A gwiazdy niech płoną

by Danielle Jawando, Agnieszka Stefańczyk (Translator), Karol Stefańczyk (Translator)

Pełna emocji, niezwykle aktualna opowieść o samobójstwie, bullyingu, żałobie i zagrożeniach dorastania w erze mediów społecznościowych.

Świat piętnastoletniego Nathana wali się w gruzy, gdy jego starszy brat popełnia samobójstwo. Al miał przed sobą wspaniałe perspektywy, był utalentowany i kochał życie. Dlaczego więc się zabił? Dręczony tym pytaniem, Nathan postanawia zagłębić się w śledztwo dotyczące ostatnich miesięcy życia brata. Jego drogi krzyżują się wtedy z Megan – szkolną przyjaciółką Ala. Wspólnie zaczynają odkrywać tajemnice, które doprowadziły do samobójstwa. Czy jednak będą w stanie zmierzyć się mroczną prawdą, do której dotrą?

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mental Health, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult Contemporary, Audiobook

400 pages, Paperback

First published March 5, 2020

Reviews

[Alice Oseman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful and powerful story about mental health, grief, and bullying. The characters felt so real. Gonna be thinking about this one for a long time.

[Irena BookDustMagic · Rating 4 out of 5]

And the Stars Were Burning Bright is such a wonderful, heart wrenching story with important topic (bullying) more people should talk about.

It explores the dark side of human beings and the ways to recover from loss.

I have to admit, I didn't know about And The Stars Were Burning Brightly before it was READ NOW on Netgalley, but as I noticed it, and the premise sounded interesting to me, I couldn't help myself. I had to read it.

And I am so glad I did give it a shot. I read it few months before it's publication, but because of technical difficulties I wasn't able to review it before (aka I postponed it because my computer broke).

The story follows two main characters: Nathan (who's brother Al killed himself) and Megan (who was friends with Al but kept that friendship secret).
As they lost the one they loved, their lives intertwined.

The story is written in somewhat unique way.
It has two POVs written in first person: Nat's and Meg's, but every chapter starts with Al's thoughts, that often includes space and stars, but also life.
I am grateful for Al's parts.
However, I have to admit that Meg and Nathan sounded too similar at times.

This is emotional story, which is understandable because it covers serious topic, so be aware that it could make you sad.

I would recommend this book, and I would like to read more novels with the same theme because bullying and suicide is something we should all be more aware about.

Read this and more reviews on my blog https://bookdustmagic.com

[Claude's Bookzone · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was a particularly difficult and gut wrenching read. I suppose that this is a YA novel but it tackles, very graphically, bullying and suicide. I expect this to be an incredibly triggering book for vulnerable people so I would suggest talking to a trusted adult first so a discussion can take place around whether it is suitable to read. This book does not hold back and you really are right there experiencing everything that led to this incredibly talented young man's suicide and the aftermath for his family. It is for this reason I am not hiding the content warnings as i think they need to be read. Raw and brutal.

CW: Suicide - described, horrific "jokes" made about suicide, vicious online bullying, physical assault, homomisia, traumatic levels of guilt, gaslighting, catfishing, anxiety, depression, body-shaming, racial slurs, racism

[Bookphenomena (Micky) · Rating 5 out of 5]

AND THE STARS WERE BURNING BRIGHTLY is the kind of book you do need a snapshot of insight into before you enter, in this case I do recommend reading the blurb. This is a story about suicide, grief, bullying and social media. It is powerful and painful, chilling and stunning. I think it’s a really important book and it’s 100% worth the emotional investment.

The book started and ended with an author note, I had the privilidge of hearing the author read the beginning note and the first chapter at a publisher event. There wasn’t a whisper in the room and I fought tears listening to her. The reading experience is pretty much like that, the story and the characters plunged me into their worlds, wrapped me up in their fraught emotions and spat me out a bit of wreck.

Nathan was the brother, grieving his older sibling and questioning everything; he needed the why to these events, some reason and he was determined. Alongside Nathan were family, other siblings, his mother, his friend, Al’s friend Megan and some nasty characters. This was a intricately woven story, where as the reader you were alongside Nathan, searching for answers.

