BLOG TOUR: The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon (Review + INTL GIVEAWAY)

Title: The Sun Is Also A Star

Author: Nicola Yoon

Publication: November 1st 2016, Delacorte Press

Format: ARC
Source: JM of Book Freak Revelations

Order it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | The Book Depository | Kobo | National Book Store / Fully Booked (PH)



SYNOPSIS:

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

/

Review:

Chance meetings are in ways, hard to comprehend sometimes. In a way, you wouldn't really think that can actually happen in real life, the same way as you'd think that falling in love at first sight would be the same. And for a chance meeting between two completely different people, with different goals in life yet in a way share a common ground, makes for something that is truly remarkable though, yes, unimaginable in ways.

The Sun Is Also A Star is set in New York, a place I have personally dreamed of going to, about two different people, Natasha and Daniel, from two different walks of life and culture, brought together in some fateful encounter. They then go into an adventure together, discover each others shortcomings and fall in love in the process.

Sometimes, I get irked by stories of fateful encounters, those that happen in a blink of an eye, like a fuse has already been lit and no one can do anything about it. But what I love about this book is that the idea of meeting at such a moment, at such a time, is what makes it work and what makes it special. The characters are all too lovely. Natasha is spunky, with a lot of passion for music and love for her family and the desire to chase for her dreams. Because of the risk of being deported, she does all she can to stop it. In the first half of the book, there's an icyness to her character that was honestly loveable to me. I think that's me liking characters with a lack of warmth to them, but because of Daniel's presence, it makes sweet Tasha's heart soften up, revealing more to her character , allowing her to be more open to other things, rather than the logistics of how the universe works.

SPEAKING OF DANIEL! DANIEL BAE YOU AMAZING UGH! I think being Asian and growing up with a strict family upbringing (though not entirely like Daniel's) kind of made me understand some of the frustrations he's coming from. Though I don't have a diabolically, maniacal sibling that is out to ruin my life, I still had that frustration boil in from expectations coming in from everywhere. I wanted to do things but it's not like I was completely free. The mere fact that Daniel is a person who can go against the current of his upbringing is essentially a huge deal to me while reading the book.

More on to the characters, coz I seriously loved them. There are tidbits from different characters in the story, from family members like Nat's (I just love calling her Nat than Tasha) and Daniel's brother Charlie, who I swear, if he were ever real, I might've socked his face into a bag and let him rot there (sorry). There were also characters like Irene, whose thoughts were quite disturbing but also served a lot of depth into the story's already deep story.

Deep in a way, that I haven't delved into a book that had any sort of conflict when it came towards ethnical background as much as this would. Of course, there are some stories that deal with African-American and the typical Caucasian man, but this is the first time I've read one that looked and imparted so much of the culture, particularly Jamaican or Korean standards into a book. It served as an education to me, which I think more books should definitely take into account. Books are not just for swoon, but also to bring self awareness and bringing the reader into a broader perspective.

Nicola Yoon's second novel is I think my personal favorite, though comparing it to her debut novel might be too much, but this level of intricacy and story telling for this second novel was truly enchanting. I appreciated the story telling into this book a bit more, the pace was careful and well thought out. I'm glad Nicola took a risk with this one. I think the only thing, which I know will have fans of the book come after my life was the epilogue. Though in my heart I know that the epilogue was the icing on the cake, I could've lived without it. In a way, the novel is heartbreaking and I know that Nicola loves us too much to leave people with utter heartbreak, but I guess that's just my preference for sad endings. Without the epilogue, I think the novel could've been as beautiful. Again, that's just my preference.

The Sun Is Also A Star is a novel that packs a mean punch, serving love in the most unusual of times, breaking hearts and mending it as well. A refreshing read for those looking for a diverse and well-written book with depth that says love transcends everything.

P.S. I AM WAAAAY TOO OBSESSED WITH K-POP AND KOREAN CULTURE, SO READING THIS WAS QUITE THE TREAT FOR ME, SO GOD BLESS YOU NICOLA YOON! For fans of the book, if you want to listen to something Korean, I suggets this cover from Jeon Jungkook from BTS of Big Bang's IF YOU. It kind of made me imagine what it was like for Daniel Bae in those 10 years. :) ENJOY! Also, special thanks to my bubble, JM of Book Freak Revelations for hosting this tour, lending me the ARC and just making this happen! <3 LOVE YOU!

GIVEAWAY

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About The Author:

Nicola Yoon grew up in Jamaica (the island) and Brooklyn (part of Long Island). She currently resides in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and daughter, both of whom she loves beyond all reason. Everything, Everything is her first novel.

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