Another Week, Another Book: Last Star Burning by Caitlin Sangster

Last Star Burning
By Caitlin Sangster

I go through phases where I don’t want to read fantasy, no matter how well-reviewed it is. Unfortunately I was in one of those phases when I picked up Last Star Burning by Caitlin Sangster The opening I read reluctantly, my will rebelling. But it didn’t rebel long. 

The dystopian future pulled me in, as did the evocative writing style, fabulous action sequences, rich characters, well-thought backstory. I felt like I’d been dropped into a fully developed reality, a unique and disturbing one. I especially loved the twists in what is known, what is true, who can be trusted…

I won’t bother with a plot synopsis—get that anywhere—I will say this book felt a little like Star Wars (the originals!) meets Divergent with an Asian twist. I loved the protagonist, the understated romance (I hesitate to call it romance because it’s really not, NOT that sort of book), the political backstory. The only thing I might have liked was a little more speed to the opening. I tried to use it as a read-aloud but got bogged down in the (albeit important and vivid) detail.

Rebecca Grabill

Rebecca has been writing since childhood, her first book about a kitten published between homemade cardboard covers in second grade. Although she studied religion and philosophy in university, she continued writing, earning an MFA from Hamline University and publishing multiple picture books (no longer with homemade covers) and a collection of poetry with a variety of New York and independent publishers. She has also published a wide array of fiction, essays, and poetry in magazines and journals and photographs for Getty Images. She balances writing with homeschooling the younger of her six children, launching her young adults, church activities, and overseeing a small flock of chickens in rural West Michigan.

www.rebeccagrabill.com
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A New Year of Books! Still Life with Tornado by AS King