See All the Stars

by Kit Frick

“A gripping and atmospheric contemporary thriller.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Complex, captivating, and gorgeously written.” —Karen M. McManus, New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying

We Were Liars meets Goodbye Days in this thrilling debut novel that sweeps readers away as they try to solve the mystery of what happened then to make Ellory so broken now.

It’s hard to find the truth beneath the lies you tell yourself.

Then: They were four—Bex, Jenni, Ellory, Ret. (Venus. Earth. Moon. Sun.) Electric, headstrong young women; Ellory’s whole solar system.

Now: Ellory is alone, her once inseparable group of friends torn apart by secrets, deception, and a shocking incident that changed their lives forever.

Then: Lazy summer days. A party. A beautiful boy. Ellory met Matthias and fell into the beginning of a spectacular, bright love.

Now: Ellory returns to Pine Brook to navigate senior year after a two-month suspension and summer away—no boyfriend, no friends. No going back. Tormented by some and sought out by others, troubled by a mysterious note-writer who won’t let Ellory forget, and consumed by guilt over her not entirely innocent role in everything and everyone she’s lost, Ellory finds that even in the present, the past is everywhere.

The path forward isn’t a straight line. And moving on will mean sorting the truth from the lies—the lies Ellory has been telling herself.

• ISBN10: 1534404384
• ISBN13: 9781534404380
• Publish Date: 7 May 2019 (first published 14 August 2018)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Margaret K McElderry Books
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

Looks like it is time for another positives versus negatives, because that seems to be the best way to organize this book. I want to give you more background, but... I think just reading the synopsis is sufficient? Short version: Ellory used to have friends and a boyfriend, now, not so much. And it's for reasons, which is what this story uncovers, basically. There you go, you're very welcome.

The Things I Liked:

• Ellory did grow quite a bit as a character as the story went on. That's always nice, especially since she really, really needed to. I mean, she had these friends, but she didn't even seem to like them, so much as need them? Like a crutch? Anyway, she does go through some great character development.



• The reveals did, in fact, surprise me. That is hard to do, so I am glad the book was able to!

The Things I Didn't:

• I do fully understand why Ellory was upset, but I couldn't help but think that she was better off without these characters? Ugh, they just made me mad all over the place. Don't get me wrong, Ellory did too, but at least I felt a modicum of sympathy for her? They were just pretty boring, and what wasn't boring about them was crappy, so basically I wouldn't have wanted to be friends with any of them. My inner dialogue was mostly like "well Ellory, you dodged a bullet here, my friend".



• It just seemed to drag at times. Even though it was a relatively quick read, it was just so underwhelming for me. By the end, while I did appreciate some of the twists/outcome, I was just too over it to care. Which I don't think has ever happened to me before, first time for everything? Is shocked apathy a thing? It is now.



• Nirvana Effect™. I know this is probably more of a personal trope hate, but wow I am not a fan of the Nirvana Effect™.

Bottom Line: If you can get on board with the characters, you may enjoy the twists. I, however, could not.

[Empress of Sass]

I received a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley.
3.25/5 stars

To start off, I need to acknowledge that contemporary YA fiction is not my favourite genre. I'm more of a fantasy/paranormal reader, but the synopsis and cover of See All The Stars had me intrigued. The book is very well written, but the structure of the time jumps and the withholding of the reason for the break down of the friendships and relationships until the very end kept me at a distance as a reader. I enjoyed the beginning, but as the story progressed I realized the only reason I was continuing the story was to find out what the fallout between the friends had been over. I struggled to find a likeable character in the whole book, which added to my disconnect. The author is a very a competent writer, and I can see the appeal if this style of book is your thing, but it's just not for me. Definitely give it a try though if you enjoy contemporary high drama, time jumping examinations of the pieces of a friend circle fallout.

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

This story blew me away. The two opposite timelines coming together near the mid-point of the story added just the right amount of tension to keep me reading.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.