My chest goes all tight, knowing that I’ll never see him for real again, that he’ll only ever be this person in a photo.

Eli’s character was tangibly written, believable in his cruel manipulations and plain bullying. Tara and Lewi were more subtle in their connections to the situation and how events finally wove together was pretty shocking. Social media was the weapon wielded in this book and some of the elements took my breath away.

The picture of grief was palpable, I could feel the anger, despair and sadness rising out of the pages, I’m not an easy crier at books but I was an easy crier at this book. Nathan’s emotions had the power to affect me deeply as did Al’s short chapter starters.

For me, as a Mancunian, this book was gift in dialogue and narrative. It was written as Mancunians speak, quite literally and I found it easy to sink into. I don’t think this element will be difficult for any other readers, but you might wonder for the first few pages as you settle into this.

Danielle Jawando captured the issues in this book with honesty, she didn’t hold back on the difficult stuff, this was an absolute strength of this book. These issues shouldn’t be diluted to make it more palatable, your heart should break as you navigate this with the characters. I am beyond impressed with this fictional debut and I will be watching avidly for more from this author.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for this early review copy.

This review can be found on A Take From Two Cities.

[h o l l i s · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite what this book made me feel, and the tears, I'm happy I read this book. Not just because it helped to haul me out of a slump but also because this story is so important to read, particularly for teens, and was done so beautifully.

I went into this read pretty unaware, as per usual, and knew only that Micky, blog buddy extraordinaire, has been raving about it for what feels like ages now. I'm so thankful she put this on my radar.

When you're angry, it takes you away from the pain somehow. Stops it from tearing into you.

I truly don't have much to say, and certainly nothing to add to my partner's great review, but I couldn't not make a point to add something, to repost this, boost it once more, because this story deserves more awareness and, most importantly, deserves your time. It's heavy but never without hope, without light -- just like stars; though they aren't seen until it's dark.. they shine so bright.

----

This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh what a beautiful, heartbreaking novel this was, every layer of it hugely authentic and genuinely devastating.

Nate has lost his brother to suicide- through the grief, anger and self blame he starts to dig into Al’s life in the hope of finding answers. Through this quest he meets Megan, mourning not only loss of life but the loss of chances- together, maybe, they’ll find a way to move on.

This was beautifully written, Nathans voice is quirky, honest and strong, taking the reader into his heart and into the heart of his lost brother. As the reality of Al’s struggle emerges it is horrifically sad and massively thought provoking, making you wish so many things about our world were different.

Ultimately though, Danielle Jawando manages to make this uplifting and hopeful – a story of loss and love and finding your place in a life now off kilter – where possibilities like the stars, burn brightly.

Simply wonderful. Highly Recommended.

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful, heart-breaking, emotional book that is! Dealing with suicide, grief, bullying and mental health issues it's definitely a difficult read but one that shouldn't be missed. I really enjoyed it.

[rubie (kenji’s version) · Rating 5 out of 5]

i am absolutely broken

[Brittany (whatbritreads) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Please note this book contains very triggering content around bullying and mental health and there is a very graphic description of someone ending their own life within the first 10 pages. Be safe lovelies x.

While I appreciate what this book was trying to do and the overall message it put out into the world, my enjoyment wasn’t there at all unfortunately and though this should’ve been a quick and easy read, pushing through it to get to the end felt like a real slog. Alongside my lack of enjoyment, I just don’t think it was overly well put together.

The writing here was very average and most of it felt very inconsistent. We had characters randomly saying some words in an abbreviated and almost slang-like manner, but most of their dialect was written normally. I understand writing teenagers who use slang and their own dialect, but at least make it a common theme throughout the book and include more of it rather than two words (wot and summat being the only two I can think that were repeated. It also confused me that not only was their speech written like that, being their internal monologue. It just confused me a little bit and made the reading experience a bit jolting for my taste.

