Of Scars and Stardust

by Andrea Hannah

After the attack that leaves her little sister, Ella, close to death in a snowy cornfield, Claire Graham is sent to live with her aunt in Manhattan to cope. But the guilt of letting Ella walk home alone that night still torments Claire, and she senses the violence that preyed on her sister hiding around every corner. Her shrink calls it a phobia. Claire calls it the truth. When Ella vanishes two years later, Claire has no choice but to return to Amble, Ohio, and face her shattered family. Her one comfort is Ella's diary, left in a place where only Claire could find it. Drawing on a series of cryptic entries, Claire tries to uncover the truth behind Ella's attack and disappearance. But she soon realizes that not all lost things are meant to be found.

• ISBN13: 9780738740829
• Publish Date: 8 October 2014
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 16 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Flux
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[shannonmiz]

Seriously, this was me for a good hour after I finished this book. Then I developed a theory about the book, but it is riddled with spoilers, so I will save that for the end.

So, our main character is Claire. Claire has a sister named Ella, who she positively adores. Some stuff happens to Ella. Claire ends up in New York, where she ditches school on the regular to do drugs with her loser boyfriend. As per the synopsis (so I am not spoiling anything, you see), Claire goes back to her backwoods, messed up Ohio town of Amble.

There is very little I can say about this book without the spoiler factor. I'll do my best. Also, if you haven't already read it, skip the synopsis in general. I think it is best to go into this one without it. I was tempted not to post it, but that seemed silly.

• I enjoyed the writing. I think Andrea Hannah definitely did a good job with it, and there were some great quotes, I even wrote one down (which I rarely, if ever, do) because I really related to it:

 "Most people seem itchy in their own body, like they can't wait to go home and unzip their skin."

• I felt sorry for Claire. I mean, she just had issues. Sister is a mess, family ships her off to New York. It's a bad scene. But then enter Grant, who is fabulous. Grant is a lovely character. More about him in the spoiler section, for those of you who've read this.



• I was definitely intrigued throughout the book, I wanted to know what was going to happen. I was pretty spot-on with my guesses, but I was still intrigued. There were some points in the book that I didn't feel were wholly necessary. A lot of the time in New York felt a bit like filler time. Yes, we knew Claire wasn't doing well, but I don't think we needed so much detail. And the emphasis on Claire's friendship with Rae in the beginning of the story either should have had more significance, or less focus.



• Obviously, the ending was.... unique. I can't say a thing about it without spoilers. Sorry. I will say this: On one hand, if my theory about what this story is actually about is correct, it is pretty genius, albeit not completely satisfying. Otherwise, it's just weird.



• There were a few errors (like discrepancies in ages, and words missing here and there), which is kind of annoying in a finished copy, but it didn't really bother me too much, especially once I cleared up that the age thing was just a mistake, and not something intrinsic to the story.

Spoiler Section! If you haven't read the book and plan to, kindly divert your eyes. Thank you.

So, after I finished the book, I thought about it. And I have a theory (which I discussed with Holly @ The Fox's Hideaway, and she had concluded similarly): Basically, I think we were perhaps meant to be as confused as Claire was. And perhaps the whole book was highlighting how scary and awful a mental illness can be. Since Claire was one of the most unreliable narrators ever, it makes sense that WE as the reader would never know what happened. Also, I am pretty sure that most of the stuff with Grant wasn't real, which bummed me out. But I do wish we had SOME wrap up. It was way too open for my taste, I needed to know SOMETHING. Like, perhaps she could have told us more after the meds kicked in?

Bottom Line: I don't know. I mean, if the point is what I think it was, then it does make some sense. But otherwise... I am just kind of confused. I will say this: Of Scars and Stardust is incredibly unique, and with characters that I really did care for. Which is probably why I am feeling so unfulfilled.
This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight