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Still the Stars
Piper Anderson is a lot of things—fat, queer, anxious, depressed—and the daughter of parents from two different planets. She's a two-world child with a power called enarya, a soul magic that heals and protects. The only problem is that she never learned to use it, because her parents disappeared while on a mission to her mother's home world when she was only twelve.
But then one day, just as she is beginning to fear she might never see them again, an ancient, shadow-wielding demon named Valos shows up at her high school and tempts her with the promise that he alone can help her find them. Piper then begins a wild journey through the stars, where she's trained by her godmothers and her other-worldly uncle on how to use her gift to save the family she thought she'd lost.
She'll have to traverse a bridge crossing the cosmos, phase into people’s minds, and navigate a labyrinth of her worst fears, all before Valos has a chance to destroy her family once and for all. In this first book of The Oreanam Trilogy, Piper's adventures on Alteria have only just begun.
This is author and poet Elayna Mae Darcy's debut YA novel.
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR STILL THE STARS
"At turns euphoric and devastating, Still the Stars is a stunning adventure full of glitter, magic, and light. Piper--bi, fat, anxious, and determined--is a hero I would follow across every constellation. This book heals."
—Jen St. Jude, author of If Tomorrow Doesn't Come
But then one day, just as she is beginning to fear she might never see them again, an ancient, shadow-wielding demon named Valos shows up at her high school and tempts her with the promise that he alone can help her find them. Piper then begins a wild journey through the stars, where she's trained by her godmothers and her other-worldly uncle on how to use her gift to save the family she thought she'd lost.
She'll have to traverse a bridge crossing the cosmos, phase into people’s minds, and navigate a labyrinth of her worst fears, all before Valos has a chance to destroy her family once and for all. In this first book of The Oreanam Trilogy, Piper's adventures on Alteria have only just begun.
This is author and poet Elayna Mae Darcy's debut YA novel.
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR STILL THE STARS
"At turns euphoric and devastating, Still the Stars is a stunning adventure full of glitter, magic, and light. Piper--bi, fat, anxious, and determined--is a hero I would follow across every constellation. This book heals."
—Jen St. Jude, author of If Tomorrow Doesn't Come
448 pages, Hardcover
Published November 1, 2022
6 people are currently reading
195 people want to read
About the author
Elayna Mae Darcy
7 books33 followersElayna Mae Darcy is a chaotic good, non-binary bard from Philadelphia. (Go birds.) Their previous publications include a sci-fi short story in Issue 02 of Wizards in Space Literary Magazine, and poems featured in just femme & dandy, tiny wren lit, and Impostor Lit, among others.They are the author of the UNVEIL ME poetry duology, which includes UNRAVELING LIGHT (2018) and DARKNESS UNDONE (2020), and have served as an MC to Philly's Slutty Poems Night and read at events for the Moonstone Arts Center.
Elayna is also the author of the self-published, queer, YA fantasy verse-novel STILL THE STARS (2022), which can be found on the shelves of libraries in countries they’ve never been to. In their time as a Social Media Specialist for MuggleNet.com (2013 to 2018), they spoke on panels across the country about podcasts and fandom culture, including at San Diego Comic Con in 2016.
Elayna is also the author of the self-published, queer, YA fantasy verse-novel STILL THE STARS (2022), which can be found on the shelves of libraries in countries they’ve never been to. In their time as a Social Media Specialist for MuggleNet.com (2013 to 2018), they spoke on panels across the country about podcasts and fandom culture, including at San Diego Comic Con in 2016.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 26, 2022
Of everything else I've read, this free verse narrative reminds me most of The Poet X, in that they are both slice of life stories, although this one definitely has a strong sci-fi element where the main character exists on another world for a large slice of this book.
There are so many quotable sections of this book and, even though it's in a sci-fi setting, the feelings that Piper goes through are very universal.
This story isn't rushed and takes all the time it needs to. From the beginning, we know that Piper is an orphan that is being raised alongside her enby best friend by lesbian godmothers, one of which is the best friend of her father. Piper is fat and she cops a lot of bullying for this that makes her depression and anxiety worse than they otherwise might be.
