The Stars and the Blackness Between Them

By Junauda Petrus

Book Overview

A Coretta Scott King Honor Book

Told in two distinct and irresistible voices, Junauda Petrus's bold and lyrical debut is the story of two black girls from very different backgrounds finding love and happiness in a world that seems determined to deny them both.

Port of Spain, Trinidad. Sixteen-year-old Audre is despondent, having just found out she's going to be sent to live in America with her father because her strictly religious mother caught her with her secret girlfriend, the pastor's daughter. Audre's grandmother Queenie (a former dancer who drives a white convertible Cadillac and who has a few secrets of her own) tries to reassure her granddaughter that she won't lose her roots, not even in some place called Minneapolis. "America have dey spirits too, believe me," she tells Audre.

Minneapolis, USA. Sixteen-year-old Mabel is lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to figure out why she feels the way she feels--about her ex Terrell, about her girl Jada and that moment they had in the woods, and about the vague feeling of illness that's plagued her all summer. Mabel's reverie is cut short when her father announces that his best friend and his just-arrived-from-Trinidad daughter are coming for dinner.

Mabel quickly falls hard for Audre and is determined to take care of her as she tries to navigate an American high school. But their romance takes a turn when test results reveal exactly why Mabel has been feeling low-key sick all summer and suddenly it's Audre who is caring for Mabel as she faces a deeply uncertain future.

Junauda Petrus's debut brilliantly captures the distinctly lush and lyrical voices of Mabel and Audre as they conjure a love that is stronger than hatred, prison, and death and as vast as the blackness between the stars.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 052555548X
• ISBN13: 9780525555483
• Release Date: September 2019
• Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 5.6" x 8.1"
• Age Range: 14 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 9 and higher

Customer Reviews

This book is a gift.

That's the best way I can explain it -- this book feels like a gift that someone is allowing me to read, look at, hold. It feels like something that needs to be treasured, something that needs to be, if not protected, certainly honored. All of the characters were beautiful, the connectedness was beautiful, the poetry was beautiful (my favorite was probably the one dedicated to Pisces season), the magical tradition and ancestor veneration was beautiful. It's extremely rare for me to re-read books, but I am sure I will pay this one a visit again. The lower star rating on this website (currently) comes from someone who struggled to understand what was being said. As a white person from the rural United States, I have really no experience with Trinidadian English (which almost half the book is written in), and while it did present a challenge for the first few scenes or so, I really don't think it was that difficult to figure out how it works. If you're someone who is only familiar with the more popular versions of English (i.e., American English, British English, etc) it may be a bit jarring to start with, but I think as long as you "let go" of how you think English "should" be, you'll be fine.

As important to me as Their Eyes are Watching God

A beautifully written piece filled with secrets of life, love, pain, poetry, freedom and friendship. A joy to read

magical

i wanted this book to never end. everything about it was beautiful--from the magical writing to the celebration of blackness--especially young black queer bodies, to the depth and breadth of the freedom message.

Beautiful writing in some areas but a disconnect with some of the characters

I feel awful saying this, but, this book was not for me. I couldn't connect to it at all. And I think that's in part because of the slang and broken English. Unfortunately, I didn't understand half of what was going on, which makes me feel utterly awful. I did like certain aspects of it. Most importantly, the last two pages with magical realism was stunning! The writing was beautiful in some parts but I struggled big time with understanding what was being said. The pacing felt really slow in places. I kept expecting this monumental thing to happen, but it never did. I'm thinking if things were in 3rd person, it would have been better. There were some good parts but overall, this book wasn't for me! Gorgeous cover and the last two pages were brilliant ❤