Book Review: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Title: These Broken Stars

Author(s): Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Publication date: December, 2013

Hardcover: 384 pages

Stand Alone or Series: Series–this is the first installment in a series.  The next novel to come is titled This Shattered World.



How I got this book: Bought

Why I chose this book: When perusing through the bookstore, I noticed this book almost right away.  Not only did it have a beautiful cover, but I also knew it was highly anticipated.  I read the synopsis, got interested, and decided to give it a try. 

Synopsis:

It’s a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help. 


Review:

I was really interested in all the fantastical and science fiction aspects of this book.  Even though I’ve read so much, I am still impressed by any author (or authors, in this case) that can create this whole new world, where things are so foreign, and make them believable and real to the reader.  And that point, this book definitely hits its target.  Not once did I feel like this world was fake or made up.  It felt so real, like I was there.  Or even more likely, this felt like a novel set in the future, one I might one day get to see.

Now, on with the plot.  I think this novel started a little slow.  With the first half of the book I felt like I was just waiting for something to happen, for there to be some meaning behind the novel.  But I was left waiting, drudging through the pages.  For this, the book had a much slower pace than I would have liked.  In the second half of the novel, things really start to pick up.  That’s how I wish the whole novel had been.  It was just non-stop, one thing happening after the other, and I couldn’t put the book down.  Not to mention that I was very surprised by some of the things that happened in this half of the novel, and was very impressed how the story became this unique, original idea.

Perhaps one of my favorite things about this novel was the characters involved.  With both Lilac and Tarver, I feel like I had a very good idea of who they were, and they stayed consistent throughout the novel.  One problem I see a lot with novels that switch back and forth in points of view, is that both characters end up sounding very similar.  When they sound two similar, then the story becomes bland and just…wrong.  But I always knew who’s mind I was in just by reading. 

While it had its flaws, I did really enjoy reading this story.  I will definitely be keeping my eye out for the sequel this coming year.  I would recommend this book to readers of science fiction most definitely.  The aspects of space travel, multi-dimensions, and foreign planets really keep this novel interesting and fascinating.