African American Literature Book Review: The Sun in Also a Star

 

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Yoon, Nicola. The Sun Is Also a Star. 2016. Toronto, Delacorte Press, 2019.

 

PLOT SUMMARY:

This novel is about two young people falling in love, but it is so much more than that. You follow them as they experience life through an immigrant lens. Their experiences with their parents are different based on cultural aspects.  You follow Natasha through her immigration journey to gain legal citizenship. And you follow Daniel through the struggle to make his parents proud but to also pursue his passions. It is interesting to watch these two unique people as they seek a fleeting relationship. It shows that life isn’t easy, and we all want to have our happy story, but it doesn’t always work out.

 

CRITICAL REVIEW:

This book displays a true and authentic experience of these characters. There are specific languages and dialects that are used. They include details of specific music like Bob Marley. The author uses specific details about the characters’ life, surroundings and experiences which paint a vivid picture, and you feel like you are there with them. This is such a culturally specific story. Natasha is Jamaican and Daniel is Korean. You experience cultural pressures on Daniel to become a doctor, which he is against. But Natasha on the other hand just wants to be able to stay in the US legally. This book reminds us that even with major differences in our lives, we can connect.

 

AWARDS:

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Named one of the best young adult novels of 2016 by Chicago Public Library, Kirkus  Los Angeles Public Library, New York Public Library, Publishers Weekly

ALA Top 10 Books

Made into a film by Warner Brothers Studios

 

CONNECTIONS:

This book would be a shining example of the struggle of immigrants. This is an important topic but highly unaddressed.

 

Book Review by Barbara Jean Thompson