The Stars and the Blackness Between Them

by Junauda Petrus

A Coretta Scott King Honor Book

Told in two distinct and irresistible voices, Junauda Petrus's bold and lyrical debut is the story of two black girls from very different backgrounds finding love and happiness in a world that seems determined to deny them both.

Port of Spain, Trinidad. Sixteen-year-old Audre is despondent, having just found out she's going to be sent to live in America with her father because her strictly religious mother caught her with her secret girlfriend, the pastor's daughter. Audre's grandmother Queenie (a former dancer who drives a white convertible Cadillac and who has a few secrets of her own) tries to reassure her granddaughter that she won't lose her roots, not even in some place called Minneapolis. "America have dey spirits too, believe me," she tells Audre.

Minneapolis, USA. Sixteen-year-old Mabel is lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to figure out why she feels the way she feels--about her ex Terrell, about her girl Jada and that moment they had in the woods, and about the vague feeling of illness that's plagued her all summer. Mabel's reverie is cut short when her father announces that his best friend and his just-arrived-from-Trinidad daughter are coming for dinner.

Mabel quickly falls hard for Audre and is determined to take care of her as she tries to navigate an American high school. But their romance takes a turn when test results reveal exactly why Mabel has been feeling low-key sick all summer and suddenly it's Audre who is caring for Mabel as she faces a deeply uncertain future.

Junauda Petrus's debut brilliantly captures the distinctly lush and lyrical voices of Mabel and Audre as they conjure a love that is stronger than hatred, prison, and death and as vast as the blackness between the stars.

• ISBN10: 052555548X
• ISBN13: 9780525555483
• Publish Date: 17 September 2019
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Dutton Books for Young Readers
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780525555483

Reviews

[Angie]

YES!
+Audre and Mabel have very distinct and interesting voices. There's no mixing up this dual POV.
+Both girls are black and queer, yet have very different experiences with both. Audre is from Trinidad and was sent to America after her mother catches her with her first girlfriend. Mabel is an American tomboy and questioning her sexuality, but is pretty sure that she's attracted to women. Of course, they fall in love.
+I was not prepared to Mabel to really be sick! The way Audre takes care of her is so sweet.
+Bittersweet ending.

NO!
-I felt like Mabel's dreams and the excerpts from Afua's book were disruptive. They were just there with no commentary. I would have liked more from Mabel during this time.