Title: The Sun is Also a Star
Author: Nicola Yoon
Publisher: Delacorte Press

Teacher review

I was introduced to Nicola Yoon’s previous novel, Everything Everything, by a well-read Year 9 girl, so I already knew my target audience for The Sun is Also a Star. And I was right.

The cover alone will (unfortunately) prevent any boy from reading it - at least in public. But girls, especially fans of quirky love stories with “mislit” undertones, will adore it. This novel ticks all the boxes: embittered older generations of immigrant families, enlightened offspring of aforementioned parents, a love story that is destined to be unsuccessful, culture clashes, fate…

Yoon enables her characters to tell their own stories in one day. But what makes The Sun different and engaging is the way we know the back stories of the people around the main protagonists, from their immediate families to the characters on the periphery. We understand why the security guard at the immigration centre takes so long examining property, and even why the man who knocks down Natasha’s lawyer is drunk that day.

Coincidences and fate are conspiring to bring the young couple together and the universe is working to keep them apart. The short, snappy chapters that let us into the characters’ hearts and brains make this a page-turner. And, like my Year 9 students, I loved it.

Gill Ward is senior librarian at Fortismere School. She tweets as @fortislibbie

Pupil reviews

‘The genre of this novel is romance. I do not like romance’

The genre of this novel is romance. I do not like romance. So, when I read The Sun is Also a Star, I was expecting my reaction to be “eh”. Boy and girl meet, boy and girl fall in love, boy and girl live happily ever after or have their relationship meet a predictable end. Simple.

Except Nicola Yoon surprised me. Not only did she provide interesting characters, but she gave them interesting back stories. The love wasn’t just between Daniel and Natasha, but involved learning to love themselves and opening up their minds to new things. Natasha’s belief in science and fact clashes horribly with Daniel’s hopeless romantic attitude. I was waiting for the two to suddenly both change their minds, come to a perfect compromise and hold hands while walking off into the sunset. Immediately to be followed by me shutting the book with a sigh and an eye roll, of course. Instead I found myself turning the page and reading deeper, as Natasha slowly allowed herself passion and Daniel accepted facts and coincidences as important elements of his idea of Fate. 

Even when the tacky romance overwhelmed me, the writing kept me interested. Daniel and Natasha had their own distinctive voice in their alternating first-person narratives, but the third-person extras were touching in many places, and quite poetic.

These little breaks in the romance were my overall favourite part of the book. In them, the side characters’ lives were revealed to the reader, but not to Natasha and Daniel. Side characters are usually there to aid the story of the protagonists and rarely have a narrative of their own. In The Sun Is Also A Star, Yoon decided to convey the effect of the major characters on the minor characters, as well as the reverse. While I was warming up to Natasha and Daniel’s general cheesiness, this is what kept me reading.

Let me repeat: the genre of this novel is romance. I do not like romance. 

Yet I enjoyed it. It was intriguing, to an extent, and thought-provoking, albeit a bit sentimental for my tastes. I think it’s safe to say that, if I enjoyed it as much as I did, a true romantic’s heart may melt when reading. I recommend The Sun is Also a Star to these romantics and maybe not so much to others like me who tend to steer clear of the genre. Although it was interesting, I most likely won’t be buying a copy for my own shelf. 

Tallulah Knowles, Year 10

‘Unusual, with the perfect amount of coincidence’

The Sun is Also a Star is a unique and interesting book; I enjoyed it.

However, at first, I was unsure about having the story told from different points of view. I thought this would make the book repetitive and confusing, but I quickly became used to the style and enjoyed the changing viewpoints.

The story was well told and unusual, with the perfect amount of coincidence. The way Nicola Yoon combines the individual stories is skilful and each character’s personality is cleverly portrayed. I especially liked Daniel, as I found him to be a funny and charming character who is easy to connect with. I also liked Irene the security guard because, at first, she seems very strange, but when she has a section of her own she is much more like the other characters; her back story made me feel extremely sorry for her.

Unlike many other books, this story was convincing, as many of the coincidences could realistically happen. For example, it’s not love at first sight for Natasha, and many of the small events that led up to the main story could happen (the robbery in the record store). The ending was very neat and tied up, but surprising; it doesn’t need a sequel and it stayed with me for a long time.

Mimi Blake, Year 9

‘How intertwined our lives are with those of other people’

The Sun is Also a Star is an incredible story about the fate of two teenagers.

I fell in love with the characters as soon as I’d read the first few chapters. Natasha is strong, logical and wise, and Daniel is dorky, romantic and hilarious. Throughout the story we get to learn about Natasha and Daniel’s cultures, which I really enjoyed.

I love that the book is written from different perspectives and that we get the opportunity to see just how intertwined our lives are with those of other people. The romance itself developed instantaneously, which I found quite unrealistic. However, the author took time to develop the characters and their story. This is an amazing book and I would definitely recommend everyone to read it!

Ekaterina Polyakova Reed, Year 9

‘Science and dreams being pushed together’

I liked reading this book, because it is about science and dreams being pushed together, with logic and coincidences conflicting in the middle. Natasha has based her life on science and logic, leaving no room for dreams and coincidences, whereas Daniel has dared to dream and think, “What if something different had happened, or what if it hadn’t happened at all?” The difference between him and Natasha is that he believes in fate, whereas she is firmly rooted in thinking that there is a scientific answer to everything.

Reading the story from other characters’ viewpoints gives an insight into the reasons behind their choices, their past and how their actions affect the story. Although I had my doubts about some parts of the story, they were all there for their respective reasons and made sense as the story progressed. A part I really liked was how Natasha dyed her hair pink at the tips to match her headphones, as Daniel said she should, which was how he recognised her on the plane.

I would recommend this book because the plot is unique and the characters and their backgrounds are well-developed.

Jasmine Horncastle, Year 9

If you or your class would like to write a review for TES, please contact Adi Bloom, on adi.bloom@tesglobal.com

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