
“Maybe they’re not gone, those stars. Maybe they’re just lost. Maybe they’re just trying to find their way home.”
The other characters, unfortunately, also didn’t really work for me. We were introduced to so many people, and I could safely say that even at the end of the book, I still don’t really get who’s who and what their personalities, likes, dislikes, goals and values are. Some I felt like I had a bit more feeling for — Tonya, Lynn — but otherwise they were unremarkable.
What I enjoyed was the motifs — the astrophysics/science talk and the music references left at least some impression on me, and I also really appreciate that the book ended up on a somewhat hopeful note. While things were mostly left up in the air, at least Carrie seemed like she would eventually be happy.
“Real heartbreak, not the kind made only of loneliness and self-hatred, was almost kind of sweet.”
Overall not my kind of book, but also not the most terrible that I’ve read. Also, a final tidbit: this book apparently started as a column for New York Times’ Modern Love and boy, that piece of writing actually pretty good and engaging.
* I received a copy of LOST STARS from Allen & Unwin in exchange for an honest review.
Set in the 1980s, Lost Stars is the story of Carrie, a teenage girl living in the aftermath of a family tragedy. Life for Carrie is difficult: her mother has taken off to a meditative retreat; her relationship with her remaining sister is strained; her friends don’t seem to really care for her; she’s grief-stricken and lonely after the older sister that she looked up to died:
“Before Ginny died, that was how it felt when I got upset: like I was about to throw up. Ginny used to be the one to talk me down, to stand at the door of my room and say, softly, “Caraway, take a deep breath, come here, hold my hand.”
Carrie was incredibly hard to like. She was angry and bitter, always putting herself (and her feelings) first before everybody else. She was also oftentimes needlessly cruel to others and hell-bent on self-destruction. After Ginny’s death, she took on the role of their family’s rebellious child — smoking, getting drunk, doing drugs — which was frustrating to see.
Lost Stars touched on mental illness — specifically impulse control disorder, I believe — but I can’t say that I loved it. Obviously I was very disconnected from the characters and could’ve very easily read it wrong, but I felt like the romance acted as a bit of a quick-fix to it, and given that I also didn’t really have a very strong grasp on Dean’s character, it just didn’t work for me.
“Eventually every star will explode. There’s no getting around it.”
“Maybe they’re not gone, those stars. Maybe they’re just lost. Maybe they’re just trying to find their way home.”
The other characters, unfortunately, also didn’t really work for me. We were introduced to so many people, and I could safely say that even at the end of the book, I still don’t really get who’s who and what their personalities, likes, dislikes, goals and values are. Some I felt like I had a bit more feeling for — Tonya, Lynn — but otherwise they were unremarkable.
What I enjoyed was the motifs — the astrophysics/science talk and the music references left at least some impression on me, and I also really appreciate that the book ended up on a somewhat hopeful note. While things were mostly left up in the air, at least Carrie seemed like she would eventually be happy.
“Real heartbreak, not the kind made only of loneliness and self-hatred, was almost kind of sweet.”
Overall not my kind of book, but also not the most terrible that I’ve read. Also, a final tidbit: this book apparently started as a column for New York Times’ Modern Love and boy, that piece of writing actually pretty good and engaging.
* I received a copy of LOST STARS from Allen & Unwin in exchange for an honest review.
September 15, 2016
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Okay, I kind of tolerated this book for most of it and then it just went downhill. For 70% of the book, I really thought this was going to be a three star book. So Carrie is upset at the death of her older sister, Ginny. Ginny drank and did drugs and of course, Carrie picked up the role of "rebellious child" after her death. Carrie uses Ginny's death as an excuse to push people away and act selfish and generally just act mean towards everyone. But I guess it's okay that she does that because she's grieving, right? She doesn't even acknowledge the feelings of Ginny's two friends who were actually in the car with her when she died. Nope, Carrie is the only one hurting.
Carrie's mom left soon after Ginny's death because that's apparently what you do: one kid dies and instead of dealing with it, you leave your other two children alone. Makes sense. Carrie's dad was a hard one. I alternated between liking him and hating him, but then I realized that he was kind of realistic. He stuck around, unlike Carrie's mom and he did the best he could to take care of both Carrie and Rosie (Carrie's sister). He got frustrated with Carrie because she stayed out all night and did drugs and made everyone around her miserable. There were times when I thought he could have reached out a little bit more, but he was doing the best he could. The problem was that Carrie did NOT make it easy.
Okay, so there is a reason why I thought this book was a bit better than it was for a majority of the book: there was an interesting twist on the whole "acting like a bitch because I'm sad" thing. The author alluded to the fact that Carrie had been diagnosed by a therapist as having impulse control disorder. That got my attention. How often is THAT mental illness talked about? Never. The way Carrie was out of control and the way she would totally overreact to stuff emotionally seemed to fit with that. And I got the feeling that her issues started before Ginny's death, but they just became so much worse after the fact. The problem though was that, aside from that one mention by the shrink, there was no other mention of it. With impulse control disorder, the patient needs therapy and medication. Well Carrie had stopped her therapy and there was no talk of medication. There were times when I wasn't sure if the author was trying to portray Carrie as mentally ill or if she was just throwing a temper tantrum. But the worst part, the absolute worst, was that the author made it seem as if Carrie's relationship with Dean was the answer to her problems. Carrie was desperate for a boyfriend; she got one. And once, Carrie felt herself start to overreact and have a "fit," as she called it. But guess what happened? One conversation with Dean and it was gone. Poof. Just like that. So freaking annoying. And she never had another episode again. Okay, I don't know that for sure, but that's definitely the direction the author was going with it. Sorry, but people who actually have impulse control disorder need a bit more help than a boyfriend can provide.
I would just recommend skipping this one.
Okay, I kind of tolerated this book for most of it and then it just went downhill. For 70% of the book, I really thought this was going to be a three star book. So Carrie is upset at the death of her older sister, Ginny. Ginny drank and did drugs and of course, Carrie picked up the role of "rebellious child" after her death. Carrie uses Ginny's death as an excuse to push people away and act selfish and generally just act mean towards everyone. But I guess it's okay that she does that because she's grieving, right? She doesn't even acknowledge the feelings of Ginny's two friends who were actually in the car with her when she died. Nope, Carrie is the only one hurting.
Carrie's mom left soon after Ginny's death because that's apparently what you do: one kid dies and instead of dealing with it, you leave your other two children alone. Makes sense. Carrie's dad was a hard one. I alternated between liking him and hating him, but then I realized that he was kind of realistic. He stuck around, unlike Carrie's mom and he did the best he could to take care of both Carrie and Rosie (Carrie's sister). He got frustrated with Carrie because she stayed out all night and did drugs and made everyone around her miserable. There were times when I thought he could have reached out a little bit more, but he was doing the best he could. The problem was that Carrie did NOT make it easy.
