Diana Martin has lived her life in the shadow of her sadistic older brother. She quietly watches the family next door, enthralled by celebrity fashion designer Marianne Taylor and her feted daughter, Aurelle.
She wishes she were a 'Taylor girl'.
By the summer of 1995, the two girls are at university together, bonded by a mutual desire to escape their wealthy families and personal tragedies and forge new identities.
They are closer than lovers, intoxicated by their own bond, falling into the hedonistic seduction of the woods and the water at a remote university that is more summer camp than campus.
But when burgeoning artist Diana has a chance at fame, cracks start to appear in their friendship. To what lengths is Diana willing to go to secure her own stardom?
I will never get bored of books like this. A zingy headrush of a campus novel, Stargazer is set mostly at a lakeside university in Ontario, Canada, and follows the friendship – and rivalry – between two girls, both extremely wealthy. The first, Diana, is from a loveless family, made jealous and resentful by her cold parents and sadistic brother; the second, Aurelle, is adored, but unwillingly famous due to her celebrity mother, and desperate to escape into anonymity. Skipping back and forth between the genesis of the girls’ friendship and their later notoriety, Petrou manages the plot’s progression with enviable skill – you have a sense Diana and Aurelle become infamous without knowing exactly why until the end, and it’s always intriguing, never too much, never too slow. It’s set in the early-to-mid-1990s, and features the ideal amount of ‘period detail’: enough to evoke the era, not so much that it overpowers the story.
While reading it I barely came up for air, totally absorbed in this world: the dream forest ‘cottage’ (actually a mansion), canoeing across the lake to classes, stargazing, parties, art. It’s delicious to watch the two girls transform into fully realised (or fully subjugated) versions of themselves, and the character development is just right. It’s believable that Diana, the bitter outsider, would become ruthless and enigmatic; would be admired without ever really integrating. It’s believable that pampered Aurelle’s clingy, babyish tendencies would transmute into a cowed, pathetic misery.
Stargazer is one of those novels that seems excellent when you’re reading it, but even more impressive when you step back and think about it. What Petrou does with the narrative is like sleight of hand; it’s so deftly structured that I can’t quite see how it was made to work so perfectly. And Diana Martin – controlled, laconic, terrifyingly driven – is my favourite literary character of the year so far. This is one of those books that feels like it should have a fandom. Hopefully, it soon will.
Great cover but I've read this story so many times before and often better: two young women, dark secrets, toxic friendship, obsession and death...
The writing isn't distinctive and has no voice of its own, and some of the developments are unconvincing (a mother who can't recognise her own daughter's voice on the phone and has a whole conversation with an imposter?). The long-held final chapter revelation is predictable from the start, with a lurid dénouement that, surely, we could all see coming.
Nothing like the style and depth of The Secret History mentioned hopefully in the blurb, but ok as a switch-off beach read.
(Thanks to the publisher for an ARC via NetGalley)
This wonderful novel not only made me fall in love with it, it also made me fall in love with Canada even though I’ve never been there. This book is about the female bond between Aurelle and Diana who are next door neighbours, and both come from wealthy successful families, but never really paid any attention to each other. One Aurelle’s mum suggests they spend some time together and before you can blink they are thick as thieves and unhealthily obsessed with each other.
They both attend a secluded college together because they don’t want to be apart from the other, but when Diana’s career finally starts to come to fruition (after she releases some explicit portraits of Aurelle) she has to decide between wanting to be a success no matter the cost, or leave her friendship with Aurelle in the past.
We learn that both girls suffer from the downside to being in a privileged position in life because of their family and spent most of their time feeling alone before they became dependant on each other. But I guess the most important lesson of this novel, aside from the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, is that even your most closet and treasured relationships can be toxic for you. Reading how both girls spiralled alone but together was truly heart breaking and eye opening. I wish someone had called Diana out on her toxicity because Aurelle didn’t have it in her to stand up for herself against Diana.
Thank you so much to Verve books for sending me a proof of this one, I absolutely loved it. The wonderful author also created a playlist for the book and it is INCREDIBLE.
The marketing copy does this book a real disservice, calling it a "thriller" (it's absolutely not) and "unceasingly tense" (also no). None of this is necessary because this book has so many things to offer. It's a deep dive into a year of a friendship between two girls as they go off to college. It has the ambition, the competition, the blurring lines of personality. As Aurelle and Diana push away the entire rest of the world for one where they have only each other, it turns out what they need from each other and what they are willing to take is drastically different.
