Review: Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake (Spoiler-Free)

This was incredible. I was expecting it to be amazing, but I don’t think I was quite prepared for how impactful and important this book is. Girl Made of Stars dares to ask the question that everyone dreads thinking about. How would you handle someone in your family if they raped someone? Could you ever see them the same way? Even if you couldn’t, could you still love them? Would still loving them be wrong? Ashley Herring Blake answers these questions in this masterpiece of a book through the character of Mara as she figures things out. Along with all of the important messages and themes in this book, Blake also created an incredibly likable cast of characters. Alex is my absolute favorite; a great friend and guy overall. He takes absolutely everyone’s feelings into account before performing any actions. He also knows how and when to stand up for what is right. Another beautiful thing about this book is the writing, and the way that the author introduces settings. She is able to describe places by creating a very specific feeling, allowing the reader to reminisce comforting memories. “Hannah lives in a big white house with a huge wraparound porch. It pretty much begs you to drink sweet tea at twilight while your feet dangle off the green-painted bench swing and fireflies flicker through the hazy air.” I was also thoroughly impressed by the emotion that Blake so easily woven into each and every scene. “I smile at him, but my thoughts are with Charlie and Hannah and me earlier today, how there was a sort of beauty in the three of us huddled and crying on Hannah’s bed, holding one another together. A sort of beauty, but also a sort of ugliness because of why we were there, who I was there for. Because of the undoing I felt going on somewhere underneath my skin, like a constellation being split apart.” I also must acknowledge the great LGBTQ+ rep in it!!! The main character is a bi girl who is dating a non binary person who uses she/her pronouns but is still learning more about her gender identity. And now, of course, comes the most important part of this book. The incredible story it tells. The message it sends to powerful girls all around the world. It tells a story that is not perfect or fair because the world is not perfect nor fair. It tells the story, not of a girl made of stars, but of a girl much stronger. One made of flesh and bone. “‘You took her choices from her.’ I go on, ‘her body, power. You took her ability to trust, her ability to be with a guy, maybe for years. And do you see what’s happening? Do you see how strong she’s been at school, despite all that? You’re not going to ruin her. I won’t let you. She won’t let you.’”

Song I was reminded of while reading: Fight Song