Overview
What the Stars Didn’t Show Us (194pg) is a young adult contemporary romance following the meeting and love story of Hialeah and Hyunsuk and the issues that constantly pop up every step of the way.
Rating and Review
I gave this book 2 out of 5 stars.
Having previously read another book by this author (Tears in the Water), I expected better. Instead, I found this difficult (painful) to read and was incredibly relieved when it was over.
Based on the blurb and grouping of this book, I was expecting the plot to follow them as they become closer, but it wasn’t like that at all. In fact, they got together quite early after just a few interactions. After this, most of the book is filled with minor incidents that result in all of the characters overreacting for a few pages, which are then suddenly resolved, usually because someone stopped long enough to actually listen or think. It failed to follow any semblance of a plot, instead jumping between different events that rarely got enough of a chance to fully form before moving on.
Hialeah is described as enthusiastic, happy, and friendly. There are multiple instances throughout the book where she gets upset because she’s worried she did something wrong or pushed someone, and the other person ends up apologising and reassuring her. But the thing is, she did do something wrong. They’re apologising to her despite her being in the wrong. She’s pushy, demanding, and spends a lot of her page time harassing people and forcing her way into their problems. Several times she is told to mind her own business, and then when she ignores that, they end up apologising to her despite her obscene lack of boundaries and respect.
Hyunsuk on the other hand is made out to be a loner because he wants to keep people safe from his brother, except that his brother isn’t the only problem. He also has a habit of lashing out at people. Sure, he’s been raised in a hostile environment and he’s not as awful as his brother, but he’s still not a great person. This is something he has admitted to himself, only to be brushed off and reassured that he’s not the problem. Fun fact: both can be true. Hyunwoo is an awful person, but Hyunsuk isn’t perfect.
There’s a huge chunk of the book that relies heavily on telling us how a character is feeling. Emotions are rarely shown or described and instead are often written as “she looked up, confusedly” (embarrassedly, understandingly, worriedly). This really takes away from the effect the book has on the reader and doesn’t allow as much of a connection. We’re not getting anything from it, it’s just words on a page.
Finally, we have the point-of-view inconsistencies. A regular feature of this book is the sudden switch from following one character to another. Not just between chapters, but often in the middle of a page, completely without warning. This would be fine if there was a break between paragraphs or some kind of indication, but there isn’t. Instead, we’re repeatedly being assaulted with this jarring format that, again, takes away from the book and lowers the impact of what we’re reading and processing because instead of simply following the plot, we have to keep readjusting and trying to figure out who we’re following.
Content warnings
- harassment
- emotional abuse
- parental neglect
- sexual harassment (non-consensual/forced kissing)
Who I’d recommend this to
If you’re into a soft romance with recurring obstacles, simple writing, a few queer side characters, an all-around happy ending, and a book that feels like it could almost break up into short stories, this might suit you.