It is not a thriller, and the first half is slower, as we get to know these girls. It's really more character study, showing us who they are, the worlds they've come from. It's very important, without all this the second half won't work. We have to learn their secrets, their weaknesses, their traumas.
And it's all worth it because the second half of this book is fantastic. The relationship is no longer an even back and forth that comes from love, but becomes tainted by ambition and spite.
It's also a book that revolves around art and artists, a subject a lot of books mess up. But here we have not only a thoughtful consideration of the role of muse and the artist's obligation to their subjects, but also a look at celebrity and image that still feels very relevant more than two decades after the book is set.
You can see where things are going, it's clear for quite some time before we get there. But it has that great feeling from a Greek tragedy, we're heading that way and it's going to be bad and there is nothing you can do to stop it.
The second half of the book has its flaws, we begin to focus so much on Diana that we lose Aurelle, who was always the weaker presence between the two but wasn't always so weak on the page. And it's unclear how the two of them are still interacting day to day when everything is so heightened. And, honestly, I would have liked a different ending, it goes about as big as it can and it's not bad but I didn't totally believe it.
But I think this is one of those diamonds in the rough, a novel a lot of people would really enjoy, that has flown under the radar when it deserves a lot more attention. This happens too often to Canadian novels! This deserved a big US release.
4/5 Gripping, consuming and short. Along the lines of ‘I wish I were you’ and ‘it's always us together’. I kind of figured the ending early on itself. This is my second read. Reading this reminded me of ‘Love me more’ by Mitski. Thank you for saving me from a slump.
I just put this book down about 10 minutes ago, it took me a few minutes to organize my thoughts....
The first thing I can tell you is this was a captivating thriller that will leave you gasping often. The amount of obsession written between the pages had me in constant disbelief and questioning "does this really happen?" .
Stargazer is a dark read that shows just how far people will go for revenge. This is a character driven novel that outlines the complicated dynamics of female friendships.
This book is under 300 pages and I literally flew right through it. I was left a bit numb at how far someone would take revenge BUT I do want to go into too much detail and spoil anything for everyone else.
I will say this, I loved how this was short and to the punch, there was no dragging or repetitiveness and it held a lot of shock factor. I highly recommend Stargazer!
my thanks to the publisher! i received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
what a fascinating novel. an unexpected favorite. i have so many thoughts that i will not be sharing because i refuse to be vulnerable here. but Diana Martin is so fucking insane i love her. the subtle psychotic disturbance underlying the entire book.... that was fucking excellent actually. also, i just realized how brilliant and understated the title of the novel is. so, this is settling really nicely into my 4-star rating.
I liked the premise of 'Stargazer' more than the execution. I read it along with my book club and the reactions were very mixed. I felt it was slow to get started and I found the different timelines confusing in places. Having said that, Laurie Petrou writes well and the book takes a close look at toxic friendships and the nature of privilege. Petrou also captures the beautiful agony of young love effectively.
this book made me want to punch a wall. literally it created such a visceral and profound anger in me that i could barely stand to finish it.
it is such a beautifully disturbing depiction of toxic friendships and the impact of fame on the human psyche. like the way that i can perfectly imagine every scene in this book because of the writing is otherworldly.
this book may not be for everyone, but nonetheless it was brilliant.
Great story! Aurelle and Diana are neighbors of two ultra wealthy families. Both, however, are overlooked by their parents and eventually find solace with each other.
Their friendship turns to obsession however, and they plot to attend the same small university and share a family cottage. As each explore college life, the tugging to their entangled relationship causes power struggles which come to a head.
It was a bit hard to believe in the sad stories of very rich girls, but when I put that portion aside, I absolutely loved this story. The writing drew me in and I was there with them in college and their enchanted cottage! The end was shocking and I love the book more for it. If you like a 90's story, obsessive friendships and college settings, Stargazer is for you!
- Each painting is potentially a thousand paintings. As in life, it is the burden of choice that determines everything, big and small. Don't let it paralyze you. It is up to you to decide the best route of yours. Stargazer is the story of a friendship that ends up turning in something much more complex and delicate. There's something about the shift in the dynamics of these two girls that really keeps you on your toes. I was amazed by the way in which this book shows how the sum of small details can lead to a cathartic event that one, at first, could not have imagined. This is the perfect novel for those who want to immerse themselves in a narration that explores the frontiers of obsession, drugs and art.
yeah.... i mean, my expectations weren't particularly high with this one, but damn! for a book that promises to tackle obsessive, all-consuming female friendships, i don't think it dived into the obsession enough. it took an arguably predictable turn. this is certainly a lit fic novel that i think you can pass up on.
