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The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon

"What I thought was going to be an overly done teenage romance ended up being a surprisingly genuine and frankly powerful story about connection, fate and, yes, love. Natasha and Daniel's whirlwind day of coincidences and fate in NYC had its moments of laughably teenage melodrama but overall, Yoon's written a remarkable testament to how everything has a cause and effect." 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pros: Yoon crafted a fun, informative, intelligent, sad, complex layered love story/I really enjoyed the small glimpses into the lives of the people Natasha/Daniel interacted with/This was a deep and genuine story and it honestly made me tear up.  

Cons: I've always found the overly intense, teenage, "love at first sight" cliche hilarious because, come on now, take a minute😂 /The number of rare coincidences began to teeter precariously toward silly by the end but Yoon managed to balance it out in a practical and powerful way.   

Full Review: 

Natasha is an intelligent, driven and logical girl. She doesn't believe in fate or destiny. She believes in things she can see and feel and appreciates the logic of cause and effect. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Unforunately, the reaction she's currently dealing with is her Father's DUI and the fact that he admitted to the arresting officer that he and his family are undocumented immigrants. Today could very well be her last day in the United States. They're being deported back to Jamaica, tonight but Natasha refuses to go down without a fight. So she sets off onto the streets of New York City to try and do what she can to fix her situation. 

Daniel is the second son of Korean immigrants who's currently watching the fallout of his older brother Charlie's suspension from Harvard. His parents don't understand how it could have happened and Charlie's vague on the details. They're still holding out hope for Daniel though, who's currently getting ready to have an Admission Interview with a Yale Alumni. His parents have his whole life planned. College, Medical School, Doctor, Wife, Kids etc. They don't seem to care that, that isn't the life that Daniel necessarily wants. He's a dreamer, a Poet and doesn't want to spend his life doing a job that he might not love. But, he's never been able to muster up the courage to tell his parents this and so, he sets out for his interview, feeling uneasy and torn. 

As fate would have it, Natasha and Daniel run into each other and end up spending the day together. And of course, they each learn something from the other and their lives are changed forever. A bit melodramatic but honestly fogivable. Yoon's subtetly was seamless and her story of love and connection was just incredible. This book actually made me tear up and for something to break through to my cold, jaded heart, is impressive. A great read that I'd reccomend to anyone. 

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