What an incredibly moving novel. Al commits suicide leaving behind a bewildered family, including his brother Nate, who sets out to try to understand why. We hear from both boys, and the story is truly heartbreaking at times as it delves into social media bullying, never being free of it, constantly harassed wherever you are. A timely story that will stay with me.

This book really deserves 2 separate reviews; one of the story itself and one of the profound effect the background to the story will have on the reader.

Al commits suicide and no-one knows why but he leaves behind a devastated family of whom his brother Nate is determined to find out the truth.
Written mainly from the perspective of Nate but with paragraphs from Al at the beginning of each chapter he book delves deep into both the feelings of Al and also those he left behind. As the truth reveals itself the full horror of "social" media bullying is brought to the forefront
Bullies have always existed but at least in my day they could only bully you in person...the advent of a myriad of ways to target young people via the use of media is horrifying as are the consequences.
The story itself is so well written. It captures the voice and experience of the teenagers involved and brings each and every character to life. The well known pressures faced by teens on how to look, how to behave, what to think and who to be friends with are all captured across the characters with plenty of posturing hiding the real emotions of the girls in particular.
The background to the story is heartbreaking. Bullying by social media is an extremely distressing concept for any parent as it is so completely out of any control they may have in terms of getting things removed from sites and the heavy reliance of young people on the varying platforms to maintain their own presence and status is frightening.
The author is extremely brave in revealing that the book is written from personal experience and I hope that reading it will change the viewpoint of teenagers on all sides of the social divides and make them think a little harder about what they do, share and comment on.

Moving and told with a real sense of how the bullied child would feel. The fact that some children, particularly males, feel they shouldn’t cry or show weakness was well put across as untrue and is a stereotype which needs addressing.
The book made me feel that we need to do more for our children and their mental health. To be aware and look for signs of suffering and depression. It’s too easy just to blame social media and sit back and do nothing.
This is a book with a real message.

One of the most powerful books I’ve read in a long time. I know Wythenshawe well and could empathise with the characters. I will be buying a copy of this and adding it to my PSHE reading list. A must read for young people and also their parents or those who work with them. A skilfully crafted and thought-provoking novel.

Brilliant and heartbreaking. This is a thought provoking read which will stay with me for a long time. It is not just for young adults. Adults should read it as well. The story talks about the feelings connected with suicide sympathetically and with empathy. Al’s story is told alongside the story of those who are grieving and also the story of those who bullied Al. The bullying is hard to read about as some of it is horrific.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I don't usually read YA, but saw this on #netgalley and thought it sounded great - and it was!

I appreciated the fact that it was set in the UK (and in Manchester, not London) as most YA books that I have read are American (John Green and Angie Thomas). I was a little bit annoyed with 'wot' etc to start with, but was soon able to ignore it.

I found this book relatable, touching and engrossing. I really wanted to find out what had happened to Al, and whilst there were hints about the actual incidents and bullying, I didn't really work out the full story until the end.

Highly recommended.

I don't know what to say about this book. Raw, upsetting and I really lived the whole episodes along with the characters. Nathan needs to find answers to his brother's death and won't rest until he does.
I had to dry my tears before being in a position to write this review.

If you're in the mood for a light and easy read, this definitely isn't it. It so much more.

Al is an incredibly talented artist, he's special, an amazing brother and has so much life ahead of him. Nate (Nathan) struggles to come to terms with the fact Al has commited suicide. Grief, anger and blame consume him and he is obsessed with finding out what drove Al's decision.

The book is written how a 15-year-old boy would speak, which adds to the story. It's heart wrenching and the more you get to know the characters, the more painful it is that Al is robbed of so many chances. It's painful at times to read, because whilst this is a work of fiction, for so many this is real and as are the consequences of this.

I love that the main characters are characters of colour and the realism of the story. Nathan and Megan go through so much trying to find the reasons that resulted in Al's suicide. It was refreshing that it was told through two different perspectives and added to the story seamlessly. It showed the true realities of bullying and the impact it can have on a person and those around them. Friends are shown to be not all they seem.

On an unrelated note, the author's note at the end of the book made me cry.

If you're in the right headspace to read this then please do. It's worth reading.

Will also publish to Amazon and my blog on release date.

Do you ever read something and sort of hate it because it makes you so incredibly sad but also incredibly angry at the same time? Well that was And the Stars Were Burning Brightly for me.

The book opens a couple of days after Nate’s brother, Al, has committed suicide. The story alternates between Nate’s POV and Megan’s, Al’s friend. Both of them want to find out why Al decided to kill himself, Nate retracing his footsteps, and Megan wanting to memorialise Al.

