Starry Eyes | Review

Summary:

Ever since last year’s homecoming dance, best friends-turned-best enemies Zorie and Lennon have made an art of avoiding each other. It doesn’t hurt that their families are the modern-day Californian version of the Montagues and Capulets.

But when a group camping trip goes south, Zorie and Lennon find themselves stranded in the wilderness. Alone. Together.

What could go wrong?

With no one but each other for company, Zorie and Lennon have no choice but to hash out their issues via witty jabs and insults as they try to make their way to safety. But fighting each other while also fighting off the forces of nature makes getting out of the woods in one piece less and less likely.

And as the two travel deeper into Northern California’s rugged backcountry, secrets and hidden feelings surface. But can Zorie and Lennon’s rekindled connection survive out in the real world? Or was it just a result of the fresh forest air and the magic of the twinkling stars?

Title: Starry Eyes
Author: Jenn Bennett
Publication Date: April 3, 2018
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Review:

I loved, loved, LOVED this book! I was hooked from page one and consistently intrigued throughout the rest

From the beginning of the book on we’re introduced to so many wonderfully developed characters. The book is told through the POV of Zorie, a girl who wears lots of plaid, hopes to become an astrophysicist, and always has to have her life exactly planned out. Zorie is just one example of the beautifully developed and crafted characters in this book.

Something I love about this book is that the characters don’t feel like a regurgitated version of a character I’ve read about a hundred times before. They each have their quirks and interests that Bennett so expertly plugs into the story at just the right times.

I loved getting to know Zorie and Lennon. They have a complicated past and Bennett does a good job of not dumping it all on us at once. She slowly reveals different pieces of their past to the reader throughout the entire book. I was slightly worried that it would feel like she was dragging out the secrets of their past as I clung on, but it didn’t feel like that at all. She gave me just enough information to nibble on and be content before moving on. It was a very well-paced book overall that kept me interested and involved the whole way.

Something that makes this book unique and wonderfully beautiful in my eyes is the family dynamic we experience throughout it. Bennett has a wide variety of characters that are diverse in so many ways. We see Lennon’s lesbian moms that are neighbors to Zorie’s family. Zorie’s family consists of her biological dad and Korean step-mom that loves her just as her biological mom did. And it doesn’t stop here. I found I was consistently surprised by the change in the family dynamics that this book presents.

Along with this, Bennett covers some hard family topics throughout the book, but especially so in the end. She did a flawless job of weaving together these elements of the characters’ lives along with the romance of Zorie and Lennon.

I can’t recommend this book enough! I loved every minute of it!

*There are some mature elements in this book so I would probably recommend it for older teens.

Rating: 5/5

To check out my other reviews, click here. Or to check out more books by Jenn Bennett, go to her GoodReads profile or her website.