And the Stars were Burning Brightly Written by Danielle Jawando. Reviewed by Alistair, Age 13

The book opens with Al saying:
‘One day Bro you’ll see. It will happen you won’t even realize it. You’ll look up at the sky, stare at all those stars burning hundreds and thousands of miles away, and you’ll think: I get it now.’

This intrigued me from the start – the setting, the genre, and the storyline of the book. The opening line is used in a powerful and strong way to set the scene, but I did think it was a surprising beginning for a story which I knew was about a suicide.

Nathan (Al’s brother)’s  realisation by the end of the book is… I get all that stuff that Al was banging on about – I really do. This showed the reader the outcome, but without telling the difficult journey Nathan had to take to understand his brother’s actions. I liked the image of the brothers looking up into the sky together, both wondering.

The language used is very strong, and some may argue unnecessary in a teenager’s novel, but the characters are realistic and I think that the dialogue reinforces their personalities and is appropriate given the characters’ negative thoughts and feelings.

I found the book hard to read at times, especially as the narrative alternated between Nathan and Megan for each chapter, because I found it a bit confusing. But this did have the effect of creating good cliff-hangers for the reader.

In my opinion this book is a perfect read for readers across all genders. I would recommend this book to young readers as it is describes a stereotypical modern teenage boy who unfortunately is led down a wrong path and finds himself isolated. It is thought-provoking and contains an important message about sharing negative thoughts with people you trust.