The Promise of Stardust

by Priscille Sibley

[Leah]

When I was first browsing Edelweiss, one book that stood out to me was The Promise of Stardust. It sounded like the kind of novel Jodi Picoult would write and I desperately wanted to read it so I requested it and I was absolutely thrilled to be accepted by the publisher to read and review it. I waited a little while to read it, as I was accepted to read it in October but knew it wasn’t out until January and that I would wait to post my review until the book was released, or near to release. However, with all my other e-books read, I was having a browse of all the first pages and as soon as I read the first page of The Promise of Stardust, I was hooked and I had to read it, right then. I needed to read it, needed to finish it, and I knew right from the off that I would love it.

The first chapter of The Promise of Stardust really blew me away. It got straight to the point; some novels meander along for a while before they get to the crux of the story, but Stardust began with a bang. Elle and Matt Beaulieu have known each other forever, since childbirth, and were even childhood sweethearts. However, after a major life event, they drifted apart as a couple, although they always remained friends. Eventually, they realised their feelings for each other had never dissipated and that they were soulmates, and they married each other, knowing they had found their happy ever after, and even began trying for a baby, even though Elle suffered numerous miscarriages. Their happy life together is destroyed, though, when on day, Elle falls off a ladder at her brother’s house, and cracks her head open, leaving her braind dead. Matt knows that Elle wouldn’t want to be kept alive by a machine – after seeing her mother die this way, Elle always knew she didn’t want to be treated like that, but when Matt learns Elle is pregnant, everything changes and he has to go against Elle’s wishes in a bid to try and save their baby. His mother, however, is dead set against it, knowing Elle wouldn’t want that and they end up in a bitter legal battle, as Matt’s mum tries to get Elle’s life support turned off.

The Promise of Stardust is an epic novel. I was drawn in from the first page and the novel never let me go. It features the kind of moral dilemma Jodi Picoult will be jealous of, wishing she’d thought of it first, and she should be jealous because Priscille Sibley is an immense writer. The heart wrenches as you read the novel because you can see both sides. Yes, you want Matt to win so his baby survives, but on the other hand, Elle never wanted to be kept alive that way, and you can see the conflicting arguments, you can understand why Matt’s mum wants to respect Elle’s wishes. But, on the other hand, how can you justify killing Elle when it would also kill her unborn baby? It’s inconceivable and even though I could see both sides, I was on Matt’s side from the off, and I wanted him to prevail.

The novel is told from Matt’s perspective, in the present day, counting the days after Elle’s accident, however there are flashbacks that allow us to see Matt and Elle’s story. Not just the present part, but their entire life together. From childhood sweethearts, to falling apart, to not speaking, to being friends and to, finally, realising their love for each other and marrying. They go through so, so much that their bond is undeniable. You can’t believe that they would ever have been apart, or with anyone else. They have so much death around them, yet they were such bright lights to each other, that’s testament to their upbringings, and their bond together. Priscille Sibley has written one of the most heart-wrenching novels I have ever read. It’s so beautiful, so multi-layered, with so many twists and turns, and revelations. Just when you think you have Matt and Elle’s relationship down to a T, something occurs which you never expected. It has such heart and soul. It is magnificent, and I adored every page. Jodi Picoult should be shaking in her boots, because there’s a new author on the block and her name is Priscille Sibley. The Promise of Stardust is a triumph, I just utterly adored it. I could not recommend this novel more.