That said, her family life is beautiful, despite the pangs she still feels at the loss of her birth parents.
This life is completely disrupted when a magic wielding person from her mother's world shows up at her high school and says that he can teach her about her own magic. Magic that she really hasn't any experience in using at all, despite her heritage. Almost immediately, we find that this is the big bad of our story, so much of a big bad that Piper is taken away from the world of her father and on a journey to her mother's world in order to save both of her parents.
At the same time, she comes back into contact with Naika, someone from her mother's world that she's had a crush on for years, and their soft sapphic romance is something that definitely lightens the darkness of the rest of the plot.
But that cliffhanger!!? I can't even with that. Somehow I did not see it coming, but now I really have to know what's going to happen to Naika next.
There are so many quotable sections of this book and, even though it's in a sci-fi setting, the feelings that Piper goes through are very universal.
This story isn't rushed and takes all the time it needs to. From the beginning, we know that Piper is an orphan that is being raised alongside her enby best friend by lesbian godmothers, one of which is the best friend of her father. Piper is fat and she cops a lot of bullying for this that makes her depression and anxiety worse than they otherwise might be.
That said, her family life is beautiful, despite the pangs she still feels at the loss of her birth parents.
This life is completely disrupted when a magic wielding person from her mother's world shows up at her high school and says that he can teach her about her own magic. Magic that she really hasn't any experience in using at all, despite her heritage. Almost immediately, we find that this is the big bad of our story, so much of a big bad that Piper is taken away from the world of her father and on a journey to her mother's world in order to save both of her parents.
At the same time, she comes back into contact with Naika, someone from her mother's world that she's had a crush on for years, and their soft sapphic romance is something that definitely lightens the darkness of the rest of the plot.
But that cliffhanger!!? I can't even with that. Somehow I did not see it coming, but now I really have to know what's going to happen to Naika next.
December 11, 2025
this is an INCREDIBLY unique poetry book!! it felt like reading a fantasy but through poetry. as someone who reads a lot of poetry, it was so refreshing to read.
June 12, 2022
This book has so much heart.
April 3, 2024
Before I dive into my review a quick disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from my dear friend who wrote it! So I am biased but I wouldn't have it any other way.
"When Ildal says it is time to leave,
I feel like Luke Skywalker heading for Mount Doom,
like someone off on an adventure that they
were never supposed to belong to."
- p. 83
Believe that pull quote on the cover, this book is HEALING. One of my favourite things about this book and all the characters in it was the way the prioritise rest, taking care of yourself before you dive into the unknown and save the world. Which, don't get me wrong, they ALSO did, but never without resting, having space to be, to restore their energy, to love one another and remember why they were fighting. And it is so damn rare that a YA protagonist on a space adventure gets that, and so important for all budding heroes-to-be to know. You can't save the world if you haven't saved yourself first.
"Even though
I've always had this magic,
always known it was lying in wait,
I've never allowed myself to
believe I deserved to have it."
- p. 68
Piper is a gorgeous narrator and the verse this novel is told in was exquisite. I cannot stress enough how much I have highlighted, how many metaphors cut straight into my bones as someone who has struggled with identity, anxiety, body image. Piper explores each of these aspects of herself and always with the love and support of her family, reminding her that she is worthy, we are all worthy, of feeling loved and making a home with the people around us. Piper, Obie, Kath, Becks, Naika and Nathan were my favourite characters (I know, that's most of them), all with their own dynamics together, complicated webs of relationships and love that really take centre stage in this book. They showcase such a depth and breadth of family, of feeling, of home, and each of them is crucial to Piper's success in their own way. It is also a family full of queerness (sapphic wives, an ace nonbinary best friend/sibling, sapphic love interest, bi dad, probably more I'm forgetting), bodily diversity, understanding of mental health, and diversity of skin colour and ethnicity, and they are all so goddamn beautiful.
