Author: Ashley Herring Blake
LGBTQ+ Representation: Main character is bi.
Content Warnings: Sexual assault, PTSD, panic attacks, victim blaming.
What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Mara is very close to her twin brother, Owen, but everything becomes confusing and upsetting when Mara's friend, Hannah, accuses Owen of rape. Mara doesn't think Hannah would lie--but how can she believe Hannah over Owen? The whole situation forces Mara to deal with unresolved trauma from her recent past. Meanwhile, things are awkward between Mara and her ex-girlfriend, Charlie, and Mara channels her frustration into her Empower group and her (maybe more-than?) friend, Alex.
What I think (in 250 words or fewer): The #MeToo movement rouses very strong emotions--both empowering and discouraging. (Read my review of Girl Mans Up to see how my emotions unfolded in real time.)
I admit that I can't help but roll my eyes when I read articles with "scared men" or "mothers worried about their sons.". So men might be falsely accused and have their lives ruined? Gimme a break. I have zero sympathy.
But . . . what if it were my child who had raped someone? To muddy the waters for me even more, would I believe my child (who has some impulsive behavior and anger management issues) over the victim? Should parents always believe their children?
And what if my other child was also a victim of sexual assault?
Or . . . what if my brother were accused of raping one of my close friends, one that I believed and trusted, and I was a teenage girl with unresolved trauma?
What would I do/would have done?
Girl Made of Stars essentially puts the reader in this impossible situation. Figuring out who is "right" and who is "wrong" in this story is very difficult because, as in real life, there are no easy answers. Mara's past relationship with her girlfriend and her confusing almost-romance with Alex are written very realistically.
Mara's actions while dealing with her trauma, as well as her relationship with her brother Owen, are heartbreaking in their believeability.
In conclusion, children are never too young to learn respect, consent, and how to manage emotions appropriately.
This book is on the 2019 Rainbow Book List.
My final takeaway (in 75 words or fewer): I not only recommend this book for book groups, but I also recommend that mothers and their teenage daughters should read this book together and discuss it. It's not an easy story to read, but it is a very important one.
And teach consent to your children! Consent, consent, CONSENT. Always!
Memorable quotes/passages from the book:
- "An early autumn breeze ghosts over my skin and hair, bringing with it the smell of burning leaves and cedar from the rocking chairs on our front porch . . . In the distance, the setting sun drizzles the last bit of color through the sky, lavender fading to darker violet" (pg. 1).
- "'You've always said that we have to listen to girls no matter--'
'He's ours, Mara,' Mom says, a kind of quiet fury edging her words. 'He's my son. And we love him. That's what we do'" (pg. 59).
- "And he kept asking my parents if I was sure it had actually happened. Why does no one ask me?" (pg. 124).
- "She seeks out Andromeda, a girl made of stars whose mother wouldn't shut up about her daughter's beauty, so her daughter was punished. Poseidon secured her against the coastal rocks, leaving her to be ravaged by a monster. Now she lives in the sky, a memorial to the time sacrificed because of another's choice, another's obsession, another's selfishness" (pg. 196).
Other reviews: The Bookish Sisters and The Lesbrary.
If you liked this book, you should read Girl Mans Up, The Nowhere Girls, and Amelia Westlake Was Never Here (reviews coming soon for the latter two).
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| This book is available here: https://library.greensboro-nc.gov/ |
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| Learn more about the Rainbow Book List here: http://www.ala.org/rt/glbtrt |
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