First things first, this book near about made me cry multiple times. In fact, the first time I picked it up, I couldn’t read past chapter 1 because it was making me cry. A lesson for us all: do not read this book in public. There are stretches where you think, okay, I can do this dry-eyed, and then all of a sudden it hits you again, and you’re bawling. Which should definitely have been evident from the blurb, but there are books that make you vaguely sad about it, and then there are books that have you crying like a baby. This falls comfortably into the latter category.

But to make you cry so much, you have to have the right characters, and boy are these characters excellent. It took me about two chapters for me to be fully invested in them (and also crying over them, as previously discussed). I spend about 90% of the book wanting to hug them. I mean, obviously except the ones who you’re supposed to like less. They made me too angry for hugging. But if books are supposed to make you feel things (and not just frustration when they’re not great), then this book does just that.

I sort of don’t have anything more to say about this book (except. Tears), but if you read any single UKYA book this year, let it be this one.

This is an amazing book, the story is heartbreaking, hopeful and enlightening but there was a part of me, as a mum and grandma with experience of what school life and school friends can do, that didn't want to read it. I knew however that I needed to; if the author can be strong enough and brave enough to relive her own childhood and write such an thought provoking book the least I can do is see things through someone else's eyes and try to understand even a little of their pain.

Al was an artist, he loved the astrological world, the stars above fascinated him, and with university his next big step he had everything to live for so why did he kill himself?

Nathan thought his brother had it all; he was clever, talented, he knew stuff, but now he's gone and all that's left are endless questions and an anger so deep and strong he has no idea how to deal with it. Then he meets Megan who was in Al's art class and there is an instant connection as they try to help each other come to some sort of acceptance of what has happened, something he can't even begin to contemplate doing with his shattered family.

In a world which has become a secretive, vindictive place, if you don't fit perfectly your life can become a nightmare for no apparent reason. My daughter was 'different' which apparently gave her peers the right to threaten her, leave death threats on her desk, to step back and watch as she waited anxiously for it to all start up again. Thankfully she didn't have the scourge of social media to add to the pressures she experienced; the sites Al had to deal with were in their infancy or didn't exist. The rules hadn't changed, the bullying wasn't the 24/7 global phenomenon it is now and vitally she told me about it.

I read this with a horror and ache in my heart for those who, for no realistic reason, will suffer as Al did, who will be unable to lighten the load they have been forced to carry by talking, who know even though they have friends the mob mentality will always win out for self preservation if nothing else.

This book should be available to all secondary school pupils and staff, it should be discussed, considered and referred to, if it prevents one student becoming Al then that is a definite plus. Parents and grandparents might also gain an insight into the pressures our youngsters are under, might be able to spot the small things that might precede the big things and step in before it's too late.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to everyone everywhere who has anything to do with children, for them it should be required reading.

This is a very powerful book which I found quite disturbing. It deals with the power of social media and the internet on our actions and the impact it has on the ‘victim’. It makes you question why you do things and how far you will go to not stand out or up for what is right. It made me as an adult think and I hope it might make it’s younger audience think about the impact of social media on their actions and thinking.

A frightening book in some ways but obviously from the author’s experience realistic. It makes me glad I am not growing up in the current toxic environment.

I will not be able to put it on my library shelves because of the language - it fits the story but is too strong for my readers. A pity as it is an important book.

A YA novel set in Wythenshawe in Manchester, it tells the story of Al and Nate and Megan, and what happens when Al kills himself after a campaign of vicious bullying at his school. That's not a spoiler, by the way. This isn't about the moment of Al's death, but about his life, and his relationships. It's about what happens when something makes a life go so badly wrong that there seems to be no way out. I went through a period of being bullied at school, and I can only imagine how much worse that would have been with social media. And The Stars paints a dark vision of life today as faced by a young person. At times there's a touch of Lord of the Flies about it. But there's hope as well, and love. A difficult read, but who said books should be easy?

A heartbreaking read, but also manages to be uplifting and full of hope. A very emotional read, beautifully written, deals with loss and love in such sensitive and well handled way. A must read and much needed book, not just for YA but all readers. Highly recommended

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Oh what a beautiful, sad, moving piece of writing.
It covers a difficult subject that is so important to understand, the damage that bullying can cause is immense, the suffering horrific.
This book will make you cry and make you angry but it will also fill you with hope for all the love that does exist.
It should be read by all school children.

I thought this was a hard read but a necessary and brilliantly written story. I very much appreciated the author's letter at the beginning and the end, and the links included at the back of the book. Crucially important to talk more about mental health, especially young male mental health, and suicide prevention. This author is such a talent and this is a very special book.

I cried solidly through the last half of this book. It's such a powerful and important book that all teenagers should read to highlight the dangers of bullying. It will be recommending it to all the students I teach.