Okay, so there is a reason why I thought this book was a bit better than it was for a majority of the book: there was an interesting twist on the whole "acting like a bitch because I'm sad" thing. The author alluded to the fact that Carrie had been diagnosed by a therapist as having impulse control disorder. That got my attention. How often is THAT mental illness talked about? Never. The way Carrie was out of control and the way she would totally overreact to stuff emotionally seemed to fit with that. And I got the feeling that her issues started before Ginny's death, but they just became so much worse after the fact. The problem though was that, aside from that one mention by the shrink, there was no other mention of it. With impulse control disorder, the patient needs therapy and medication. Well Carrie had stopped her therapy and there was no talk of medication. There were times when I wasn't sure if the author was trying to portray Carrie as mentally ill or if she was just throwing a temper tantrum. But the worst part, the absolute worst, was that the author made it seem as if Carrie's relationship with Dean was the answer to her problems. Carrie was desperate for a boyfriend; she got one. And once, Carrie felt herself start to overreact and have a "fit," as she called it. But guess what happened? One conversation with Dean and it was gone. Poof. Just like that. So freaking annoying. And she never had another episode again. Okay, I don't know that for sure, but that's definitely the direction the author was going with it. Sorry, but people who actually have impulse control disorder need a bit more help than a boyfriend can provide.
I would just recommend skipping this one.
January 5, 2017
3.5 stars.
I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
After reading the synopsis of this book, I was really excited to read this book, and I am very pleased to say that the book definitely lived up to my expectations!
Carrie, or Caraway, is a sixteen year old girl that is struggling with the death of her older sister, and she turns to drugs, alcohol and partying. As any concerned and worried father would, Carrie's dad sends her off to a boot camp for the summer. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I would definitely recommend it to those who love Young Adult contemporary books. The plot was definitely unique to most YA books around at the moment, and it was a refreshing read.
What made this book so different to most was the depth and personality given to the characters, making them so realistic and human. Carrie isn't a bad girl, she's just had a rough time, and it's definitely understandable. Likewise, her dad, her sister, her friends all have such unique traits and characteristics that allowed me to experience such emotion. I particularly liked the Carrie's character development as she learnt more about herself and her family.
I also loved the communication between Carrie and other characters, such as Dean. First encounters are never as smooth as what books make them out to be. Meeting someone for the first time never ends up being the world's most perfect conversation; it's awkward, it's new, it's unfamiliar. I feel that Lisa Selin Davis captured this perfectly when Carrie and Dean first met, and it was so realistic and easy to relate to.
It did, however, take me a while to get into this book; the first few chapters were slightly slow, but after Chapter 4, I couldn't put the book down; I loved it. I would advise readers to be patient and stick through it, because it is definitely worth the read. Finally, I do wish there had been an epilogue at the end, just because I really would've loved to know what happened to all the characters a few months later!
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this book, and I hope you will too!
I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
After reading the synopsis of this book, I was really excited to read this book, and I am very pleased to say that the book definitely lived up to my expectations!
Carrie, or Caraway, is a sixteen year old girl that is struggling with the death of her older sister, and she turns to drugs, alcohol and partying. As any concerned and worried father would, Carrie's dad sends her off to a boot camp for the summer. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I would definitely recommend it to those who love Young Adult contemporary books. The plot was definitely unique to most YA books around at the moment, and it was a refreshing read.
What made this book so different to most was the depth and personality given to the characters, making them so realistic and human. Carrie isn't a bad girl, she's just had a rough time, and it's definitely understandable. Likewise, her dad, her sister, her friends all have such unique traits and characteristics that allowed me to experience such emotion. I particularly liked the Carrie's character development as she learnt more about herself and her family.
I also loved the communication between Carrie and other characters, such as Dean. First encounters are never as smooth as what books make them out to be. Meeting someone for the first time never ends up being the world's most perfect conversation; it's awkward, it's new, it's unfamiliar. I feel that Lisa Selin Davis captured this perfectly when Carrie and Dean first met, and it was so realistic and easy to relate to.
It did, however, take me a while to get into this book; the first few chapters were slightly slow, but after Chapter 4, I couldn't put the book down; I loved it. I would advise readers to be patient and stick through it, because it is definitely worth the read. Finally, I do wish there had been an epilogue at the end, just because I really would've loved to know what happened to all the characters a few months later!
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this book, and I hope you will too!
March 25, 2016
This is like a classic YA novel from the golden age -- the seventies and eighties, when kids made decisions and had problems and were idiosyncratic. Carrie falls in love with a by who knows how to play the right songs on the guitar, and who understands why she is so unhappy in her home. As she obsesses over the astronomy and him, she tries to live with her tragic past and hard present. Davis' writing is beautiful and spare and honest. A must read for everyone who thought the Velvet Underground and the night sky could save their teenage soul.
Read
September 26, 2016Graded By: Lacey
Cover Story: Under the Milky Way Tonight
BFF Charm: Beat It
Swoonworthy Scale: 3
Talky Talk: Hip To Be Square
Bonus Factor: Astrophysics
Factor: ’80s Music
Relationship Status: I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: Under the Milky Way Tonight
BFF Charm: Beat It
Swoonworthy Scale: 3
Talky Talk: Hip To Be Square
Bonus Factor: Astrophysics
Factor: ’80s Music
Relationship Status: I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
Read the full book report here.
Want to read
October 3, 2016I won a giveaway for this and got a ARC yayyyy!!
August 21, 2021
3.5 Uff bueno, este es un libro de la escuela y pues la neta la neta si me gusto, estuvo bastante entretenido, definitivamente Dean desde el inicio me encanto, es mi personaje favorito, te amo Dean. El libro en sí es muy llevadero.
Cómo en todos los libros, hay cosas que no me gustaron y en este libro, estas son: Describían demasiado la música, había momentos en los que ponían títulos de muchas canciones que yo no conozco y me tenia que saltar esas partes, por otro lado, la personalidad de Carrie me parecía muy fastidiosa, entiendo sus razones pero de igual manera me hartó la forma en la que se comportaba con los demás, se me hacía muy grosera. Por último los amigos de Carrie nunca me llegaron a gustar del todo, lei un comentario en el cual la persona decía que al final entendió que tenían una manera diferente de amar (en manera de amigos) pero yo no la entendí, desde el inicio los vi re tóxicos, ellos eran mayores de edad y en sí la dejaban drogarse, fumar, tomar, etc y yo se que no es su responsabilidad ni se lo pueden prohibir pero al menos decir algo. El tema de las drogas y el alcohol siento que se lo tomaron muy a la ligera, Carrie en su punto más bajo tomaba y fumaba y de la nada cuando empezó a recibir un poco de ayuda, dejó de beber y drogarse, así de la nada, no es tan fácil, no se puede despegar tan fácilmente, esas cosas crean una adición y vuelvo a recalcar que en el libro no siento que le dieron la importancia que merecía.
Cómo en todos los libros, hay cosas que no me gustaron y en este libro, estas son: Describían demasiado la música, había momentos en los que ponían títulos de muchas canciones que yo no conozco y me tenia que saltar esas partes, por otro lado, la personalidad de Carrie me parecía muy fastidiosa, entiendo sus razones pero de igual manera me hartó la forma en la que se comportaba con los demás, se me hacía muy grosera. Por último los amigos de Carrie nunca me llegaron a gustar del todo, lei un comentario en el cual la persona decía que al final entendió que tenían una manera diferente de amar (en manera de amigos) pero yo no la entendí, desde el inicio los vi re tóxicos, ellos eran mayores de edad y en sí la dejaban drogarse, fumar, tomar, etc y yo se que no es su responsabilidad ni se lo pueden prohibir pero al menos decir algo. El tema de las drogas y el alcohol siento que se lo tomaron muy a la ligera, Carrie en su punto más bajo tomaba y fumaba y de la nada cuando empezó a recibir un poco de ayuda, dejó de beber y drogarse, así de la nada, no es tan fácil, no se puede despegar tan fácilmente, esas cosas crean una adición y vuelvo a recalcar que en el libro no siento que le dieron la importancia que merecía.