The characterisation in here was very jumpy and I didn’t see much development taking place at all. It has a dual perspective but it was really difficult to tell the two voices apart, they were essentially the same voice. Within these two voices, we also get an unnecessary romance forming between them which just felt really odd given the circumstances the characters find themselves in and their mutual relationships. I just felt very weird about all of it and couldn’t really understand what was motivating the characters at all to act the way they were. The romance as well came out of absolutely nowhere and felt so abrupt I didn’t even get chance to process it.

The main focus of this book is teenagers but they were written so poorly in my opinion. A lot that happens feels so out of character and stereotypical of kids that it didn’t feel like a true reflection of how things would happen in this situation. A lot of actions and speech was so exaggerated and over the top that it made me cringe a little bit.

Though I can very much appreciate what this book was trying to demonstrate and educate surrounding bullying and suicide, I felt like it missed the mark a little bit in its execution of that. It all just felt so surface level that we never reach any safe conclusions or strong forward messages about what’s happened, how the characters are processing it and how they plan to move forward. It just felt like it got stuck a bit. There was also no outside help or relief for the characters and they just felt stuck inside this loop of hatred and terrible experiences. It was a really disheartening book and while the ending was supposed to be hopeful it didn’t feel very so.

All in all, this book just didn’t do it for me which is super surprising considering every other review I'm seeing of this from people I trust is super high.

[Elvina Zafril · Rating 5 out of 5]

And The Stars Were Burning Brightly is a heart wrenching story. It was an emotional ride for me. This book is about loss, grief, bullying and suicide. It might trigger some readers. And here I'm warning you, some parts are heavy and this wasn't an easy read. I liked the story-line and the topics mentioned in this book.

I couldn't imagine how people with mental illness cope with their lives. I respect them. I don't really understand why people are so mean to others just because they have disabilities. This book was intense.

Nathan, 15 year old boy lost his older brother and didn't know why his brother had to kill himself. The family is in grief, especially because Al was a favorite child. The way the author described the feeling of a mother who lost her child really moved me. I liked the issues about broken family and divorce. It i because children who are in this situation cope differently than others.

The plot was interesting and I moved by the stories of Nathan and Megan. These two characters were likeable and there were some parts where the author wrote about the bullying and I felt so bad about it. I pity Al and all the victim who have been bullied. I just hope everyone has an awareness of bullying and try to take actions if this is happening to your friends or family.

It was an amazing read and highly recommended!

Thank you, Pansing for sending me a copy of All The Stars Were Burning Brightly in return for an honest review. This book will be available on March onwards at all good bookstores.

[Elke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an emotional rollercoaster for me. As a person who not too long ago tried to commit suicide myself, this story hit me close to home but I was amazed at how accurately the characters feelings were written. I know that the author has tried to commit suicide herself so she knows how it feels to reach that point in your life but it's hard to portray that well in a story but she did it.

There were times where I didn't think I could finish this book. I started it in a time where I wasn't doing very well. My own suicide attempt happend a little over a year ago and I'm still struggling with a depression. I questioned if this was a good time to read this book as it could trigger some stuff for me but I found that it was good for me to read this book. I have buried a lot of those feelings and my feelings about being bullied in high school for many, many years but this book made me revisit them and I think I'm stronger because of it now than I have ever been.

It definitely has triggers and it has moved me to tears on several occasions but it's so important that people read this book. It has a place in my heart.

I received a review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.... thank you.

[Goska Majewska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Przepięknie napisana książka, choć temat smutny i trudny.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

And The Stars Were Burning Brightly cannot be described in just a few words, when the amount of emotions you feel are endless. This book is raw, heartbreaking, infuriating, bright, powerful and so many more words that I cannot form right now.

After an intelligent and insanely talented boy named Al commits suicide, his younger brother Nathan is determined to find out why he killed himself, alongside Al's friend Megan who faces her own challenges in this book dealing with peer pressure, trying to find her place and passions. She also struggles with friendships, guilt and body image.

Both Nathan and Megan share guilt around Al but also anger and frustration around their classmates. You really see the cruel side of school students.

The chapters are dual narrative and go between Megan, who wishes she would of been a better friend, and Nathan, who blames himself partly but is determined to find out why Al killed himself, and who was involved? He won't rest until he has answers.

