There Once Were Stars (Dome 1618)

by Melanie McFarlane

[lindsey]

There Once Were Stars is a YA dystopian about Natalia and her life in Dome 1618 as she tries to discover the truth about what she's been told by the government all her life.  The residents of the Dome are not allowed outside due to the radiation, but after falling asleep near the edge of the Dome (approaching the walls of the Dome is also forbidden), she wakes up to find someone on the outside looking in at her.  That should be impossible since the radiation should have killed all of the people outside, and she no longer knows what to believe.

I was intrigued by the blurb, and excited about reading There Once Were Stars, but I ended up struggling through it.  The characters needed a little more development, and the writing was a little choppy, but it had an interesting plot.  Unfortunately, I don't believe I was the target audience for this one.  Admittedly, I'm not a fan of zombies, and I didn't realize before I started reading that this book involves "Infected" people.  If you enjoy YA dystopians with a little sci-fi mixed in, especially those dealing with a zombie-like virus infecting everyone, give it a try.