May 27, 2021
Carrie was a science nerd before her older sister, Ginny died, and still secretly tracks the path of the comet Vira that is supposed to pass by this summer. However, since Jenny's death, Carrie has befriended Ginny's friends, who are into partying, music, and drugs. Not knowing what else to do with Carrie, her father enrolls her in a program to build a footbridge in the local park, which Carrie resents. She also meets a cute boy named Dean, who seems to like the real her, astrophysics nerd and all.
Carrie, for most of the book, was your typical self-absorbed teenager mixed with grief, guilt, and anger for a loss that most teens have not had to deal with, making her quite unlikeable for at least the first half of the book. As other characters pointed out several times, she wasn't the only person with problems. She had to hit rock bottom before she could start becoming a better person. Being a better person seems about 75% rooted around Dean, though, so I'm not sure if it would last . The book was all right, but not really what I was hoping it would be.
I received an ARC of this book through the FirstReads program.
Carrie, for most of the book, was your typical self-absorbed teenager mixed with grief, guilt, and anger for a loss that most teens have not had to deal with, making her quite unlikeable for at least the first half of the book. As other characters pointed out several times, she wasn't the only person with problems. She had to hit rock bottom before she could start becoming a better person. Being a better person seems about 75% rooted around Dean, though, so I'm not sure if it would last . The book was all right, but not really what I was hoping it would be.
I received an ARC of this book through the FirstReads program.
May 21, 2022
This was a very fun, interesting and beautifull read.
'The coolest thing is that we're all made of atoms from old stars that died or exploded. They've just been recycled over and over again into different shapes.'
The skeptical look remaind on his face, along with the smile, as he tested the foam to see if it was sticking. 'So a cow may once have been a dinosaur?'
'Sort of,' I said. 'That dinosaur decomposed and went back into the soil and broke down into nitrogen and such and nourished a cow two hundred million years later. We're all just star stuff, packaged over and over again.' I swallowed. I hadn't been expecting the threat of tears. 'And that's why, sometimes, I feel like someone who died is still kind of here.'
'The coolest thing is that we're all made of atoms from old stars that died or exploded. They've just been recycled over and over again into different shapes.'
The skeptical look remaind on his face, along with the smile, as he tested the foam to see if it was sticking. 'So a cow may once have been a dinosaur?'
'Sort of,' I said. 'That dinosaur decomposed and went back into the soil and broke down into nitrogen and such and nourished a cow two hundred million years later. We're all just star stuff, packaged over and over again.' I swallowed. I hadn't been expecting the threat of tears. 'And that's why, sometimes, I feel like someone who died is still kind of here.'
April 14, 2021
I was given this book because of the author having a similar name to mine.
The book follows a good storyline and the author captures that feeling of a teen being contrary just to be contrary, not from any real convictions. You can feel that forced scowl on the main character, Caraway or Carrrie’s, face.
The slow unroll of the back story follows a good progression. But I didn’t have any feel for any of the characters and things seemed to easily, too easily, come together. Somewhat satisfying.
The book follows a good storyline and the author captures that feeling of a teen being contrary just to be contrary, not from any real convictions. You can feel that forced scowl on the main character, Caraway or Carrrie’s, face.
The slow unroll of the back story follows a good progression. But I didn’t have any feel for any of the characters and things seemed to easily, too easily, come together. Somewhat satisfying.
May 23, 2017
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
Full Review Here
Before starting the book I had only briefly skimmed the synopsis a few months ago and had a vague remembrance of what the book was about, so when I picked it up to actually read it, I kind of went in blind.
Lisa’s writing was beautiful, I loved the metaphors and the fluidity of the story. I didn’t actually realise that the book was set in the 80’s until I read a couple of other reviews, oops. However, that does explain all the music references scattered throughout the book!
So, when I started out I didn’t like it but didn’t dislike it, but I pushed on and ended up either really liking it or disliking it I honestly don’t know?? But it made me cry so I suppose that means it’s good??? After sitting on it for a while I think I’ve decided I did like it. While the romance itself wasn’t exactly the highlight, I think I liked the family aspects more. The parts that made me cry were more about how estranged the family had become and what had happened afterwards, and my heart broke for the characters.
I also liked how imperfect it was, like life definitely isn’t perfect and things don’t always work out 100% right, and that’s ok. I also really liked the astrophysics aspect of the book! I felt like that isn’t something you generally come across in YA fiction, and I love space, so I was super excited whenever it came up.
Carrie herself kind of annoyed me sometimes, and I wasn’t a fan of the constant self-pity or how rude she was. I get that was the whole point of her character, but sometimes it was just too much and the other characters she was being rude to didn’t deserve it, and yeah, she’d gone through tough things, but that doesn’t give her an excuse to just be a terrible person. I also really, really, REALLY disliked how she kept going on and on about how she wanted a boyfriend. GIRL. Boys aren’t everything in life!! I was happy when she finally changed her mindset.
The book deals with a lot of teenage problems, like drugs, alcohol, toxic friends and relationships, and I think Carrie’s grief was depicted relatively accurately. Her recovery, however, I had minor problems with, as I don’t think it would’ve been that easy to do what she ended up doing over a one-month period.
I think all in all, it was an ok book, not good but definitely not bad. The ending made up for majority of the problems in the beginning.
I received a review copy from the publisher
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Full Review Here
Before starting the book I had only briefly skimmed the synopsis a few months ago and had a vague remembrance of what the book was about, so when I picked it up to actually read it, I kind of went in blind.
Lisa’s writing was beautiful, I loved the metaphors and the fluidity of the story. I didn’t actually realise that the book was set in the 80’s until I read a couple of other reviews, oops. However, that does explain all the music references scattered throughout the book!
So, when I started out I didn’t like it but didn’t dislike it, but I pushed on and ended up either really liking it or disliking it I honestly don’t know?? But it made me cry so I suppose that means it’s good??? After sitting on it for a while I think I’ve decided I did like it. While the romance itself wasn’t exactly the highlight, I think I liked the family aspects more. The parts that made me cry were more about how estranged the family had become and what had happened afterwards, and my heart broke for the characters.
I also liked how imperfect it was, like life definitely isn’t perfect and things don’t always work out 100% right, and that’s ok. I also really liked the astrophysics aspect of the book! I felt like that isn’t something you generally come across in YA fiction, and I love space, so I was super excited whenever it came up.
Carrie herself kind of annoyed me sometimes, and I wasn’t a fan of the constant self-pity or how rude she was. I get that was the whole point of her character, but sometimes it was just too much and the other characters she was being rude to didn’t deserve it, and yeah, she’d gone through tough things, but that doesn’t give her an excuse to just be a terrible person. I also really, really, REALLY disliked how she kept going on and on about how she wanted a boyfriend. GIRL. Boys aren’t everything in life!! I was happy when she finally changed her mindset.
The book deals with a lot of teenage problems, like drugs, alcohol, toxic friends and relationships, and I think Carrie’s grief was depicted relatively accurately. Her recovery, however, I had minor problems with, as I don’t think it would’ve been that easy to do what she ended up doing over a one-month period.
I think all in all, it was an ok book, not good but definitely not bad. The ending made up for majority of the problems in the beginning.
I received a review copy from the publisher
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October 7, 2016
Words can’t even begin to express what I feel about this book. I have so many feeling about it, good and bad, that I don’t know where to begin. I was in tears for about 75% of this book. The depth of pain and guilt that Carrie has for her sister’s death just comes off the page. And she deals with it the only way she knows how…..by drinking, doing drugs and doing risky things sexually (but never having sex). Dealing with death at any age is awful but coupled with a parent just checking out of your life, well that is devastating.
I am glad that the author decided to make Carrie as unlikable as possible. It only underlined how she grew as a person over the course of the book and I really enjoyed that. She went from being a girl with unresolved grief and anger issues to a girl who rediscovered herself and was becoming happy with her life again. Made for a very good and interesting read.
Carrie’s romance with Dean was a slow burn. To be honest, it was so slow that I honestly felt that it wasn’t going to happen. And Dean was without his issues and it made him perfect for her. There are hints dropped when Dean arrived on scene but those hints don’t even begin to hint at what he went through.
The part of the book where Carrie went and worked for the rec department was great and I think that is what started her healing process. She was separated from her sister’s friends (who were including her in getting drunk and high), surrounded by people who didn’t take her crap (and I did feel bad for Lynn….the poor guy) and she reconnected with an old friend. Plus she did manual labor.
I will say that the end of the book was pretty cathartic to me and to Carrie. I was just a tiny bit confused as to where her and Dean’s relationship was going but in the grand scheme of the book, it really wasn’t important. I felt fulfilled, as weird as it sounds, after finishing reading.
Oh and I will say that the music (think soundtrack to 1987) took me back to my own childhood. I think I need to go make a playlist now….lol.
How many stars will I give Lost Stars? 3.5/4
Why? A wonderfully written book about healing and forgiving yourself. Like I said above, I was in tears reading it. I wouldn’t read without a tissue in hand.
Will I reread? Yes
Will I recommend to family and friends? Yes
Age Range: Teen
Why? Drug use, underage drinking and some mild (very mild) sexual scenes.
**I received Lost Stars from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Book Group as an ARC.**
I am glad that the author decided to make Carrie as unlikable as possible. It only underlined how she grew as a person over the course of the book and I really enjoyed that. She went from being a girl with unresolved grief and anger issues to a girl who rediscovered herself and was becoming happy with her life again. Made for a very good and interesting read.
Carrie’s romance with Dean was a slow burn. To be honest, it was so slow that I honestly felt that it wasn’t going to happen. And Dean was without his issues and it made him perfect for her. There are hints dropped when Dean arrived on scene but those hints don’t even begin to hint at what he went through.
The part of the book where Carrie went and worked for the rec department was great and I think that is what started her healing process. She was separated from her sister’s friends (who were including her in getting drunk and high), surrounded by people who didn’t take her crap (and I did feel bad for Lynn….the poor guy) and she reconnected with an old friend. Plus she did manual labor.
I will say that the end of the book was pretty cathartic to me and to Carrie. I was just a tiny bit confused as to where her and Dean’s relationship was going but in the grand scheme of the book, it really wasn’t important. I felt fulfilled, as weird as it sounds, after finishing reading.
Oh and I will say that the music (think soundtrack to 1987) took me back to my own childhood. I think I need to go make a playlist now….lol.
How many stars will I give Lost Stars? 3.5/4
Why? A wonderfully written book about healing and forgiving yourself. Like I said above, I was in tears reading it. I wouldn’t read without a tissue in hand.
Will I reread? Yes
Will I recommend to family and friends? Yes
Age Range: Teen
Why? Drug use, underage drinking and some mild (very mild) sexual scenes.
**I received Lost Stars from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Book Group as an ARC.**
October 5, 2016
Review also found at http://kristineandterri.blogspot.ca/2...
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The book was just released.
I will begin my thoughts with what confused me about this story. I was quick to discover that this story took place in the eighties. While there was no specific mention of the period of the story, the reference to cassettes, jelly shoes, shoulder pads and balloon pants was a dead giveaway. While I enjoyed revisiting my youth, I do fear that the demographic that this story is geared to may be too young to identify with this. Maybe I missed a reference indicating that the story took place in the eighties, or perhaps this is a re-release? I don't know.
As a main character, Carrie is a little hard to like. She lashes out at everyone and makes fun of everything. She is so unlikeable that you start to question why you are investing so much time in her journey. Many times I found myself thinking that I would write her off if she acted that way towards me.
Alas, the point of the story is her journey (read synopsis) to healing and accepting who she really was. While painful at times, you know you have to stick with it to get to the good stuff. I looked forward to her astrophysics rants because for once she was passionate about something that was not negative.
The story of Dean and Carrie is a little bit slow and really not the main point of the whole story. It reminds you of what you of what young crushes and romance is like but to be honest, there are much better stories that focus on that. What was interesting was their exchanges about music. While it became quickly evident that my musical taste did not match theirs, it was also clear that Davis must have a keen interest in music to reference so many artists and songs. It is that or she just really remembers the eighties. I myself only recognized the extremely mainstream music, clearly I would not be favored by Carrie and Dean.
While this is a story about dealing with an emotional trauma, healing and learning about oneself, it was just ok for me. I feel that if Carrie was just a tad more likeable, if even in her own head, that I would have enjoyed the story a whole lot more.
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The book was just released.
I will begin my thoughts with what confused me about this story. I was quick to discover that this story took place in the eighties. While there was no specific mention of the period of the story, the reference to cassettes, jelly shoes, shoulder pads and balloon pants was a dead giveaway. While I enjoyed revisiting my youth, I do fear that the demographic that this story is geared to may be too young to identify with this. Maybe I missed a reference indicating that the story took place in the eighties, or perhaps this is a re-release? I don't know.
As a main character, Carrie is a little hard to like. She lashes out at everyone and makes fun of everything. She is so unlikeable that you start to question why you are investing so much time in her journey. Many times I found myself thinking that I would write her off if she acted that way towards me.
Alas, the point of the story is her journey (read synopsis) to healing and accepting who she really was. While painful at times, you know you have to stick with it to get to the good stuff. I looked forward to her astrophysics rants because for once she was passionate about something that was not negative.
The story of Dean and Carrie is a little bit slow and really not the main point of the whole story. It reminds you of what you of what young crushes and romance is like but to be honest, there are much better stories that focus on that. What was interesting was their exchanges about music. While it became quickly evident that my musical taste did not match theirs, it was also clear that Davis must have a keen interest in music to reference so many artists and songs. It is that or she just really remembers the eighties. I myself only recognized the extremely mainstream music, clearly I would not be favored by Carrie and Dean.
While this is a story about dealing with an emotional trauma, healing and learning about oneself, it was just ok for me. I feel that if Carrie was just a tad more likeable, if even in her own head, that I would have enjoyed the story a whole lot more.
December 14, 2017
Since Carrie’s sister died she’s been spiraling downward, drinking and using drugs with Ginny’s old friends. Her mom has left, her dad doesn’t know what to do, and her younger sister is frightened of her. Carrie resents being forced to enroll in a summer work camp for teens, but as she works to build something new, she slowly reconnects with her old self, the one who liked being smart, the one happy to be an astrophysics nerd.
Lost Stars by Lisa Selin Davis examines a family coping with tragedy. Carrie’s parents, dealing with their own grief, aren’t available to help her process hers. She doesn’t know how to step off the path she chose after Ginny’s funeral, and she’s not sure how she’ll cope after her sister’s friends leave for college.