Bullying is a key theme in this Book, and the more you read the more you learn.You see the horrible side to people, you see how grief affects people differently. The cruelty of social media, friendships being destroyed, physical and mental abuse, judgements and prejudice.

As the story goes on, you see how important it is to talk about mental health and bullying, and you never really know what is happening inside of another person's head and the struggles they face. I know from my experience how hard school can be, and how things that happen in this Book are a reality for others. It's heartbreaking. You learn so many messages from this Book. It's so important to be kind to others and to talk to people around you with how you are feeling.

Megan and Nathan go through huge character development throughout the book and in the end they try to deal with their grief in healthy ways and ultimately try to find a way for Al's memory to live on. Megan and Nathan vow to try to live better lives and be better people, they reevaluate friendships and their behaviours and try and build a better future. The book tries to give a message of hope.

Overall, I haven't cried in a long time when reading a book, but this one really got to me, I think with my own personal dealings with being bullied, and when I saw the Authors notes. It's always hard to write about personal experience and she writes with pure honesty and the writing was exceptional. This book burns bright in my heart.

*Trigger warnings*.The main themes of the book are suicide and bullying, includes physical violence and catfishing.


Full review to come on my Blog.

*Thank you to Netgalley, Simon and Schuster and Danielle for my Ecopy in exchange of an honest review*

[charlotte, · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can spend all your life tryna work out why someone does summat. Tryna find answers and, in the end, none of it matters. That’s just people.

On my blog.

Actual rating 4.5

Rep: mc with PTSD, Black mcs, gay side character

CWs: suicide, bullying, assault, homophobia, racism

Galley provided by publisher

Do you ever read something and sort of hate it because it makes you so incredibly sad but also incredibly angry at the same time? Well that was And the Stars Were Burning Brightly for me.

The book opens a couple of days after Nate’s brother, Al, has committed suicide. The story alternates between Nate’s POV and Megan’s, Al’s friend. Both of them want to find out why Al decided to kill himself, Nate retracing his footsteps, and Megan wanting to memorialise Al.

First things first, this book near about made me cry multiple times. In fact, the first time I picked it up, I couldn’t read past chapter 1 because it was making me cry. A lesson for us all: do not read this book in public. There are stretches where you think, okay, I can do this dry-eyed, and then all of a sudden it hits you again, and you’re bawling. Which should definitely have been evident from the blurb, but there are books that make you vaguely sad about it, and then there are books that have you crying like a baby. This falls comfortably into the latter category.

But to make you cry so much, you have to have the right characters, and boy are these characters excellent. It took me about two chapters for me to be fully invested in them (and also crying over them, as previously discussed). I spend about 90% of the book wanting to hug them. I mean, obviously except the ones who you’re supposed to like less. They made me too angry for hugging. But if books are supposed to make you feel things (and not just frustration when they’re not great), then this book does just that.

I sort of don’t have anything more to say about this book (except. Tears), but if you read any single UKYA book this year, let it be this one.

[Gemma F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oct 7, 2019
Got a surprise ARC in the mail today! 😍

April 6, 2020

Emotional, raw and filled with so many powerful emotions about grief and acceptance.

Full review to come.

[julianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

i'm broken heart

[em/zainab · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is so good, i'm crying at 1am. there's so much to process about it, but i'm numb and i know if i start thinking on it, i'll start all out bawling.

Merged review:

A brilliant book about grief, mental health and bullying, And The Stars Were Burning Brightly is one of the best books I've ever read
I read this book on the last day of March and didn't review back then because I knew if I thought too deeply and tried to analyse this book I'll be bawling at 1am. That is how good this book is.
And The Stars Were Burning Were Burning Brightly is a story told in dual POVs, following Al's brother and best friend, Nate and Megan has they deal with their grief after he dies by suicide.
So I know there's no way I'll write this review without crying. This book has one of best representations of grief and how odd it truly is. How you think you're over the loss of someone and something happens or you lose someone else, and you don't how to separate your pain and grief and you don't know whether you're mourning for now or then. The depression and bullying rep too is perfect, so because of how brilliant this book is I'll put myself through pain.
Nate and Megan had different ways of handling their grief. For Nate, he wanted to know what happened to his brother, because the Al he knew was brilliant as the stars he loved and it didn't make sense to him. And Megan wanted Al to be remembered for what he really was, a brilliant artist and a wonderful person. Reading from both their perspectives and seeing tiny snippets of who Al was made this book even more beautiful and heartbreaking.
ATSWBB does a brilliant job exploring the duality social media and cyberbullying. Al's bullies used social media to torment so bad he gave up and his best friend, Megan uses this same vast network to ensure he's remembered for the star he was.
ATSWBB was an amazing book also because of the writing. Danielle Jawando's writing is honest and poignant, and her style of writing is simply amazing. I love when Black authors write not following the rules of standard English, but how the language styles of their communities. I was a little shocked when I came into the book, but the writing style helped me connect with the book even more.
Characters like the stars…
The characters of And The Stars Were Burning Brightly were amazing. I found them really relatable and so dear to me.
They were as messy, angry and vulnerable as teenagers can be. I love them so much and I could say something more constructive, but I don't quite have the words.
An always recommend...
And The Stars Were Burning Bright is a book I'll recommend to anyone and everyone. It's a beautiful book about grief, depression, escape and life in the age of social media.
1000% recommend and don't forget the tissues.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

And this, this is the reason I have the Book Box Club and refuse to let go of it. The books they include are always outside my comfort zone and are nothing like the books I usually pick, but the girls have great taste. I got this as one of the possible 10 ARCs we could get and I couldn't be happier that this one crossed my path. It was an amazing, impressive, heavy and lovely read.

The story is as heavy as the blurb makes it sound. The theme is far from easy and watching the characters deal with all their emotions and worries and doubts and questions is heartbreaking. Especially because the better we get to know the characters, the more we start to care about them and the more we feel and understand their pain.

The characters are flawed in many ways. They make mistakes and wrong choices. They hurt people, mostly on accident, but still. They don't always know how to talk about what's going through their mind. But the moment they open up, the moment they share their grief and pain, something magical happens. The characters heal, only a little, but still, and we heal with them.

What made the characters all the more real is the fact that the book is written in a language that fits them. It's not clean English, it's not always proper or high class and it's not the English I've been taught in high school. But it's real. The way they talk and interact, the way thoughts run through their heads, the way they out themselves on social media. It's all so real.

And so is this story. Because maybe these characters are fictional, but their story isn't. Their struggles, what happens to them, it's real and it's happening. The internet can be a wonderful place, but it can also make lives literal hells without a way to escape. And a little teasing can have huge consequences, especially when it piles up. It's an important, raw book and I cried myself through the end of it.

This book deserves to be read. This book has to be read. Read this book.

[ClaireJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

And The Stars Were Burning Brightly by Danielle Jawando ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

How do I begin to describe how much I loved this book! It is such a beautiful, heartbreaking story that really has left me with tears rolling down my cheeks.
This is in no way an easy read, it talks about loss, suicide, bullying and the impacts of social media in teenagers lives.
I would advise that if you are in a fragile state of mind at the moment maybe not to read this yet. Otherwise this is a must read for everyone no matter what age.

The book is about 15 year old Nathan whose 17 year old brother Al took his own life. Al was going places, he was a talented artist who was soon to be studying at Cambridge University.
Nathan wants to work out why his brother would take such drastic measures without asking him for help. Nathan has to deal with all kinds of emotions such as guilt, anger, despair and grief to try to try to understand why Al did it. He meets Al’s friend from school, Megan who also wants to find out what happened and is desperate to keep Al’s memory alive. The book switches between Megan and Nathan’s POV. There is at the start of each chapter a short monologue from Al which was written so beautifully that you will want to keep rereading each passage over and over again.

The amazing author, Danielle Jawando was bullied at school and attempted suicide. She has written this book to pass on hope that things can get better and to stop the stigma surrounding mental health. This powerful, thought provoking story most definitely should be given to all children in High School as it shows you the severe consequences bullying can have on peoples lives and how “only banter” can leave people in a very dark place.