"My head spins from
so much as once, as I
try to take in all of this
Earth made Heaven...
this city made crystal...
these souls made beacons
of shadow and light."
- p. 99
"If there's one thing of which I have become sure,
it is that nothing is impossible on Alteria."
- p. 382
And as well as the impact of these characters and their taking centre stage, this was a wild, mad, magical space adventure story! The world of Alteria is like nothing Piper (or I) have ever experienced, and the poetic turns of phrases used to describe it make it this lush dreamscape of stars, love, feelings, plant and animal life and magic, of course, magic. I am in awe of the world building, of the way we are introduced to this whole new planet and immersed in it's lore, it's people, it's starscape of different places.
"I am a star within skin,
my body wrapped up in
a pulsing and radiant
rhythm that whispers,
'nothing is going to hurt you...'"
- p. 30
"My anxiety starts to whisper that
I don't belong, and that everyone
will see me and know-
I'm wearing a STAR WARS t-shirt,
a flannel, and jeans for goodness sake-
but when I reach for and clutch
my mother's starkeeper,
I take a breath and remind myself...
you belong here...
(at least you're supposed to...)"
- p. 145
I definitely cried at the end of this book and absolutely cannot wait for Book 2. I will follow Piper and her family anywhere into any adventures just to feel at home like I do with them.
"The feeling of her pulse
beat even with mine,
and it was like our
entwined fingers had
written an antithesis to
each other's loneliness."
- p. 81
"By reading this, please know that no matter where in space and time you might find yourself, you are welcome to this home too, where everything you are will be celebrated, cherished, and loved."
- from the author's acknowledgements
"When Ildal says it is time to leave,
I feel like Luke Skywalker heading for Mount Doom,
like someone off on an adventure that they
were never supposed to belong to."
- p. 83
Believe that pull quote on the cover, this book is HEALING. One of my favourite things about this book and all the characters in it was the way the prioritise rest, taking care of yourself before you dive into the unknown and save the world. Which, don't get me wrong, they ALSO did, but never without resting, having space to be, to restore their energy, to love one another and remember why they were fighting. And it is so damn rare that a YA protagonist on a space adventure gets that, and so important for all budding heroes-to-be to know. You can't save the world if you haven't saved yourself first.
"Even though
I've always had this magic,
always known it was lying in wait,
I've never allowed myself to
believe I deserved to have it."
- p. 68
Piper is a gorgeous narrator and the verse this novel is told in was exquisite. I cannot stress enough how much I have highlighted, how many metaphors cut straight into my bones as someone who has struggled with identity, anxiety, body image. Piper explores each of these aspects of herself and always with the love and support of her family, reminding her that she is worthy, we are all worthy, of feeling loved and making a home with the people around us. Piper, Obie, Kath, Becks, Naika and Nathan were my favourite characters (I know, that's most of them), all with their own dynamics together, complicated webs of relationships and love that really take centre stage in this book. They showcase such a depth and breadth of family, of feeling, of home, and each of them is crucial to Piper's success in their own way. It is also a family full of queerness (sapphic wives, an ace nonbinary best friend/sibling, sapphic love interest, bi dad, probably more I'm forgetting), bodily diversity, understanding of mental health, and diversity of skin colour and ethnicity, and they are all so goddamn beautiful.
"My head spins from
so much as once, as I
try to take in all of this
Earth made Heaven...
this city made crystal...
these souls made beacons
of shadow and light."
- p. 99
"If there's one thing of which I have become sure,
it is that nothing is impossible on Alteria."
- p. 382
And as well as the impact of these characters and their taking centre stage, this was a wild, mad, magical space adventure story! The world of Alteria is like nothing Piper (or I) have ever experienced, and the poetic turns of phrases used to describe it make it this lush dreamscape of stars, love, feelings, plant and animal life and magic, of course, magic. I am in awe of the world building, of the way we are introduced to this whole new planet and immersed in it's lore, it's people, it's starscape of different places.
"I am a star within skin,
my body wrapped up in
a pulsing and radiant
rhythm that whispers,
'nothing is going to hurt you...'"