Carrie feels hopeful about a potential relationship with Dean, who is spending the summer next door with his aunt. Dean has his own personal demons, and Carrie doesn't want to frighten him with her problems.
Teens and mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 15 and up will find lots to consider and discuss in Lost Stars: finding resilience in the face of tragedy, the consequences of engaging in risky behaviors, being true to yourself in spite of peer pressure.
**Spoiler alert: while I think there are plenty of issues to examine in Lost Stars I was bothered by Carrie’s conviction that getting a boyfriend would solve all her problems. I would have preferred to see her find a way out of her troubles without looking for acknowledgement of self-worth through a guy. I also thought it inappropriate that Dean was 20, and in college. As a man older than 18, he possibly committed a crime having sex with Carrie, who is 16, even though she consented. Teen girls face real dangers from sexual predators; I believe it’s inappropriate to normalize a relationship between an older man and a teen.
The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Lost Stars by Lisa Selin Davis examines a family coping with tragedy. Carrie’s parents, dealing with their own grief, aren’t available to help her process hers. She doesn’t know how to step off the path she chose after Ginny’s funeral, and she’s not sure how she’ll cope after her sister’s friends leave for college.
Carrie feels hopeful about a potential relationship with Dean, who is spending the summer next door with his aunt. Dean has his own personal demons, and Carrie doesn't want to frighten him with her problems.
Teens and mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 15 and up will find lots to consider and discuss in Lost Stars: finding resilience in the face of tragedy, the consequences of engaging in risky behaviors, being true to yourself in spite of peer pressure.
**Spoiler alert: while I think there are plenty of issues to examine in Lost Stars I was bothered by Carrie’s conviction that getting a boyfriend would solve all her problems. I would have preferred to see her find a way out of her troubles without looking for acknowledgement of self-worth through a guy. I also thought it inappropriate that Dean was 20, and in college. As a man older than 18, he possibly committed a crime having sex with Carrie, who is 16, even though she consented. Teen girls face real dangers from sexual predators; I believe it’s inappropriate to normalize a relationship between an older man and a teen.
The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
September 27, 2016
Lost Stars by Lisa Selin Davis is the story of a family coping with a devastating loss that may end up tearing the whole family apart. Carrie has turned to partying, her mother took off, her little sister is lost in the shuffle and her father is just angry. Facing the death of oldest daughter Ginny, the family is fractured in many ways. I must admit, that I at first thought that Carrie, our MC, had awful fashion sense but amazing taste in music (The Pixies on vinyl!). Then once I realized that our story was set in the feathered hair, neon clad 1980's I totally got it.
Davis' writing was fluid and moving. She was able to take the story of tragedy and make it very real and very heartfelt. The plot was unique and I loved the 80's setting. The world built was sparse but worked and the pacing was spot on. The emotions ran high and at times they were almost clunky, but then the writer was able to bring it right back to where it needed to be. The characters were well crafted and all had a unique voice. However, Carrie was at times, just awful. The thing is though that the awfulness worked 100% in the story. Again, I credit the author for being able to balance a myriad of people and emotions and make it all cohesive.
Lost Stars is a quick read that stayed with me. I kept going back to certain moments in my mind and replaying them from different angles to see if they changed. The story was very fluid and packed a lot in. Lisa Selin Davis was able to not only bring a story to life, but a time period as well. I really enjoyed her use of music as a medium for thought at times, it really tied all of the pieces together. All in all this was a winner for me and I am interested to see what Davis will bring forth next.
I received this book for free from Edelweiss, Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Davis' writing was fluid and moving. She was able to take the story of tragedy and make it very real and very heartfelt. The plot was unique and I loved the 80's setting. The world built was sparse but worked and the pacing was spot on. The emotions ran high and at times they were almost clunky, but then the writer was able to bring it right back to where it needed to be. The characters were well crafted and all had a unique voice. However, Carrie was at times, just awful. The thing is though that the awfulness worked 100% in the story. Again, I credit the author for being able to balance a myriad of people and emotions and make it all cohesive.
Lost Stars is a quick read that stayed with me. I kept going back to certain moments in my mind and replaying them from different angles to see if they changed. The story was very fluid and packed a lot in. Lisa Selin Davis was able to not only bring a story to life, but a time period as well. I really enjoyed her use of music as a medium for thought at times, it really tied all of the pieces together. All in all this was a winner for me and I am interested to see what Davis will bring forth next.
I received this book for free from Edelweiss, Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
April 15, 2017
Lost Stars by Lisa Selin Davis * 4.0 Stars*
Since her sister Ginny died, Carrie stopped being herself a hundred percent, and started becoming someone else. Partying, alcohol, and drugs became frequently activities for her. Not knowing what else to do to help Carrie, her father enrolled her on a summer job, where she encountered a friend from her past (who I really liked). This friend shared the same feelings towards astrophysics as Carrie and being close to her made Carrie remember how things used to be. She also met a new guy, Dean, in one of the parties and with him she feels free to be herself again.
I enjoyed this book very much, however, I found her summer job over detailed and I also found the music references mentioned on this book overused. I had mixed feelings towards Carrie’s friends. I didn’t like their attitude and sometimes I felt like they were not her true friends, but only Ginny’s friends. But at the end I figured they were true to her, just a different kind of friendship. Dean is such a cutie. I loved him from beginning to end. He is strong willing and determined. He is totally different from the guys Carrie hangs around. The romance in this book is really slowly developed, but every time Carrie sees Dean, or they talk, I craved for them to be together. The pace is slow to steady. The development in general is good, however I did think that Carrie’s recovery from alcohol and drugs abuse were too fast and easy, not seeing enough consequences from her actions. Overall 4 Stars.
Since her sister Ginny died, Carrie stopped being herself a hundred percent, and started becoming someone else. Partying, alcohol, and drugs became frequently activities for her. Not knowing what else to do to help Carrie, her father enrolled her on a summer job, where she encountered a friend from her past (who I really liked). This friend shared the same feelings towards astrophysics as Carrie and being close to her made Carrie remember how things used to be. She also met a new guy, Dean, in one of the parties and with him she feels free to be herself again.
I enjoyed this book very much, however, I found her summer job over detailed and I also found the music references mentioned on this book overused. I had mixed feelings towards Carrie’s friends. I didn’t like their attitude and sometimes I felt like they were not her true friends, but only Ginny’s friends. But at the end I figured they were true to her, just a different kind of friendship. Dean is such a cutie. I loved him from beginning to end. He is strong willing and determined. He is totally different from the guys Carrie hangs around. The romance in this book is really slowly developed, but every time Carrie sees Dean, or they talk, I craved for them to be together. The pace is slow to steady. The development in general is good, however I did think that Carrie’s recovery from alcohol and drugs abuse were too fast and easy, not seeing enough consequences from her actions. Overall 4 Stars.
February 5, 2017
I can't. I just can't. I only made it maybe three pages in, but I have a life to live and a lot of books to read in that lifetime and so sometimes, rarely, but sometimes, I have to say no. I might have been willing to get through this book if the author had given me a reason to care that didn't feel so overly manipulative, but three pages in and all I know about this girl is that her sister is dead, and she spends all of her time either: high, getting high, thinking about getting high, in trouble for getting high, or angry about getting in trouble for being high. Oh, and she likes astronomy. But in those first three pages we get more description of her laying on a couch in someone's basement staring brainlessly at the ceiling than we hear about the stars and so I can't.
