The Sun Is Also A Star (Book Review)

The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon is one of the greatest love story ever written. Below is my review of the book.

 The book is a unique literary piece. Chapterization takes the form of different characters giving their separate account of events as they unfold in the plot. The author equally infuses chapters that help explain some parts of the plot that may seem vague, all in a perfectly successful attempt to carry the reader along.

The Sun Is Also A Star is one amazing love story between two young lovebirds. Daniel and Natasha. It's a beautiful story of fate. The book chronicles the chain of events that builds up to where two unsuspecting millennials meet and fall in love in what I tag the sweetest serendipity story written yet.

Events in the book are eerily connected: Daniel hears a preaching on the train on his way to Times Square. On alighting, he looks for signs of God around. The only intriguing sign he identifies is a weird inscription of God on a bag carried by a random lady on the street - Natasha.

Daniel, a young Korean American boy who is tired of living in his shadow, as he has had his life planned out for him by his parents. He is scheduled to attend a premed interview for admission to Yale, something he's apparently not keen on. He arrives a little early and takes a while to explore Times Square, in a bid to enjoy freedom on his own terms. It is on this exercise he spots Natasha.

Natasha, a young, extremely smart, Jamaican female immigrant. She's preoccupied with finding a way around the deportation notice served her family. After an emotionally exhausting time at the US consulate, she heads to a Records store and along the way, is spotted by Daniel. Daniel trails her and they meet at the store.

Though she is more concerned about an appointment that should solve the deportation problem at hand, he manages to engage her in a conversation. They hit if off nicely, become acquainted, and as the conversation stretches, friendship blossoms. Strangely, they each possess polar opposite philosophical out look at life. Daniel is idealistic, believes in the idea of true love and is certain things happen for a reason. While on the other hand Natasha is a complete realist, works with facts and scoffs at the idea of true love. The pair however ignite sparks of affection in each other. 

They stroll around, then he  sees her off to the venue of her appointment. After she's gone, he perceives that the odds of never seeing her after his interview are pretty high, so he reschedules.

For her appointment she's to meet with Jeremy Fitzgerald, the lawyer assigned to her by an official at the US consulate. She meets his secretary instead who fixes an appointment later in the day for when Mr Fitzgerald returns. Leaving the building, she begins to worry about finding Daniel again, only to step out and discover him waiting outside for her.

They head out and spend romantic moments together. Their first stop is Daniel's Father's shop where she meets with Mr Bae, Daniel's Dad and Charles, Daniel's elder brother. Soon they leave the shop to enjoy their outing. At the norebang, a restaurant/karaoke spot, they enjoy very special moments and at some point, share a passionate kiss. 

Time for Natasha's appointment approaches and they set out to leave the norebang. Little chitchats escalate to mild arguments. Their diametric views on life lead to an impasse in their conversations and they fall out with each other. Natasha leaves Daniel dejected for her appointment with her lawyer. 

Her meeting with Mr Fitzgerald ends in a happy note and he promises to overturn the deportation notice. She leaves with a bittersweet feeling. While she imagines she has bought more time to spend with her new heartthrob, she is now remorse about their spat earlier.

Daniel is long somber about quarreling with Natasha. He now looks for her at the venue of her interview. He misses her. She is in turn in search for him and manages to gets through to him with the help of his elder brother. She meets him at the building where she had her appointment. The building is coincidentally the same venue for his interview. They makeup and moments later he is with his interviewer who is coincidentally Natasha's lawyer, Jeremy Fitzgerald.

The deportation case goes awry and Natasha leaves the United States for Jamaica. Years pass and in an inexplicable turn of events, she is reunited with Daniel.

Notwithstanding the touchy feely end, the book is replete with lines that uniquely describe peculiar sentiments, from the humorous headings that precede Daniel's part:

"Local Teen Trapped in Parental Vortex of Expectation and Disappointment, Doesn't Expect to Be Rescued"; 

"Would-Be Casanova Shakes Cute Girl's Hand, Offers Her Home Loan with Reason Interest Rate";

to more factual statements from Natasha:

"It's just hair... Its function is to keep the head warm and protect ultraviolet rays";

"What is falling in love? A series of small coincidences that we say means everything because we want to believe that our tiny lives matter on a galactic scale";

"Mutual self-interest and socioeconomic compatibility", when asked by Daniel about the ingredients of love.

Nicola Yoon passes across to her readers a  message of belief. Despite the somewhat nothingness we might to tend to experience at certain moments of our lives, the will to hold on those little things that matter, can make a world of difference. The Sun Is Also A Star is a delightful read and I'd gladly recommend for anyone.