- p. 30
"My anxiety starts to whisper that
I don't belong, and that everyone
will see me and know-
I'm wearing a STAR WARS t-shirt,
a flannel, and jeans for goodness sake-
but when I reach for and clutch
my mother's starkeeper,
I take a breath and remind myself...
you belong here...
(at least you're supposed to...)"
- p. 145
I definitely cried at the end of this book and absolutely cannot wait for Book 2. I will follow Piper and her family anywhere into any adventures just to feel at home like I do with them.
"The feeling of her pulse
beat even with mine,
and it was like our
entwined fingers had
written an antithesis to
each other's loneliness."
- p. 81
"By reading this, please know that no matter where in space and time you might find yourself, you are welcome to this home too, where everything you are will be celebrated, cherished, and loved."
- from the author's acknowledgements
November 29, 2022
Raw and unique poetry blends with Elayna Mae’s immense ability to depict personal experience at depth, magic, and love in Still the Stars. The story of Piper’s captivating journey is one of self-discovery, first loves, her youth encircled by fatphobia, and the realization that a girl’s true magic is self-love, friends, and family.
Although I have read fantasy and action-packed novels before, Still the Stars without a doubt was a once-in-a-lifetime reading experience. These page-turner poems not only narrate Piper’s journey but also pour out her heart and soul as she struggles with the weight and confusion of being a child of two worlds.
Depicted as a world never seen before, Alteria—Piper’s second home—is a vision of a surrealist and dreamlike realm that is worthy of her strength of character, courage, and female empowerment. Every sensation and visualization deserves a spot on the big screen.
As if this book did not have enough, Piper is not only a hero but also a regular teenager…that has fallen in love. Her endearing and insanely relatable journey of falling in love is a treat for those of us who always doubted ourselves and have thought that we’re unworthy of someone’s love.
Still the Stars embodies the intensity of family love and sacrifice, and it validates the invaluable experience of unconventional and chosen families that complete one’s life with love, comfort, and understanding. Piper’s family is one rooted in trust, belief, and honesty—it feels like a home for those that might be seeking it.
Elayna Mae Darcy understands how to use words to make their readers visualize a world we never thought possible. With their particular structure of poems, written with the pace at which everything happens in this fantastic tale, Elayna has made my love for words and stories flourish at just the right time of my life.
Although I have read fantasy and action-packed novels before, Still the Stars without a doubt was a once-in-a-lifetime reading experience. These page-turner poems not only narrate Piper’s journey but also pour out her heart and soul as she struggles with the weight and confusion of being a child of two worlds.
Depicted as a world never seen before, Alteria—Piper’s second home—is a vision of a surrealist and dreamlike realm that is worthy of her strength of character, courage, and female empowerment. Every sensation and visualization deserves a spot on the big screen.
As if this book did not have enough, Piper is not only a hero but also a regular teenager…that has fallen in love. Her endearing and insanely relatable journey of falling in love is a treat for those of us who always doubted ourselves and have thought that we’re unworthy of someone’s love.
“Where Moonlight sounds gentle like silver,
my body and I? We clang like brass.
At my size, I could never be a crescent silver.”
Still the Stars embodies the intensity of family love and sacrifice, and it validates the invaluable experience of unconventional and chosen families that complete one’s life with love, comfort, and understanding. Piper’s family is one rooted in trust, belief, and honesty—it feels like a home for those that might be seeking it.
Elayna Mae Darcy understands how to use words to make their readers visualize a world we never thought possible. With their particular structure of poems, written with the pace at which everything happens in this fantastic tale, Elayna has made my love for words and stories flourish at just the right time of my life.
June 16, 2023
3.5 but rounded up.
I’ve never read a story quite like this. This was the first novel verse I’ve read. I love poetry and I quite like Elayna’s poetry- so this was of interest to me.
The coming of age story is warm, feel good, inspiring, with positive caring messages about self love, community, and family. The story refreshingly celebrates body positivity in a way that encourages me to see beauty in my own curves. It also acknowledges the beauty and complexity of families and queerness.