I will be thinking about this book for a very long time. It deserves to be a bestseller this year.

[Ben Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to read an early version of this novel, and I can honestly say it's going to be massive, it deserves to be massive!

It's an important, thought-provoking, heart-breaking but hopeful book about loss, mental-health, suicide, bullying, and growing up in the age of social media.

The first thing that struck me was the voices of Nathan and Megan, the main characters. So vivid and real, and the language used by Danielle Jawando to bring all of the characters to life is beautiful. Dialogue is often where characters lose their realism for me, but in "Stars" every character has a unique, consistent, and real voice that made them feel like I knew them. The chapters alternate between Nathan and Megan, and each have their own unique perspective and way of telling the story that unfolds. Each of them deal with their grief pain in different ways.

Realism resonates throughout this book, so much so that some scenes are visceral in their authenticity, to the point where you can feel the character's pain. This authenticity draws you even closer to Nathan and Megan as they search for reasons for Al's (Nathan's brother, Megan's friend) suicide.

This book is going to the top of my list for my classes lunchtime book club.

Easy five stars.

[Karen Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful.
Set against a backdrop that many find less than pleasant, this story covers so many emotional highs and lows...and forces us to confront some pretty unpalatable truths about people.
Our main focus is Nathan, the younger brother of Al. Al was a straight A-grade student who killed himself. Nathan found him. Nathan is also having to come to terms with the guilt he feels over ignoring a call from his brother on the night he hung himself.
Alongside Nathan we have Megan, a friend of Al that few people knew about. They shared an Art class. They were close, but Megan didn’t feel able to go against her ‘cool’ friends and show Al that their friendship was important to her.
There’s no doubt this story just as I’ve recounted it would have made for a tough read. However, as Megan and Nathan become friends and start to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding Al’s last moments things move up a gear.
This book made me sad, so sad. It made me angry, unbelievably angry. But it also filled me with hope.
Thank you so much to Danielle Jawando for using her own personal situation to bring to life such a compelling read, and to NetGalley for letting me read it prior to publication.

[Adiba Jaigirdar]

And The Stars Were Burning Brightly is a powerful book about grief. It follows Nate, who is determined to find the reason for his brother Al's suicide. He's convinced that finding answers to all his questions is going to help him deal with his grief. The other main character in the novel is Megan, who is also dealing with grief after Al - her friend's - suicide. Convinced that she didn't do enough to appreciate Al while he was alive, Megan is determined to be a better friend to him now, and to keep his memory alive through the passion for art that they both shared.

Driven by Jawando's knack for voice-y prose and authentic dialogue, this novel is a timely and important look at cyber-bullying, mental health, coping with grief, and toxic friendships. Jawando does a brilliant job of balancing all of these themes with authentic characters who are easy to root for, and a plot that tugs at your heartstrings even as it keeps you turning the pages to find out the truth about what happened to Al.

[Adele Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book broke my heart and opened my eyes.

Unfortunately, I have experienced bullying in both my childhood and as an adult, in some form, but I believe bullying today is 100 times worse, with smartphones and social media.

To know that the Author herself experienced bullying to the point she wanted to end her life makes this book more real.
This book is not just about bullying and suicide, it’s about hope and love, and how, when you feel your life is over, there is always a light to be found. #BurnBright

[Julia ❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

daje cztery gwiazdki bo denerwowały mnie skróty np: "tb", "cb" itp.