January 14, 2017
Lost Stars is about a girl called Carrie whose sister died causing her to go on a downward spiral, so her dad enrols her in a summer youth program in an effort to make her grow up.
I wasn't overly fond of Carrie, whilst she was just acting out due to loss she just seemed really ignorant to her dad caring about her and just generally obnoxious, but thankfully she progressed as a character throughout the novel. Carrie loves astronomy which I loved reading about because it's not often you read about teenage girls being interested in astronomy in novels.
Continue my review here: https://kirstyreadsblog.wordpress.com...
I wasn't overly fond of Carrie, whilst she was just acting out due to loss she just seemed really ignorant to her dad caring about her and just generally obnoxious, but thankfully she progressed as a character throughout the novel. Carrie loves astronomy which I loved reading about because it's not often you read about teenage girls being interested in astronomy in novels.
Continue my review here: https://kirstyreadsblog.wordpress.com...
August 20, 2016
This book has left me nearly speechless, so I could probably put together a mix-tape to better express my feelings. I knew when the first song Carrie listened to was "Unsatisfied" by the Replacements that this was going to be very, very good. Such gorgeous writing, a story of grief and loss and love and hope and forgiveness. I loved the setting - the book takes place in 1987ish - and how the music helps Carrie grieve and heal.
August 4, 2016
*Review copy received from publishers*
This was a pretty good read. The best part of the book was all the music references. The astrophysics part, at times, seemed forced. It's set in the 80s, but the teens are super relatable. Overall, I liked it. Will be purchasing for the library.
This was a pretty good read. The best part of the book was all the music references. The astrophysics part, at times, seemed forced. It's set in the 80s, but the teens are super relatable. Overall, I liked it. Will be purchasing for the library.
January 27, 2018
Estuvo bien, pero tuvo muchos detalles que no me gustaron.
La historia detrás de la familia de Carrie es algo extraña.
La relación con Dean me pareció un tanto forzada.
Tiene una que otra escena bonita, pero nada espectacular.
Su calificación es de 2.5 para mí
La historia detrás de la familia de Carrie es algo extraña.
La relación con Dean me pareció un tanto forzada.
Tiene una que otra escena bonita, pero nada espectacular.
Su calificación es de 2.5 para mí
December 1, 2016
Such a bittersweet YA contemporary. Here's my review: https://nataliawikana.wordpress.com/2...
October 21, 2018
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars
You can read my spoiler-free review on my blog :)
https://anniesdiary.nl/2018/10/21/all...
You can read my spoiler-free review on my blog :)
https://anniesdiary.nl/2018/10/21/all...
June 18, 2018
Teenager Carrie (born Caraway, named after a spice like her sisters Ginger and Rosemary) is caught in the throes of self-destruction. After her older sister Ginger dies in a drunk driving accident, Carrie seems determined to push herself down a similar road to her own annihilation. She immerses herself in Ginny’s crowd of older friends, drinks, takes drugs and allows boys to diddle her while she’s semi-conscious. Her inability to move past her sister’s death means a never-ending cycle of grief, hostility, blame, self-absorption, rebellion and misery.
The author pulls us into Carrie’s orbit, showing how her decisions and raging moods affect those around her. Gradually, she learns that she’s not the only one with problems, that there are others who have suffered from Ginger’s death and that everyone carries explosive or corrosive secrets.
Like the characters of Goodbye Lemon
The novel is masterfully written as it takes us into and out of the spiral of Carrie’s self-absorption. At times, her pain is almost unsettling to read, especially when she feels her rages coming upon her like an epileptic fit. She wants to be better, hates that she is broken and feels hatred from others where none is intended.
We see her tentative steps into maturity as she learns to build a bridge, waits impatiently for a once-in-a-lifetime comet to make its appearance and fumbles into a romance with the boy next door. The passages in which Carrie can’t seem to meet his eyes or mumbles “hey” when he talks to her are both cute and very realistic. Anyone who went through those first moments of awkward youthful limerence will remember what it was like to mutter half-spoken, inarticulate short phrases when your feet seemed really absorbing.
The novel is written from Carrie’s point of view and she is nothing if not realistic. While she’s looking at the stars, she’s also keenly aware of the world around her. She speaks candidly of her would-be boyfriend’s greasy clothes, lank hair, the dark circles of grease under his fingernails just as she’s painfully cognizant of her short stature, flyaway hair, haphazard clothing and the mud and dirt that frequently stain her attire.
The novel is set in the 1980s and the milieu is right on target. Music from that time period wend their way through the passages, almost like a movie soundtrack. Carrie has very opinionated ideas of what constitutes “good” and “bad” music and publicly disdains disco even while she listens to it on her Walkman. She envies how chic another girl looks in balloon pants (which will definitely cause modern readers to giggle. Why did we ever think dressing like a harem prisoner out of an Arabian Nights fantasy was attractive?) and coats her eyelids in colored eye shadow.
The thing that mars this novel slightly is a niggling point, but one that has cropped up in far too many YA novels that I’ve read and I have to iterate my displeasure about it. It’s the word “weird”. Yep, that catch-all word for anything out of the norm crops up here with depressing frequency albeit not as often as it does in other places. (In History is All You Left Me, it appears no less than 20 times on two consecutive pages.) It’s starting to smack of lazy writing, which I have not seen elsewhere in this novel. When Ms. Davis writes of astrology or carpentry, those passages read as if she’s done her homework.
So can we call a moratorium on the word “weird” in YA novels? When I wrack my brains, I can’t think of anyone I’ve heard recently using the word ad nauseum like this. I’m fairly sure even millenials don’t churn out this word with this type of regularity. Let’s try “odd”, “strange” or even “bizarre”. Introduce a quirky character who states things are “peculiar”. Let’s give “weird” a rest already!
But that aside, I quite like this novel. If nothing else, I now know our sun is a yellow dwarf star. How about that?
The author pulls us into Carrie’s orbit, showing how her decisions and raging moods affect those around her. Gradually, she learns that she’s not the only one with problems, that there are others who have suffered from Ginger’s death and that everyone carries explosive or corrosive secrets.
Like the characters of Goodbye Lemon
The novel is masterfully written as it takes us into and out of the spiral of Carrie’s self-absorption. At times, her pain is almost unsettling to read, especially when she feels her rages coming upon her like an epileptic fit. She wants to be better, hates that she is broken and feels hatred from others where none is intended.
We see her tentative steps into maturity as she learns to build a bridge, waits impatiently for a once-in-a-lifetime comet to make its appearance and fumbles into a romance with the boy next door. The passages in which Carrie can’t seem to meet his eyes or mumbles “hey” when he talks to her are both cute and very realistic. Anyone who went through those first moments of awkward youthful limerence will remember what it was like to mutter half-spoken, inarticulate short phrases when your feet seemed really absorbing.
The novel is written from Carrie’s point of view and she is nothing if not realistic. While she’s looking at the stars, she’s also keenly aware of the world around her. She speaks candidly of her would-be boyfriend’s greasy clothes, lank hair, the dark circles of grease under his fingernails just as she’s painfully cognizant of her short stature, flyaway hair, haphazard clothing and the mud and dirt that frequently stain her attire.
The novel is set in the 1980s and the milieu is right on target. Music from that time period wend their way through the passages, almost like a movie soundtrack. Carrie has very opinionated ideas of what constitutes “good” and “bad” music and publicly disdains disco even while she listens to it on her Walkman. She envies how chic another girl looks in balloon pants (which will definitely cause modern readers to giggle. Why did we ever think dressing like a harem prisoner out of an Arabian Nights fantasy was attractive?) and coats her eyelids in colored eye shadow.
