A Wilderness of Stars

A Wilderness of Stars

Shea Ernshaw

Simon & Schuster BFYR, 2022, 391 pages, YA Fantasy.

An illness cursing the land forces seventeen-year-old Vega, the Last Astronomer, to venture across the wilderness to discover the stars message that will save her people.

I picked up this book because I’ve been in love with the night sky since I knew the stars had names, and was excited to see that the main character of this story was going to be an astronomer. While there unfortunately didn’t seem to be as much astronomy to this book as I had hoped, I still found it a very interesting read. Think ‘Fahrenheit 451’ or ‘The Giver’, but with a female protagonist and with lyrical and colorful prose juxtaposed against a gray and dying world. I also found the sickness that the characters were facing very poignant, given the pandemic our own world has faced over the past few years. While it’s not the type of book I typically read, the more I got more interested in the world and characters the faster the pages flew by. I would recommend this to readers who like dystopian fiction or thought-provoking conclusions.

If you liked A Wilderness of Stars, you may also enjoy:

The Luminaries

Susan Dennard

TorTeen, 2022, 294 pages, YA Fantasy.

Winnie Wednesday, an outcast from the Luminaries, is determined to restore her family's good name by taking the deadly hunter trials on her sixteenth birthday, but when she turns to her former best friend Jay Friday for help, they discover a danger lurking in the forest no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for.

The Poison Season

Mara Rutherford

Inkyard Press, 2022, 390 pages, YA Fantasy.

Leelo has spent her entire life on Endla, coexisting with the bloodthirsty Forest and respecting the poisonous lake that protects her island from outsiders who seek to destroy it. But as much as Leelo cares for her community, she struggles to accept that her younger brother will be exiled by his next birthday, unless he gains the magic of enchanted song so vital to Endla. When Leelo sees a young outsider on the verge of drowning in the lake, she knows exactly what she's supposed to do. But in a moment that will change everything, Leelo betrays her family, her best friend, and Endla by making an unthinkable choice. Discovery could lead to devastating consequences for both Leelo and the outsider, Jaren, but as they grow closer, Leelo realizes that not all danger comes from beyond the lake--and they can only survive if Leelo is willing to question the very fabric of her society, her people, and herself.

ERB