[Marika_reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Z jednej strony zazdroszczę dzisiejszym nastolatkom, że mają dostęp do tak mądrych i poruszających trudne tematy książek. Z drugiej strony strasznie to smutne, że opisane w niej problemy dla wielu dzieciaków wcale nie są fikcją, a codziennością. Wolalabym świat, w którym nie ma potrzeby wydawania „A gwiazdy niech płoną”.
Piętnastoletni Nathan nie potrafi pogodzić się z samobójstwem swojego starszego brata. Chłopak nie rozumie jak tak utalentowany, mądry, wyjątkowy Al mógł odebrać sobie życie i zrobi wszystko by dowiedzieć się co (lub kto) do tego doprowadziło. W poszukiwaniu powodów będzie mu pomagać przyjaciółka Ala, Megan, a odkrywane krok po kroku tajemnice złamią Wam serce.
Autorka opisuje tę historię tak, że czytelnik współodczuwa razem z bohaterami potworną rozpacz (płakałam!) i złość (miałam ochotę krzyczeć razem z Nathanem!) i ogromną tęsknotę (tak, znowu płakałam!). Dodatkowo Jawando niczego nie koloryzuje, nie łagodzi, zachowania bohaterów są często nieprzemyślane, ale są jak najbardziej realne. Emocje są intensywne, ale znowu, są prawdziwe. Ta książka MA rozdzierać serce czytelnika, MA nim potrząsnąć, MA mu otworzyć oczy i go uwrażliwić. I to co bardzo mi się podobało, a co w moim odczuciu nie zdarza się często w młodzieżówkach, to bardzo widoczna przemiana Nathana - czy to w kwesii jego zachowania czy poglądów na pewne kwestie. I oczywiście to co jest największa wartością dodaną to podjęte tematy: zdrowie psychiczne, przemoc psychiczna, przemoc fizyczna i cyberprzemoc w social mediach.
Polecam bardzo nie tylko nastolatkom, ale też dorosłym. I proszę o więcej takich książek!
PS. a jak będziecie czytać to nie zapomnijcie na końcu o notce od autorki!

[Karen Farrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

When fifteen-year-old Nathan discovers that his older brother Al, has taken his own life, his whole world is torn apart.

Al was special.

Al was talented.

Al had so many dreams ... so why did he do it?

Convinced that his brother was in trouble, Nathan decides to retrace Al’s footsteps. As he does, he meets Megan, Al's former classmate, who is as determined as Nathan to keep Al's memory alive.

Together they start seeking answers, but will either of them be able to handle the truth about Al’s death when they eventually discover what happened?

I loved this book from the beginning. It helped that I know the area where Al and Nate lived, so it became very relatable.

This is a heart breaking book. It one which should be read by every teenager as a lot of them think that it is “just a laugh” to bully people without a thought for their mental health. I went through every emotion, happiness, joy, sadness, despair, anger, shock etc, the list is endless. As with any good book, the characters become very real and you feel each of their emotions so I wanted to hug them, shout, scream, slap and yell at them. To me, the sign of a great book that you become so embroiled with their lives and stories, you forget they aren’t real!

An absolutely brilliant book.

[Valentine_Juszczak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cóż chwilę po skończeniu tej książki czuję jednocześnie ulgę i smutek. A gwiazdy niech płoną to na pewno uniwersalna historia, która ukazuje ból po stracie bliskiego w niezwykły sposób. Każdy, kto kiedykolwiek borykał się z odejściem bliskiej osoby w tej książce znajdzie ukojenie oraz wytłumaczenie dlaczego czasem postępujemy tak, a nie inaczej. Problemy opisane w lekturze niewątpliwie dalej dotykają nie tylko młodych ludzi, niestety w dzisiejszych czasach, żyjemy w kulturze hejtu i stale jesteśmy poddawani presji społecznej. Danielle Jawando idealnie uchwyciła problem, który jest nadal niezwykle aktualny. Relacja jaka rodzi się między Natanem a Megan, pokazuje, że zawsze pozostaje światełko w tunelu.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

[Joyline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5/5

Usually, I always come up with some sort of an introduction to the book I read in my review. This time, however, this book has made such an impact on me that I find it difficult to express in words.

This book deals with all the possible triggers of modern teenage life primarily highlighting bullying. Other issues are subtly mentioned like peer pressure, racial discrimination, sexual orientation, and most importantly the influence of social media on the life of a teen...

Al, a bright and exceptionally clever and talented art student commits suicide at the age of 17. The thing is his family and friends were clueless about his unhappiness. They feel everything was going on fine till it happened.

Everyone except Al's younger brother Nate/Nathan feels that something ought to be the problem which triggered Al to take the drastic step. And so he investigates against the wishes of his mother and older brother Saul. He also feels guilty for not picking up Al's call which could have turned the situation otherwise. His only support is Al's classmate Megan.

