Swimming in a Sea of Stars by Julie Wright

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Realistic YA fiction at its best!
Addison tried to end her life and now she’s heading back to high school. This is giving her anxiety about how she’ll be received at school and how she’s going to make it through the day. When she arrives at school, she sees another student dealing with family problems. This helps Addison see outside herself and realizes she is in a position to help someone else. Hopefully the rest of her day will help Addison heal and regain hope.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the writing because of the emotional intelligence, wisdom and humor. The author connected the characters’ lives smoothly. The story and characters are inspiring.
Mature content: PG for mention of suicide.
Language: G for 0 swears and 0 f-words.
Violence: PG for mention of abuse.
Ethnicity: mixed.

When the Stars Lead to You by Ronni Davis

Posted on by lynndellwatson

When the Stars Lead to You by Ronni Davis tells a beautiful love story alongside a fight against depression.
Thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown for the opportunity to read and review this book!
Devon meets Ashton and they hit it off immediately. They enjoy each other’s company so much that they don’t really want to spend time with anyone else. Devon notices that Ashton’s mind drifts away sometimes but it’s nothing that he talks about. On their last summer day together, Ashton doesn’t show up and he never answers any of Devon’s texts. A year later and on the first day of school, a new student sits by her in the school assembly audience. When she turns to see who it is, it’s Ashton. They don’t take the time to talk about things until they end up volunteering at a pet shelter all day. Ashton takes Devon to eat and then to his house to talk privately since his parents are away. He tells Devon that his parents expect him to be with an all-white descendant girl and won’t allow him to date her because she’s Black/Irish. Ashton takes things into his own hands and Devon discovers how much stress and pressure he’s dealing with. As they build their relationship, they both expand on who they are. This book has such an eye-opening story about depression and how it can be debilitating. It creates empathy for anyone dealing with depression and the people who love them. 5 stars for a beautiful love story that’s full of reality!