‘And the Stars were Burning Brightly’ was a very though provoking ready, it covered so many important aspects of life. It is an essential read for the current day!

The subject matter makes this book hard to read but it is worth it.

The book feels real and genuine and as a result, it was an emotional rollercoaster and I love it when books elicit real feelings when I’m reading them.

Just finished reading @DanielleJawando's 2020 debut #BurnBright & it reminded me of one of my fave of 2019 - @YasminwithanE's All the Things We Never Said #FindYourVoice @HotKeyBooks - Included it last year before it properly existed, it lived up to expectations. Both v powerful

I didn't include @DanielleJawando's The Stars Were Burning Brightly in my #BlackHistoryMonth thread coz I didn't have it, but I've now d/loaded it to read this #AntiBullyingWeek (thanks @hashtagreads #netgalley) so can include it here! #UKYA #BurnBright
https://t.co/MGBEIicHvk https://t.co/J4MihtTifk

This book holds such an important message and should be made an essential part of senior school reading. Most people have experienced some sort of bullying in their life, some more than others. What this story does is raises awareness and perhaps those that bully may think twice about it.

This is a masterpiece. Elegantly written. I will be buying a copy to put away for when my young children are old enough to understand.

Thank you for my early copy.

The book starts with Nathan rejecting a phone call from his brother who was distracting him at the time, but returning home to discover his elder brother hanging by his school tie, and Nathan unable to save him. Nathan is convinced Al had wanted to tell him something, and picking up a drawing by Al, he knows it is significant.
Although he knew Al had plans for his future, Nathan discovers he knows little about his brother’s life inspite of living in the same house. He doesn’t know why Al and his best friend had fallen out and he didn’t know about Megan until after Al’s death.
Megan shared art class with Al and had kept her friendship with him quiet as she knew her best friend would not approve. But now Megan was seeing for what it was the toxic vibes and words coming from her friend and was determined to help show off Al’s artistic talent to everyone who had not appreciated it previously.
Both young people blame themselves for not noticing Al was unhappy. Yet they did not know the full story. This eventually comes out after a lot of fights because of Nathan’s anger. Violence, threats and bullying also play their parts in events leading up to Al’s suicide. This is the life of many young people struggling to find their place in today’s online world. It is horrific, yet so difficult to stop. The reader can see this happening in real life and I just wanted to shout at everyone to STOP.
All emotions are brilliantly conveyed and all characters so realistic, whether that is the young adults, or Al and Nathan’s Mother grieving for her son. This is a gritty read, but certainly a title many young people need to read to see all sides.

This was a brilliant depiction of mental health. It was heartbreakingly good--it took difficult themes and made it accessible to every reader. The stories are intertwined beautifully, and in the desperation of not wanting to give away spoilers, I will say that you will be giving away a part of yourself when reading this book.

Beautiful.
Set against a backdrop that many find less than pleasant, this story covers so many emotional highs and lows...and forces us to confront some pretty unpalatable truths about people.
Our main focus is Nathan, the younger brother of Al. Al was a straight A-grade student who killed himself. Nathan found him. Nathan is also having to come to terms with the guilt he feels over ignoring a call from his brother on the night he hung himself.
Alongside Nathan we have Megan, a friend of Al that few people knew about. They shared an Art class. They were close, but Megan didn’t feel able to go against her ‘cool’ friends and show Al that their friendship was important to her.
There’s no doubt this story just as I’ve recounted it would have made for a tough read. However, as Megan and Nathan become friends and start to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding Al’s last moments things move up a gear.
This book made me sad, so sad. It made me angry, unbelievably angry. But it also filled me with hope.
Thank you so much to Danielle Jawando for using her own personal situation to bring to life such a compelling read, and to NetGalley for letting me read it prior to publication.

And The Stars Were Burning Brightly is a powerful book about grief. It follows Nate, who is determined to find the reason for his brother Al's suicide. He's convinced that finding answers to all his questions is going to help him deal with his grief. The other main character in the novel is Megan, who is also dealing with grief after Al - her friend's - suicide. Convinced that she didn't do enough to appreciate Al while he was alive, Megan is determined to be a better friend to him now, and to keep his memory alive through the passion for art that they both shared.

Driven by Jawando's knack for voice-y prose and authentic dialogue, this novel is a timely and important look at cyber-bullying, mental health, coping with grief, and toxic friendships. Jawando does a brilliant job of balancing all of these themes with authentic characters who are easy to root for, and a plot that tugs at your heartstrings even as it keeps you turning the pages to find out the truth about what happened to Al.

3.5 stars
A touching, heartbreaking story about the nightmare that adolescence can be. This could not have been an easy book to write, particularly given the author’s own history. The story is told through the perspective of Nate, the dead boy’s brother, and Megan, his friend. What I loved were the tight, loving family that Nate lived in; equally, the storyline with the bullies was horrific. Jawando has captured the toxic world of social media-fuelled teen existence absolutely right. The only time I had to suspend disbelief was the fact that everything was on social media, yet the perpetrators thought they were safe as long as no one grassed.

The book starts off slow, and the twin perspectives are sometimes difficult to switch between, but it really picked up about half way through.

(Review copy from NetGalley)

I’d forgotten how big everything seems as a teenager - and how big everything is. I was never seriously bullied - but the internet has made this so much bigger / worse than it was before. This book is heartbreaking, hopeful, important and timely. Be kind.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this novel!

This novel was one of my most anticipated reads for 2020 and man did it deliver. And the Stars were Burning Brightly is a book about Nathan and Meg who have to deal with the aftermath of Al's death. And while the plot may sound simple, it is anything but. The story is eloquently written and with so much heart. The characters are at the front of this story and every scene carries its weight. From a writer's perspective, this was just so amazingly written.

I think this story will definitely open a lot of eyes and I think this needs to be read by every young person. Al's story is not only important but something that happens to a lot of people. This book made me so angry and sad but I'm so happy that I read it because it just further reinstates the notion that books like this one need to exist.

I will say that this book can be difficult/triggering to read for some people so I would be careful if you are sensitive or in a bad place.

#BurnBright

Heartbreaking read - I really enjoyed the 2 perspectives, you really gets beautiful view of Al and the effect his death has brought on his friend and family. As the story went on, I couldn't put it down. I needed to know how this ended and I honestly was in tears when the reason comes out; simply devastating. Really brought home to me the effects bullying can have on a person, but also how cruel people can be. Beautifully written, haunting story - this one will stay with me for a long time. Thank you.

Oh what a beautiful, heartbreaking novel this was, every layer of it hugely authentic and genuinely devastating.

Nate has lost his brother to suicide- through the grief, anger and self blame he starts to dig into Al’s life in the hope of finding answers. Through this quest he meets Megan, mourning not only loss of life but the loss of chances- together, maybe, they’ll find a way to move on.

This was beautifully written, Nathans voice is quirky, honest and strong, taking the reader into his heart and into the heart of his lost brother. As the reality of Al’s struggle emerges it is horrifically sad and massively thought provoking, making you wish so many things about our world were different.

Ultimately though, Danielle Jawando manages to make this uplifting and hopeful – a story of loss and love and finding your place in a life now off kilter – where possibilities like the stars, burn brightly.

Simply wonderful. Highly Recommended.