An unlikely friendship blossoms between two high school seniors…in the deft hands of co-authors Coulthurst (Inkmistress, 2018, etc.) and Garner (Relative Strangers, 2018, etc.), the well-realized main characters and deeply insightful descriptions of complex emotions combine into an unusually thoughtful novel…Readers seeking characters facing challenges with honesty, bravery, and kindness will appreciate this book with its reminder that our outward lives often don’t reflect who we really are.
—Kirkus Reviews
Sensitively attentive to the walls teens erect between their family life and their school personae, as well as to the misunderstandings that emerge when people have different approaches to and understandings of emotional expression, this portrayal of two very different girls finding common ground will resonate with people of various identities, cliques, and fandoms.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
The story offers plenty of growth for both as the girls come to a new understanding of the challenges in their lives, and a realistic open ending without a neat tie-up adds greatly…a well-wrought story about the pitfalls and rewards of friendship.
—School Library Journal
Audrey Coulthurst (Of Fire and Stars) and Paula Garner (Phantom Limbs) tactfully navigate the girls’ relationship and Sam’s attraction to Zoe as her "Be a robot. Feel nothing" mantra inevitably fails. Told in alternating chapters from each girl’s perspective, Starworld extols the value of friendship and shows how self-acceptance can come from being oneself with others.
—Shelf Awareness for Readers
If you value the power of online relationships, be it through fandom or ones that helped you to keep you connected to old friends, add Starworld to your to-read list.
—Hypable (blog)
A warm, funny, and heartfelt escape from reality.
—Teen Librarian Toolbox (blog)
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