౨ৎ TRIGGER WARNINGS ❥ drug abuse / use ❥ abortion ❥ death & grief ❥ toxic friendships ❥ vomit
nothing unexpected. aurelle especially became too pathetic by the end in a way reminiscent of a little life, and that's the worst possible thing a book can be compared to, so I'll stop here before the rating gets lower
I received this book from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
It's 1995, and best friends Diana and Aurelle are off to college together and ready to lose themselves i party, art and finding themselves. Despite being neighbours for years, the girls only recently connected and found a bond through Diana's experience of being bullied by her older brother her entire life, and Aurelle's experience being swallowed and shadowed by her famous family. But as Diana grows in college, Aurelle becomes smaller and will Diana turn her back on her best friend?
This is such an interesting deep dive into the complexities of female friendship and the type of up an down/weak and strong dynamics there are in many types of relationships from friendships to romantic ones.
I loved the build up of who Diana and Aurelle are going into their first semester, and the almost contradiction of who they should be as character. Diana, who her whole life has been second best to her bully of her brother, should be meek and shy whereas she is strong, confident and opinionated - and then Aurelle, who has been surrounded by love in a family that opened their doors to everyone, is the weaker one, never able to truly find herself because of her connection to her fashion designer mother.
This was a slightly soul torturing book to read as we see all facets of who the girls are, what drives their decision making - their highs and their lows, and how Diana began to climb up the ladder but used Aurelle as a stepping stone, crushing her on their way. So many times I wanted to reach out to Aurelle and hold her close to me, to get her away. A really good example of how abusive, controlling relationships can come in so many different forms and they're not always romantic.
I loved the insight into artists and their muses in this book too, and the conversation it provoked about what was ethical versus borderline problematic/abusive when it comes to muses and consent, and using images or inspiration in ways that could embarrass or hurt. Honestly, Diana became one of the cruelest people through her selfishness and how she looked at Aurelle slipping into the shadows and thought it was okay to continue. Just so hard to read yet so realistic at the same time.
Again, I liked the idea of this plot however it didn't turn out to be as good as it was hyped up to be. This novel is about obsession, envy and friendship and beyond creepy at times. Claiming that Diana and Aurelle are the same person, sleeping and cuddling each other I was confused at if this was an obsession or lesbian attraction. I did feel like it dragged out a lot at times with the descriptions and so forth. Why compare this to The Secret History? All the characters did was complain a lot and seemed to unhealthy need each other too much.
Although in this novel it has a dream style vibe- with the drugs and the highly privileged thing going on, like a female version of Bret Easton Ellis in my opinion if you are going to make any comparisons.
Stargazer is an enjoyable read that uses a dark vibes to explore the darker sides of female friendship and how such bonds can be toxic. Fans of this type of feeling will enjoy this kind of book more.
Obsession, loneliness, and insecurity are at the center of Laurie Petrou's astonishing STARGAZER. This exceptional novel, set in the 90s in the tony town of Muskoka, is about the bonds and breaks of female friendship. Petrou's writing is so powerful that I could smell the pines and feel the snow on my skin. The story gradually unfurls, transfixing the reader on the characters' heartbreaking journeys, and we become absorbed in their struggles and triumphs. It's an outstanding book with some of the most beautiful lines I've ever read.
At around 250 pages, Stargazer is a short and faced paced literary thriller. It revolves around the bond between two friends, Aurelle and Diana, exploring the complexities between them, ultimately leading to an unhealthy, toxic and obsessive friendship.
I don’t know what I expected from this book but I was blown away by it. Such a gripping read that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was exactly what I needed to pull me out of my reading slump!
Thank you so much to Verve Books for sending me a copy of this. Such an amazing read that I would 100% recommend!
toxic female friendship, family drama, and campus life during the 90’s, all set in a sort of old money summer camp liberal arts school fever dream? what more could you possibly need?
4.35 Unexpectedly dark page turner. Very good story. I read this almost in one sitting. If I had known how much I would like this, I would have read it much earlier. Lake Muskoka is beautiful. It is a wonderful lake to go kayaking. I always enjoy the Canadian cottage country settings. I found it hard to believe that a mother would not recognize her own daughter on the phone and mistake someone else’s voice as her daughter’s. I found Aurelle’s behavior often annoying. She wasted her privilege and opportunities. Keith was right except Diana is beyond weird. I have discovered another excellent Canadian author!
This was extremely immersive. I felt like I was there at the Taylor’s house, at the lake, at Rocky Barrens University. I loved the friendship & crumbling of Aurelle & Diana. This was sharp & cruel & very well-written.