Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

Hey bibliophiles!

I literally raced through all 369 pages of Stars Above: A Lunar Chronicles Collection by Marissa Meyer. Of course, now I’m sad that it’s over.

For those of you that haven’t read my other blog posts concerning books in this series, just know that The Lunar Chronicles are my ish. Like without a doubt, they are second only to Harry Potter in my favorite young adult book series. And even then, it’s a pretty close call. That’s saying something.

For anyone that may not know what the series is about: you’re a horrible person. Just kidding! It’s a re-telling of several different classic fairy tales that come together for one amazing, futuristic, sci-fi space adventure. I’ve never seen a fairy tale re-telling done better. There’s just enough of the original elements to help you identify what classic tale it’s from, but the writing, the world-building, and the plot elements are so drastically different from the original that you forget it’s a re-telling at all. This series has everything! Including strong female leads, disease, political intrigue, mystery, cybernetics, colonization of the moon, relationships, etc. To read more about it, here’s a link to the author’s blog: The Lunar Chronicles.

Back to the book at hand: Stars Above. A collection of short stories centered around the characters from The Lunar Chronicles, this book really knew how to tug on my heart strings. THE FEELS. OH GOD THE FEELS. I went from nearly crying to bursting out loud laughing. I’m glad I was reading this at home and not at the doctor’s office.

Some of the short stories included in the novel were actually posted on Marissa Meyer’s blog, but most were new. The stories were from several different perspectives: Michelle Benoit’s involvement in hiding Cinder for years, Ze’ev’s (Wolf) induction and training for the Queen Levana’s army, a day in high school as Carswell Thorne, Cress’ life up until she was locked in a satellite, Winter’s choice not to use her gift, Mech6.0’s struggle with love (new character, but she visits Cinder so the story links back), Kai meeting Cinder for the first time, and Scarlet and Wolf’s wedding.Additionally, there’s a sneak peak of Marissa Meyer’s new standalone novel, Heartless, that will be published this November. Essentially, it’s a story from the perspective of the Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland), you know, before she was evil. I’ve already pre-ordered it.

But seriously, going back to the feelings for a minute… I felt so emotional, and not just because these are characters I’ve grown attached to, although that was surely part of it. The way Marissa Meyer instills emotion into her writing is breathtaking. In one particular story, my heart dropped when a character misses out on their chance for love. In another, I couldn’t contain my laughter at the hilarity of one character’s interrupting a wedding with lame jokes. It’s too perfect!

To wrap up my post, here are some of my favorite quotes, including a song verse, from the novel:

“Perhaps their romance was more intense for its brevity.”

“All my decisions have been my own, and I am still convinced that they were the right ones.”

“Sweet Crescent Moon, up in the sky,
Won’t you sing your song to Earth as she passes by?
Your sweetest silver melody, a rhythm and a rhyme,
A lullaby of pleasant dreams as you make your climb.
Send the forests off to bed, the mountains tuck in tight,
Rock the ocean gently, and the deserts kiss good night.
Sweet Crescent Moon, up in the sky,
You sing your song so sweetly after sunshine passes by.”

“But she was already vast and bright and endless.”

“Forevermore, you will be my mate, my star, my beginning of everything. You are the one. You have always been, and you will always be, the only one.”

Until next time, bibliophiles…