The Stars We Share

By Rafe Posey

Book Overview

"Dazzles from start to finish." --Georgia Hunter, New York Times bestselling author of We Were the Lucky Ones

Set against the backdrop of World War II, a sweeping, atmospheric novel of sacrifice, ambition, and commitment, and the secrets we keep from the ones we love

It's 1927 when Alec and June meet as children in a tranquil English village. Alec, an orphan, anchors himself in the night sky and longs for adventures. June memorizes maps and railway timetables, imagining a future bright with possibilities.

As the years pass, their loves feels inevitable, but soon the Second World War separates them. Alec enlists as a Royal Air Force pilot flying daredevil fighter sorties at night; June finds her calling as a codebreaker at Bletchley Park, covert work that will mean keeping her contribution to the war effort a secret from Alec forever. Each is following a dream--but those dreams force them apart for years at a time.

Their postwar reunion is bittersweet: Alec, shot down and imprisoned in a series of POW camps, grapples with his injuries and the loss of his RAF career. June, on the other hand, has found her vocation and struggles to follow the expected path to domesticity, as much as she loves Alec. But Alec wants nothing more than to make a life and a family together.

With the war behind them, their scars--both visible and unseen--make them strangers to each other. Now each must decide how much to reveal to the other, which dreams can be sacrificed, and which secrets are too big to bear alone.

Spanning forty years and shifting from bustling Indian ports to vibrant gardens in Edinburgh to a horse farm in Kenya, The Stars We Share is a poignant, heart-wrenching novel about the decisions and concessions that make a life and a love worth having.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1984879626
• ISBN13: 9781984879622
• Release Date: May 2021
• Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

World War ll london

This is truly a Beautiful Story. From the very first page..you will be drawn into young Alec's trip to London with his uncle..after leaving behind his beloved India..where he was born..and lived so happily with his mother and father. The Cholera epidemic has spread like wild fire...and both his parents are now deceased from it. Everything was so good..so perfect in his young little life..now they are gone..along with his home..burned to the ground with their bodies..to help stop the plague. Alex sits in his cabin...of the big ship...making it's way to London..where he will live with his mothers sister aunt Constance. All Alec has to his name..to remember his mother and father by..are a picture of his parents..a box with his mothers Jewerly, and his Fathers medals from the first war, and brass buttons and his 4 sets of clothes and shoes. Alec carries in his memory all the wonderful stories his mother would tell him..when they would cuddle in bed..under the mosquito netting...whispering stories back and forth...some from books..others they had made up. Years ago his father had given him a soft leather bound notebook he carries with him..to draw the constellation of the stars..his mother taught him. He doesn't know them all...but he knows the 2 his mother always talked about. Polaris..she called her Lodestar...a word he will always remember and trust..because of his mother ..and the Bear star. Whenever Alec sees these constellations..it brings him peace and calm..and he feels closer to his mother..who he misses so much. When he arrives in the English Countryside where aunt Constance lives..he is introduced to June....June is about his age...and as much as Alec loves making up stories ..like his mom did...June..loves anything to do with patterns. Junes parents are very nice..and they feel so bad for his situation of losing both his parents..due to disease. They don't mind him coming over and hanging out with June all the time...they mostly go out for walks by the lake and the meadows...and as they walk..Alec always starts with a story ..he's making up along the way..ALWAYS starting out with " There was once a bear" just the way his mom did. June would listen intently and she grew to Love everyone of his stories...and as he made up stories..She ..would make stacks of stones..all kinds of special stones..into patterns or just unusual stacks. As time and years go on..the affection they have for each other has grown into a full blown romance. Everything was fine..they were happy..and would lay in the high grasses..looking at the dark sky full of stars..and dream of the possibilities of their future together. The war comes along..they are both of age to serve for King and Country and Alec joins the Royal Air Force..doing very well..and excelling in his flying squad. June is offered a job as a code breaker at Bletchley Park. In taking this job She is bound and sworn to secrecy forever. As the war progressed and Alec is sent on more missions...him and another buddy in his squad are surrounded by the Nazi's planes and shot down. Alec survives....but sustains severe injuries to his hands..and being he's a POW..his medical attention is the bare minimum and as his hands heal..they are left all narly and some fingers he can't even use. He is kept in prison camps during the duration of the war. June gets letters from him periodically and she is beside herself with worry..about his injuries..his treatment..and IF he'll make it out alive. Meanwhile she is determined to stop the Nazi's and break codes so they can be caught and captured at their own game.In her mind..she thinks in some small part this will help Alec come home sooner...to end the war sooner . As time goes by...the war is over..June's job..as far as code breaking..is basically over...they Reunite...and try to start where they left off...But things are different now..life is different now..and together Alec and June..must figure out what dreams to make together. 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