I fell in love with the cover of the German edition at first sight. The brown, the white sparkles, and the silver shining of the book title were all it needed to get me hooked. I´ve never read any of the books Amie Kaufman or Meagan Spooner have written before or as individual authors. But after that novel, I am very curious to discover their other work.
These Broken Stars*
by Amie Kaufman & Meagan SpoonerStarbound #1
Publisher Disney Hyperion on December 10, 2013
Genre Children 14+
Pages 384
Format Hardcover
Source Publisher
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It´s a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they´re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.
Story
Lilac and Tarver met for the first time at a party at her father´s spaceliner Icarus when the huge spaceliner is all of the sudden yanked out of Hyperspace. Within minutes their lives are in danger and only the hidden skills of Lilac save them from death. But when they leave the rescue capsule Tarver realizes, that something is terribly wrong. For Lilac starts a nightmare, ´cause she isn´t used to life at the whim and will of nature. So for her and Tarver starts a struggle for survival of the special kind. Wild animals, strange voices, and the bitter truth that obviously no one else, but they have survived.
Style
The novel is written in the first-person narrative from Lilac and Tarver. One chapter its Lilac´s turn, the next Tarver´s. In between is a little glimpse shown into the questioning Tarver has to endure by the military and that shows how annoyed he is by the sometimes stupid questions they have. The author duo uses a clear and simple but very effective language and writes in a profound style. Each word is to the point, creates a wonderful atmosphere and vibe you don´t expect. But don´t expect an action-filled and bloody story in which you are entertained with a lot of effects. No, here rule the undertone. The contrast between the thinking and acting of a male to that of a female brings the tension. Some chapters are short, others longer and with that, the authors build the tension and let the reader guess that there has to be something big at the end.
Characters
Lilac is stubborn, seems, at first sight, cold and arrogant, but her behavior has a reason. Overprotected by her father and her many bodyguards, she lives an actually very lonely life. Every man who is even for a second alone with her in a small space of a room risks his life. She knows how to play by the rules of society, but when it comes to wildlife, she´s helpless. And who could blame her? But give her some wires and an electrical riddle to solve and she´s all focused and knows what she´s doing.
Tarver is in his element when it comes to surviving on a strange planet. The rules of high society are as strange as uncomfortable for him. But he knows how to handle everything and how to act the minute or second he has to bring Lilac to the wreckage of the Icarus. For him, it is quite clear, that if they have a chance to get rescued it is there. So he does everything to keep Lilac alive and to bring himself safe and sound to the place where they saw the Icarus go down.
Conclusion
This novel doesn´t leave anything to be desired. And was not at all what I´ve expected. Instead, it succeeded in the expectations that I had from the summary. Read!
Happy reading
*I read the German edition new release on May 25, 2016, by Carlsen
Amie Kaufman
Amie Kaufman grew up just one block from her local library and took full advantage of that fact. She spent her childhood summers re-creating with her sister their favorite books by camping in the backyard, mapping their neighborhood, climbing trees and kissing the Blarney stone six times, thoroughly cementing her gift of the gab. She graduated with honors degrees in history, literature and law, and a master´s degree in conflict resolution. Today she´s a full-time writer and lives with her husband and her rescue dog in Melbourne, Australia.
Meagan Spooner
Meagan Spooner, born in Washington, D.C. is the New York Times bestselling author of the award-winning Starbound trilogy and the Skylark trilogy. She has traveled all over the world to places like Egypt, Greece, Antarctica, the Galapagos, Chile, the Arctic Circle, and Australia. After graduating with a degree in playwriting from Hamilton College in New York, she spent several years off and on traveling between D.C. and Melbourne, Australia, to write. In her spare time she plays guitar, video games, plays with her cat and reads.
The German cover is nice, but the original cover is stunning! And I agree, the story is amazing. It keeps getting better with each book, too :)
ReplyDeleteGreat review, Vi!
Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews
When I found out about this book I only knew the German cover. But to be honest, I think both are beautiful in their own ways :-) Can´t wait to read the next one *laugh*
DeleteThanks for stopping by.