Saturday, August 1, 2020

The Sound of Stars

by Alechia Dow 
Ink Yard Press, 2020. 426 pages. Young Adult Fiction. 

This book is set after the invasion of the Ilori, beings made of electricity that want to turn Earth into their next vacation spot. More than 1/3 of earth’s population has been wiped out. Humans are being kept in lock down to preserve their bodies for the True Ilori. They are not allowed to read or listen to music because that makes them “rebellious.” 

Janelle is running a clandestine library, until one of her books goes missing. This could lead to a death sentence. But the Ilori who found it doesn’t turn Janelle in. Instead, he talks to her. 

M0RR1S is a lab made Ilori whose soul existence has been to create a vaccine to subjugate the humans so the True Ilori can take over their bodies. He has been treated as inferior, cast off by his father, and hated by his brother. But then he finds the human’s music, ostensibly to study it. Music makes him feel alive in ways he has never felt before, especially the music of the human called David Bowie. 

Janelle and M0RR1S are immediately drawn to one another, and not just because they both love music and books. M0RR1S soon determines that the humans must be saved, especially Janelle. This determination sends them on a road trip with a bag of books and their favorite albums in a race to save humanity. 

The Sound of Stars has something for everyone. It’s post-apocalyptic, dystopian, SCI FI, and romance. Because the book has so many tropes, some readers may feel like it is a bit derivative.  But, the characters are what really make this book work. And if you are a book lover and/or a music lover you will feel how the words and music intertwine to create almost a multi-media experience for the reader. Each chapter starts with either a book quote, or song lyrics. Each section of the book is based on song from the album that makes Janelle and M0RR1S feel like they are meant to be. 

 I laughed, I cried, I gasped, and I made a playlist. 

 AGP

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