The thing that mars this novel slightly is a niggling point, but one that has cropped up in far too many YA novels that I’ve read and I have to iterate my displeasure about it. It’s the word “weird”. Yep, that catch-all word for anything out of the norm crops up here with depressing frequency albeit not as often as it does in other places. (In History is All You Left Me, it appears no less than 20 times on two consecutive pages.) It’s starting to smack of lazy writing, which I have not seen elsewhere in this novel. When Ms. Davis writes of astrology or carpentry, those passages read as if she’s done her homework.
So can we call a moratorium on the word “weird” in YA novels? When I wrack my brains, I can’t think of anyone I’ve heard recently using the word ad nauseum like this. I’m fairly sure even millenials don’t churn out this word with this type of regularity. Let’s try “odd”, “strange” or even “bizarre”. Introduce a quirky character who states things are “peculiar”. Let’s give “weird” a rest already!
But that aside, I quite like this novel. If nothing else, I now know our sun is a yellow dwarf star. How about that?
September 22, 2016
Review link: https://booknerdmomo.wordpress.com/20...
Going into Lost Stars I was a bit hesitant as I’ve seen more negative reviews than not. However, I ended up enjoying the majority of this book. It wasn’t a book that completely wowed me but it wasn’t terrible either.
I actually put this book down at about 85% through and didn’t pick it back up for several days, so I apologize in advance if this review seems a bit choppy and all over the place.
Lost Stars is a realistic, raw, and poignant tale of a girl who doesn’t know how to properly navigate through the grief and guilt she feels over the death of her older sister. It will frustrate you a pull on your heartstrings.
It’s also very slow in pace. This book is a slow build – character development doesn’t happen in the blink of an eye. Which can be frustrating for the reader given the state of Carrie as a character from the beginning to the end.
It’s set in the 80’s and the author does a brilliant job of depicting that aspect. I loved it and whenever it would slip my mind something as simple as the type of music they listened to, the fact that cell phones weren’t the norm, or even something as simple as using a map to navigate would remind me.
In a way, Lost Stars was reminiscent of Love Letters to the Dead with a bit of a darker feel. No, they weren’t set in the same era but they felt similar to me.
The main character Carrie (Caraway) makes a lot of mistakes. She is an extremely flawed character and I think that’s something I loved about her. At first, she is a bit hard to like as she is going down a really self-destructive path as a way to cope with everything she is feeling. In the wake of her sister’s death and her mother’s seeming abandonment, she turns to partying with Ginny’s friends, getting drunk, and doing drugs. She alienates herself from everyone who cares about her. It was frustrating at times and I wanted to shake some sense into her, but I also couldn’t help having my heart break for her. I felt that Lisa Selin Davis portrayed Carrie’s struggles in a very realistic light because losing someone you’re close to and the subsequent grief that follows can be hard to cope with.
Something I really loved about this book was the fact that Carrie was an astrophysics nerd. I love anything to astronomy and all of the metaphors to do with the stars and space were incredible and they were my favorite aspect.
The biggest problem I had with this book was, in fact, Ginny’s friends. Not only were they toxic for Ginny, in my opinion, which is something I won’t go into detail about because spoiler, but I felt that they were extremely toxic for Carrie as well. I kept getting the sense that they were pretty much using Carrie as a placeholder for Ginny. I think they thought they were saving her, but in the end pushed her even more down her path of self-destruction. I didn’t connect with any of them and didn’t particularly like any of them.
I actually didn’t connect with any character in this book besides Carrie, Dean, and Rosie.
You would think given the fact that Ginny’s friends and Carrie’s old friend, Tonya, seem to play a major role in her journey in this book that I would have connected with them but I didn’t. I didn’t even form an opinion about Tonya except for hoping that she and Carrie’s friendship worked out.
So there was this minor disconnection with the characters that threw me off.
Dean, I adored. He was so awkward and cute and I couldn’t think of a better character for Carrie to have met. Sure, he has a lot of problems himself. He was not a perfect character and had secrets and mistakes of his own, but I felt like he and Carrie were good for each other. They played key roles in the healing process of each other’s journey.
Rosie is the little sister that annoys the hell out of you but you love anyway. I adored her too. In fact, I loved the sibling aspect of this book and how there was this unspoken camaraderie.
I also wasn’t sure, and am still not, what to think of her father. At times, it almost seemed as if he had given up on her but then he signs her up for this summer work camp which might be the thing that has the most positive impact on her. Her mother I definitely didn’t like – she was selfish. They also both kept a lot of secrets that I felt that they shouldn’t have kept.
Carrie’s journey in this book was a bumpy one. Like I said, the character development is slow going and might not be for everyone. However, all hope is not lost for our main character because, in the end, Lost Stars will leave you with this sense of hope and peace for Carrie’s future.
I’ve read a lot of books where siblings are dealing with the grief of another sibling’s death and this one is definitely one of the darker ones, but it’s a powerful and realistic story about what grief can do to a person as well a story about growing up.
Personally, even with the disconnect I felt for most of the characters, I did enjoy this book. I’m not sure if it is for everyone but if you think you would enjoy it then I say give it a chance!
I received this eARC via the publisher from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
All quotes are from the ARC and subject to change.
Going into Lost Stars I was a bit hesitant as I’ve seen more negative reviews than not. However, I ended up enjoying the majority of this book. It wasn’t a book that completely wowed me but it wasn’t terrible either.
I actually put this book down at about 85% through and didn’t pick it back up for several days, so I apologize in advance if this review seems a bit choppy and all over the place.
Lost Stars is a realistic, raw, and poignant tale of a girl who doesn’t know how to properly navigate through the grief and guilt she feels over the death of her older sister. It will frustrate you a pull on your heartstrings.
It’s also very slow in pace. This book is a slow build – character development doesn’t happen in the blink of an eye. Which can be frustrating for the reader given the state of Carrie as a character from the beginning to the end.
It’s set in the 80’s and the author does a brilliant job of depicting that aspect. I loved it and whenever it would slip my mind something as simple as the type of music they listened to, the fact that cell phones weren’t the norm, or even something as simple as using a map to navigate would remind me.
In a way, Lost Stars was reminiscent of Love Letters to the Dead with a bit of a darker feel. No, they weren’t set in the same era but they felt similar to me.
“Before Ginny died, that was how it felt when I got upset: like I was about to throw up. Ginny used to be the one to talk me down, to stand at the door of my room and say, softly, “Caraway, take a deep breath, come here, hold my hand.”
The main character Carrie (Caraway) makes a lot of mistakes. She is an extremely flawed character and I think that’s something I loved about her. At first, she is a bit hard to like as she is going down a really self-destructive path as a way to cope with everything she is feeling. In the wake of her sister’s death and her mother’s seeming abandonment, she turns to partying with Ginny’s friends, getting drunk, and doing drugs. She alienates herself from everyone who cares about her. It was frustrating at times and I wanted to shake some sense into her, but I also couldn’t help having my heart break for her. I felt that Lisa Selin Davis portrayed Carrie’s struggles in a very realistic light because losing someone you’re close to and the subsequent grief that follows can be hard to cope with.
“An exploding star.”
“I thought they were made of gas.”
“Most of them have every single element in the entire universe. That calcium deposit could be billions of years old – it could be made of the stuff that was present when the universe was born. Is that the coolest, or what?”
