Hello! I’m finally here to write about my favorite book of last month. **And as always, the work to support the Black community is not done, whether there is media coverage for it or not, so here is the link to click in order to support the Black Lives Matter movement in any way you can, and thank you to StarlahReads for compiling these resources. You can also visit the description of this video by booktuber Jess Owens, which has links to several additional resources about global events.**
As I am struggling to get myself back in order, I get to sit down and talk about my favorite book that I read in November. Last month was actually a really great reading month, and I have to credit that to my participation in the Clear Your Shit Readathon, happening over on Twitter. The goal is to read books you already own in order to get your TBR down, so I picked a physical book from my to-be-read shelf to fit every prompt. I must say I’ve been reading a few gems, but my favorite will have to be awarded to Tarnished are the Stars by Rosiee Thor, a YA debut queer science-fiction novel. We follow three perspectives who must come together to decide to follow their hearts, or go against everything they’ve ever known. I picked this book up for the prompt to read a book with a gorgeous cover, and, I mean, it fits perfectly.
It is the year 2892. Earth as we know it has been destroyed by technology, so the council on the Settlement, led by the Commissioner, has put a ban on all technological advances to prevent further destruction. He has also set out to find the Technician, who works against his tyrannical laws to supply medical technology to those who need it most. Nathaniel, the Commissioner’s son, strives to earn his father’s respect and takes it upon himself to catch the “criminal.” Until he meets Anna, a girl who may be more than meets the eye, and they share one thing in common that he’s never fully understood – an illegal clockwork heart. Things become even more complicated when Eliza, the Queen’s spy and Nathaniel’s bride-to-be, arrives at the Settlement from Earth Adjacent, itching to discover what the Commissioner has been hiding. They will uncover the most dangerous secret of all, and will have to work together to save an entire settlement from a deadly epidemic. **click here to view a full list of content warnings, provided by the author.**
I’m still pretty new to the sci-fi and fantasy genres, and this seems like an intriguing place to start. The concept of illegal clockwork hearts in a world [attempting to be] devoid of technology piqued my interest. I found the switch of narrative kept me engaged (we get to see all three characters perspectives while remaining in third person, which made things easier to follow especially in times of heavy action). And for me the strongest points of this novel were the intertwining internal struggles our main trio face, which have a great impact on their motivations and actions throughout the story. For Anna, she feels like she’s never quite had a family of her own. Her parents were killed, and even though her grandfather raised her, she believes he’s never gone above and beyond to show he cares. When things gets hard, she finds herself running away, and then when confronted by her best friend she realizes that she’s never understood how her actions had truly affected those around her. Nathaniel has conflicting emotions about his father – he is a tyrannical ruler who is contantly talking down and physically abusive, and has kept secrets or lied about the past to constantly keep everyone in the dark about his true motivations. But he’s the only parental figure Nathaniel has ever known, as his mother passed away when he was young, and he specifically went against his own ant-technology declaration to save his son (although he didn’t inform Nathaniel about how to maintain his clockwork heart, which could have caused it to stop working prematurely). Eliza is put into a situation where her heart is torn – she’s strived to be seen in good standing with the Queen, and has obeyed every order (even those to harm her first love) to make it happen, and wants to follow her orders and report back all she knows, but Nathaniel and Anna make her truly feel like a part of something important, something greater than even the Queen’s mission. She also feels hers attraction to Anna, against all odds (I mean, their first encounter is a legitimate knife fight), and wants to be able to give in, but doesn’t know if her love can be worthy of reciprocation.
Now, I am always looking for more books that offer the asexual representation that deserves to be seen throughout YA and adult fiction. Nathaniel and Eliza have been arranged to be married as part of a political agreement between the Queen and the Commissioner. But when Eliza arrives, and Nathaniel notices her attraction towards Anna, he starts to realize he never thought about Eliza in that way. In fact, he’s never thought about anyone in that way. When conversing with Eliza about how he feels, she mentions the terms “asexual” and “aromantic” – how people can be one, both, or neither, and how they are just labels and words he can use if he wants to, but there is no pressure to use them. Nathaniel knows himself and his feelings better than anyone else, and only he should decide how he wants to show it. Their conversation brought me to near tears because it can be incredibly hard to see other people express themselves so freely, and to be so unsure about how you feel yourself, but there is no time limit to figure things out, and there is no “right” way on how you choose to label your feelings. Labels aren’t mentioned after that conversation, so I am not sure if Nathaniel will use those words for himself explicitly, but I am proud of him for learning it’s ok to be different, and love differently – it does not make you broken.
It wasn’t a perfect book by any means, and even though it was my favorite of the month I did have a few issues with it. I wish we could’ve delved into how exactly the TICCERs work to help the heart keep beating. I hoped there would be more explanation with Anna’s grandfather, especially when he was mistakenly captured in place of her. I found the ending a bit rushed, and hoped Nathaniel could have gotten more of an explanation from his father. I’m happy this book is a standalone – typically I like when things wrap up nicely after one book – but here I wish there was more in this universe so the author could have spent more time building the world into something even more incredible. I would say more, but that would be going into spoiler territory.
Still, with all it’s flaws, I can see myself going back to reread Tarnished are the Stars and falling even more in love with this trio of characters. I can’t wait to see Rosiee Thor has in store for her readers in the future (I believe her next release is another queer YA story – a fantasy with Jazz Age spark, please count me in). I found this book to be an excellent introduction to the sci-fi genre, so anyone who’s itching for a story about queer characters coming together for the greater good and trying to save the world, I highly recommend picking this up. I bought my copy using Bookshop and it helped On the Side Books who sent me an adorable thank you card, so please go check out their site! I hope to see more people talking about Tarnished are the Stars, and if you do pick it up I hope you enjoy it just as much as I did!
Places to find Tarnished are the Stars:
Bookshop
Amazon
Goodreads
Rosiee Thor’s site
Scholastic
Thoughts About Things 