Review of Swimming in a Sea of Stars

[Julie Basil]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Swimming in a Sea of Stars" by Julie Wright.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Swimming in a Sea of Stars is a young adult novel by Julie Wright that tells the story of a group of high school students over the course of one school day. Each of these teens is facing major difficulties. One student recently attempted to take her own life and is going back to school for the first time. Another student has been subjected to abuse and has to sneak away from home each day to go to school. Other students have close family members with serious illnesses. One last student lost a parent when she was younger and now has a brother who is in jail.



This book handles the topics of suicide, illness, loss, and abuse very well. There are some instances of borderline profanity, but this book would be appropriate for teens.



The narration throughout the novel switches between the perspectives of five different students. Through these changes in narrator, the author does a good job of changing the tone of voice and style of narration to fit the personality of each character. The use of different fonts that corresponded to the different narrators helped with keeping track of whose perspective was being shared. Sometimes the reader hears about the same scene from the perspective of one narrator and then from the perspective of another.



The main characters in this story did not all know each other well at the start of the novel, but they impacted each other in meaningful ways throughout the story. Sometimes they helped each other with a kind word; other times it was through a meaningful gesture or just by really listening to each other. By the end of the story, each of them has grown to feel less alone. This theme of our interconnectedness could have been cheesy or felt forced, but it was very well done.



Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It was a quick and interesting read. I rate this story 4 out of 5 stars.

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Swimming in a Sea of Stars
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[Cristina-Ioana Toader]

This review thoughtfully encapsulates the essence of "Swimming in a Sea of Stars" by Julie Wright, highlighting its sensitive and skillful handling of heavy topics like suicide, illness, loss, and abuse within a high school setting. Your enjoyment of the book and the high rating you've given it underline its impact as a meaningful and engaging read. Great job!

[Tomy Chandrafrost]

Some of the topics in the book aren't easy thing to be discussed in a book. This is an interesting book, from what I glimpse in your review. Thanks for writing this

[Tomy Chandrafrost]

Some of the topics in the book aren't easy thing to be discussed in a book. This is an interesting book, from what I glimpse in your review. Thanks for writing this