There were some pop culture references which I wasn’t sure if they fit together- the book had a few errors that were missed in the editing process. But the story has some touching qualities and some of the pieces are much deeper than the story at hand. At least they were to me when I read them.
Overall this was good- and I look forward to the next installment of Piper’s journey.
I’ve never read a story quite like this. This was the first novel verse I’ve read. I love poetry and I quite like Elayna’s poetry- so this was of interest to me.
The coming of age story is warm, feel good, inspiring, with positive caring messages about self love, community, and family. The story refreshingly celebrates body positivity in a way that encourages me to see beauty in my own curves. It also acknowledges the beauty and complexity of families and queerness.
There were some pop culture references which I wasn’t sure if they fit together- the book had a few errors that were missed in the editing process. But the story has some touching qualities and some of the pieces are much deeper than the story at hand. At least they were to me when I read them.
Overall this was good- and I look forward to the next installment of Piper’s journey.
September 10, 2023
Still the Stars is a breathtakingly gorgeous read. The book sends a powerful message that existing in a fat body doesn’t make you less deserving of love and support and that living with anxiety and depression is not a shameful secret. Piper does not crumble under pressure and turns to her friends and family for support. All of these are messages that are so, so important for teens to hear.
I’m excited to see where Piper’s story continues!
I’m excited to see where Piper’s story continues!
February 3, 2025
This book had been sitting on my tbr for a while, and when I first opened it, I genuinely thought i brought a misprint! But I didn't
This book is written mostly in the form of poetry! Which i find a fascinating concept. This book has queer rep in the form of lesbian rep , bisexual rep , and non binary rep. It had plus size reproductive and follows the story Piper learning to love herself in order to save the ones who love her
It's part of a trilogy. However, I'm unsure if the other two books are out as on a glance I could not see them on amazon. I loved the Form however for me personally, I didn't find the story gripping as I realised I may not be a sci-fi girly ( gender neutral)
Very curious where the story will lead !
This book is written mostly in the form of poetry! Which i find a fascinating concept. This book has queer rep in the form of lesbian rep , bisexual rep , and non binary rep. It had plus size reproductive and follows the story Piper learning to love herself in order to save the ones who love her
It's part of a trilogy. However, I'm unsure if the other two books are out as on a glance I could not see them on amazon. I loved the Form however for me personally, I didn't find the story gripping as I realised I may not be a sci-fi girly ( gender neutral)
Very curious where the story will lead !
February 7, 2023
Absolutely beautiful and magical, I loved it and I can’t wait to see how the rest of the story unfolds.
work-does-not-have
February 12, 2023MC Rep: fat queer female with anxiety and depression
January 17, 2023
Like The Prophecy of the Gems meets A Wrinkle In Time.
The first half of the book was difficult to get through. The characters felt like collectible action figures still in their packaging sitting on shelves that you wanted to play with and get to know but you weren’t allowed to.
The second half is much more engaging, and the characters suddenly gain a lot of depth. As long as it took me to push through the beginning, it was worth it for the second half. A great book for adolescents who enjoy a good fantasy. I would recommend it to any tween who finds some of their best friends are in books.
As a lover of Philly, I loved to see the tie-ins to the city. You can tell the author really loves their hometown, and I can’t blame them.
The first half of the book was difficult to get through. The characters felt like collectible action figures still in their packaging sitting on shelves that you wanted to play with and get to know but you weren’t allowed to.
The second half is much more engaging, and the characters suddenly gain a lot of depth. As long as it took me to push through the beginning, it was worth it for the second half. A great book for adolescents who enjoy a good fantasy. I would recommend it to any tween who finds some of their best friends are in books.
As a lover of Philly, I loved to see the tie-ins to the city. You can tell the author really loves their hometown, and I can’t blame them.
June 7, 2023
This book has my heart. YA sci-fi novel that’s entirely in poetry. Adorable queer characters. What more could you ever want? I also loved how much mental health and meditation were a part of this story. Can’t wait to read the second one and be back in Alteria!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews