Girl Made of Stars
Who’s the liar? Owen is her twin and they’ve been close growing up but she’s been best friends with Hannah for years, yet now Mara has to decide whose story she believes. She can’t imagine that either of them would lie about the incident but as Mara watches and listens, she’s able to uncover the truth.
Ashley Blake does a fantastic job covering some difficult issues including gender identity and rape. As these topics touch the lives of family, friends and peers, the author shows the reaction and magnitude that they have on the individuals involved.
The night of the party, Mara saw her brother drunk with Hannah. Later that night, someone told Mara that they saw Owen and Hannah together and they seemed fine. Owen claims now that what happened that night, was a misunderstanding and things between Hannah and him weren’t fine that night. Mara’s thoughts were like a swing, as she goes back-and-forth between believing in what her brother says and accepting what Hannah says was the real story.
Her parents believe Owen’s version of the story and they tried to use family pressure to persuade Mara. I liked how serious Mara felt about the situation as things around her began to close in. I liked the character of Alex for he felt as confused as Mara but for different reasons. This was a great novel that I highly recommend if you like to read these types of novels. 4.5 stars
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