Something I really loved about this book was the fact that Carrie was an astrophysics nerd. I love anything to astronomy and all of the metaphors to do with the stars and space were incredible and they were my favorite aspect.
The biggest problem I had with this book was, in fact, Ginny’s friends. Not only were they toxic for Ginny, in my opinion, which is something I won’t go into detail about because spoiler, but I felt that they were extremely toxic for Carrie as well. I kept getting the sense that they were pretty much using Carrie as a placeholder for Ginny. I think they thought they were saving her, but in the end pushed her even more down her path of self-destruction. I didn’t connect with any of them and didn’t particularly like any of them.
I actually didn’t connect with any character in this book besides Carrie, Dean, and Rosie.
You would think given the fact that Ginny’s friends and Carrie’s old friend, Tonya, seem to play a major role in her journey in this book that I would have connected with them but I didn’t. I didn’t even form an opinion about Tonya except for hoping that she and Carrie’s friendship worked out.
So there was this minor disconnection with the characters that threw me off.
“I have a statement. I think you need to be open to the idea that people will surprise you. At any time, someone you’re sure will disappoint you may come through. Find a little optimism somewhere.”
Dean, I adored. He was so awkward and cute and I couldn’t think of a better character for Carrie to have met. Sure, he has a lot of problems himself. He was not a perfect character and had secrets and mistakes of his own, but I felt like he and Carrie were good for each other. They played key roles in the healing process of each other’s journey.
Rosie is the little sister that annoys the hell out of you but you love anyway. I adored her too. In fact, I loved the sibling aspect of this book and how there was this unspoken camaraderie.
I also wasn’t sure, and am still not, what to think of her father. At times, it almost seemed as if he had given up on her but then he signs her up for this summer work camp which might be the thing that has the most positive impact on her. Her mother I definitely didn’t like – she was selfish. They also both kept a lot of secrets that I felt that they shouldn’t have kept.
“Eventually every star will explode. There’s no getting around it.”
“Maybe they’re not gone, those stars. Maybe they’re just lost. Maybe they’re just trying to find their way home.”
Carrie’s journey in this book was a bumpy one. Like I said, the character development is slow going and might not be for everyone. However, all hope is not lost for our main character because, in the end, Lost Stars will leave you with this sense of hope and peace for Carrie’s future.
I’ve read a lot of books where siblings are dealing with the grief of another sibling’s death and this one is definitely one of the darker ones, but it’s a powerful and realistic story about what grief can do to a person as well a story about growing up.
Personally, even with the disconnect I felt for most of the characters, I did enjoy this book. I’m not sure if it is for everyone but if you think you would enjoy it then I say give it a chance!
December 12, 2016
This is the story of Carrie who after her sister dies takes her place in her group of wild older group of friends. She is struggling with drug use, drinking, anger issues, stealing, and major issues with her family (especially her dad). Because of all of these struggles her dad makes her take a job working for the local park with other troubled youth. Even though Carrie is a wild child who loves good 80's music, she is an astrophysics nerd at heart. She loves all things space and spends most of the book waiting for and completing calculations on a comet that will enter the earth's atmosphere for the fist time in over 75 years. Of course there is also a cute boy (because it is basically a must have in YA).
On to my thoughts...this book was ok. My biggest issue was Carrie. She was super unlikable until the very end of the story. I get that she is struggling, but she is the most selfish human being on the planet. She has no conception of other people's issues. Also she sees the worst in her dad. They have a tough relationship, but anyone can tell that he is just trying to set boundaries and make sure he doesn't loose another daughter. Does he make mistakes, of course, but if Carrie was my kid I would have been 100x more strict. I get that these are all "typical" teenage traits, but it far from worked for me in this book.
My biggest issue though was she spends way too much time in this book complaining about how she doesn't have a boyfriend, never had a boyfriend, is a virgin, and all she wants is a boyfriend she loves so she can have sex. She repeatedly reminds us that she has done "every thing but" with any guy she comes across, but she won't have sex. I completely respect wanting to have sex with someone you love, but we did not need to hear about it 1,400x. Also she has a fully on mental breakdown when a guy she doesn't even like breaks up with her after a day. I get that this is suppose to be a character that struggles with mental illness, but we really don't see it throughout the book. To me she seems like the type of person that would throw a hissy fit after her boyfriend of one day dumps her for the attention. It just does not make sense. The one kinda breakdown we see that is not that big of a deal. She gets in a fight with her dad and runs away. That isn't mental illness, it is a lack of communication on the part of both parties! This leads her to continue to be rude and throw a hissy fit every time she encounters someone. She keeps telling us she is "crazy," but she is only really crazy when she is drunk and high.
The shining light in this book though was the ending. Carrie finally learns how to grow up and be a semi-functional teenager, but for someone who is "crazy" it doesn't really explain how she works through her issues.
Another thing that I really enjoyed were the music references. This book for sure has a solid playlist!
Educator Warning- Frequent drug use, drinking, sexual situations, and profanity. I would say not appropriate for anything under high school.
June 5, 2018
GoodReads Review
Lost Stars by Lisa Selin Davis a young-adult novel that features a romance between two teenagers. One named Caraway, also known as Carrie, lost her sister a few years ago and has been affected ever since, and the other Dean who is her new neighbor. I enjoyed this book although I feel some changes could have been made to improve the overall experience of reading it.
One element of literature is the setting, this element was unique and effective. One example is that this book was set in the 1990’s, this example made this book enjoyable. I think it was fun to see a different time period other than the 21st Century. This book would reference some older songs that were made in the 1990’s. This example made me like the book because I thought it was fun to see references made that went along with the time period.
Another element of literature is the climax. I feel that there wasn’t a big climax, in fact, I can’t recall one at all. So for me, it was ineffective. One example may be when the comet, Vira, was finally in orbit. Carrie loved astronomy and so this was a big moment for her. If this was the climax, it was nearing the end of the book, which I found kind of odd. This example made me dislike this story because it was a brief climax.
Overall, some parts of the book I liked, while others I think could have improved. This book took me a while to read because I lost interest a few times. In my opinion, some of the things were repeated throughout the book. Although this was not my favorite book, it may appeal to people who enjoy astronomy and people who like books set in the late 19th century.
Lost Stars by Lisa Selin Davis a young-adult novel that features a romance between two teenagers. One named Caraway, also known as Carrie, lost her sister a few years ago and has been affected ever since, and the other Dean who is her new neighbor. I enjoyed this book although I feel some changes could have been made to improve the overall experience of reading it.
One element of literature is the setting, this element was unique and effective. One example is that this book was set in the 1990’s, this example made this book enjoyable. I think it was fun to see a different time period other than the 21st Century. This book would reference some older songs that were made in the 1990’s. This example made me like the book because I thought it was fun to see references made that went along with the time period.
Another element of literature is the climax. I feel that there wasn’t a big climax, in fact, I can’t recall one at all. So for me, it was ineffective. One example may be when the comet, Vira, was finally in orbit. Carrie loved astronomy and so this was a big moment for her. If this was the climax, it was nearing the end of the book, which I found kind of odd. This example made me dislike this story because it was a brief climax.
Overall, some parts of the book I liked, while others I think could have improved. This book took me a while to read because I lost interest a few times. In my opinion, some of the things were repeated throughout the book. Although this was not my favorite book, it may appeal to people who enjoy astronomy and people who like books set in the late 19th century.
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