UNDER THE SAME STARS, by Libba Bray, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), Feb. 4, 2025, Hardcover, $24.99 (young adult)
Under the Same Stars, by Libba Bray, is an engrossing YA historical mystery that spans 80 years and two continents.
It was said that if you write to the Bridegroom’s Oak, the love of your life will answer back. Now, the tree is giving up its secrets at last.
In 1940s Germany, Sophie is excited to discover a message waiting for her in the Bridegroom’s Oak from a mysterious suitor. Meanwhile, her best friend, Hanna, is sending messages too―but not to find love. As World War II unfolds in their small town of Kleinwald, the oak may hold the key to resistance against the Nazis.
In 1980s West Germany, American teen transplant Jenny feels suffocated by her strict parents and is struggling to fit in. Until she finds herself falling for Lena, a punk-rock girl hell-bent on tearing down the wall separating West Germany from East Germany, and meeting Frau Hermann, a kind old lady with secrets of her own.
In Spring 2020, New York City, best friends Miles and Chloe are slogging through the last few months of senior year when an unexpected package from Chloe’s grandmother leads them to investigate a cold case about two unidentified teenagers who went missing under the Bridegroom’s Oak eighty years ago. —Synopsis provided by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Under the Same Stars is a timely novel that calls to mind behaviors that are becoming commonplace in America.
Both heartbreaking and hopeful, Under the Same Stars takes readers to three major points in time — 1940s Germany, 1980s Germany and 2020 New York. Though I connected with two timelines better than the third, each one is well-developed and serves the story as a whole.
Author Libba Bray is an expert storyteller. Her writing is a smooth as ever. She drops clues throughout, but keeps readers guessing almost to the end.
Under the Same Stars is not a particularly dynamic read. There are some elements that are, to be sure, but a lot of its power comes in the quieter moments. It’s a good option for fans of Bray’s earlier works.
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