Wow, this was quite an intense read. I had trouble getting into it at first but after the first 50 pages, it became very had to put down. Suicide and bullying are very heavy subjects in this book. It's hard to believe things like this actually happen, that someone can do something like that to another person. I definitely recommend reading this one. In fact, I feel like this should be required reading in high shool.

It took me a while to work up the emotional courage to read this book and it was every bit as devastating as I thought it would be, but it was also incredibly beautiful.
It deals unflinchingly with grief, suicide, bullying and guilt. It forces us to look at ourselves and admit that we have all been guilty of ignoring things we knew were wrong. It reminds us how powerful and hurtful words can be, and how fragile our mental wellbeing really is when faced with trauma.
Yet somehow, despite this incredibly heavy subject matter, Jawando still manages to retain messages of hope, redemption and fresh starts.
Nathan reminded me of so many boys I teach, who have never learned to handle their emotions in a healthy way and so resort to anger and self-blame. I think this book would be invaluable for them, in fact I think a book like this might well be the difference between someone seeking help and someone cracking under the pressure.
Megan also felt incredibly real and provided a wonderful example of positive mental care. I loved her growth throughout the text.
I think this book is important. Read it.

This is one of the few UKYA books I've read recently. Therefore, it felt really refreshing to read something set in the UK that felt very realistic. I loved how this book portrayed UK teenagers because it just felt so perfect. Overall, this book was absolutely amazing. It was equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful. It's been a while since I read a book focused on suicide but this is already one of my favourites on the topic. Most books that deal with this subject matter are based on placing the blame on certain people but this book dealt with how there are so many things that can add up and lead to someone ending their life. The bullying in this book made me so mad and angry but it actually happens to people. Reading the author's note and knowing that she faced similar issues as a teen, makes the book even more heartbreaking. I can't wait for this book to come out because I think it has the potential to change someone's life.

Based on how many books I read a year, I’d say I’ve probably read more than 1000 books in my lifetime. A lot of books, right?

Less than 10 of those books have made me cry and it’s been a while since my last bookish weep. That was, until I read And The Stars Were Burning Brightly, a beautifully moving exploration of grief from debut YA author Danielle Jawando.

I was lucky enough to hear Danielle talk about the book at Simon & Schuster’s #BigBookBrunch in December, and between the power of her writing and the heart-wrenching personal story behind the book, I immediately knew it was something I needed to read.

As mentioned in the author’s note, the book is inspired by events in Danielle’s own life, where she was bullied relentless throughout high school, culminating in a website being created and shared around her school year that was specifically designed to target her. This led to Danielle attempting suicide. Thankfully, she survived, and has channelled her own experiences into the book in the hopes that it might help someone else in a similar situation.

The book follows Nathan, a 15-year-old boy in Wythenshawe near Manchester, one of Europe’s largest council estates, as he recovers from his older brother, Al, committing suicide. Nathan was the one to find his brother, alongside a drawing of Al surrounded by faceless figures adorned only with the words ‘help me.’ Determined to find out what happened to his brother at all costs, Nathan retraces Al’s last steps and connects with Megan, Al’s closest friend, to try and get to the bottom of it.

Megan, however, is still struggling with the grief of losing her Father in a freak car accident, and losing Al brings her worst difficulties back to life. She’s also facing crisis point with her best friend, Tara, who she has known her whole life but who is starting to become a more manipulative and cruel influence on her life. Megan’s deepest source of shame comes from her relationship with Al – she felt like the time she spent with him was her only safe space, but she refused to acknowledge their friendship outside of their art classroom, even stepping aside as her friends bullied Al on several occasions.

Both characters are incredibly likeable, despite their flaws, and watching their individually journeys and the development of their relationships, is a joy, if painful at times. I found myself rooting for them the entire way through, even when I disagreed with their actions, and it’s a cathartic experience to watch them grow through the novel.

Each chapter opens with a short paragraph from Al, addressed at either Nathan or Megan, and this serves to really bring his character to life. Though he’s passed away before the book even begins, he feels like a fully fledged character and this only amplifies the sadness I felt at his loss.

The plot is well paced, nicely scattering character development and plot revelations to keep it moving along without ever feeling rushed or slow. It’s unflinching but searing in it’s portrayal of bullying, and to a large extent feels like it could be non-fiction, which is horrifying but also a rallying call to arms for all readers. I think it’s the kind of book that could really help some readers who might be struggling with similar situations of their own.

Overall, this is a fantastic addition to contemporary British YA from a very promising voice in the genre. It combines an honest look at bullying with a working class setting that just isn’t portrayed in fiction that often, and tugs at the heartstrings in its sheer sincerity and heart. I would definitely advise caution for some readers as it tackles heavily themes of bullying and suicide, but I would wholeheartedly recommend!