The chapters of this book come in alternate POVs of Nathan and Megan. Despite Al being dead in the story, the whole book is centralized around him and the events that happened to him, making him the main character. Al also shares his POV at the start of each chapter which corresponds to the POV of the other two lead characters.

It makes me think about whether it was Al or it was the other characters who were messing around with other people's lives that were suffering from mental issues. I was already done with this book 3 days ago but was upset with how the story turned up eventually. Since it's YA, I was expecting it to be a little "easy" on the mind and heart, but it was not.

The book also highlights how we take relationships for granted. One moment we might be here and the other moment we might not. The regret and guilt felt by Nathan and Megan are understandable, but at times, they can become repetitive.

The story could seem slow at first but it never ceases to create an interest, especially with Nathan's POV. One may even guess half of the mystery as the story goes on, but it still manages to take you by unpleasant surprise at about 90 percent.

Despite being a YA, this one is hard-hitting. I have never cried over a book but here I couldn't help but shed a tear. The worst part is you don't find any consolation. The only consolation is to move on. And that's what the author tries to convey the message.

The author attempted suicide at the age of 15. But unlike the main character here, she found support from her teachers. She has also given a list of the names of organizations that provide help in the form of counseling to youngsters who go through tough times.
And her afternote is beautifully written giving young readers the message to carry on, which I will add at the end to conclude my review.

I avoid YAs especially nowadays since I am sick of the same old way they are presented. But this one may be different and is outstanding even though it has some of the same cliches you find in a YA book.

But overall, a must-read for young people as well as adults. Just be careful to read it first for yourself, if you are planning to give it to your kids for reading. It can cause an impact on them.

A few lines from the author's after note:

"Please remember to always be kind, but, most importantly, know that you deserve to be here. It will get better, and it is never your fault, no matter how different you are. So speak up and seek help – there is no shame in admitting that you’re hurting.
Like Al, you were born to live. You were born to shine. But, most of all, you were born to burn bright."

[Amy Rehbein · Rating 4 out of 5]

15 year old Nathan’s life is torn about when he finds out his big brother Al has taken his own life. Al was a talented young man who was so full of passion, and Nathan wonders why he would have done this? Convinced Al was in trouble, Nathan begins to investigate meeting Al’s former classmate Megan on his quest, who like Nathan wants to keep Al’s memory alive. However, when Nathan eventually finds out the truth, sparks are set to fly.

And the Stars Were Burning Brightly, firstly, was a gritty, emotion packed, heartwrenching read that did tug at my heartstrings several times throughout my time reading it. It did, you could say take me on an emotional rollercoaster ride, one where I wasn’t sure if I wanted to get off or not. It was so beautifully written and I did find myself hypnotised by the almost poetic like prose.

The way the story was told really resonated with me, and I found it to be a rather unique way to telling such a harrowing tale. We see the story through the point of views of Nathan, Al’s brother and Megan, Al’s friend and former classmate. I really enjoyed how we got the differing views from Nathan, who used violence and anger to show his grief and Megan, who used Al’s memory to change her life and create something amazing. The contrast between these two characters was utterly remarkable and the voices of both characters seemed so vivid and lifelike. What I also found interesting was the sections at the start of each chapter in Al’s voice. This helped me to understand him as a character a lot more, and they were probably some of my favourite bits of writing from the whole book. The plot, also kept me on my toes and every time I guessed the conclusion, something would happen to change my mind. When I did get to the end, I was, as you can guess, in great shock.

The subject matter within And the Stars Were Burning Brightly is rather heavy, especially the topics of suicide and bullying. I’ll admit that some scenes are quite troubling to read, but they bring to life the fact that this does happen in real life and I commend the author for bringing these topics to our attention. The way that the dark side of social media was perceived was also commendable and it really did get me thinking about how despite how good social media can be, it can be very distressing for some people to use with regards to online bullying etc.

And the Stars Were Burning Brightly was an emotional, moving read that really did touch me. The way it brought topics such as suicide, mental health and online bullying to the forefront was inspiring and I can honestly say, it will stick with me.