‘Love at first sight’ is a trope that usually makes me cringe, and is hardly done right. This book is an exception. Daniel and Natasha are an adorable couple with adorable chemistry, and they make me want to believe that insta-love can be real.
The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
Pages: 384
Genre: Romance, Young Adult
RATING: ★★★★☆
Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.
Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.
The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?
A book to read without any expectations of realism. Look, let’s be real – love at first sight and the crazy coincidences in this book are one in a million at best. Looking over Goodreads I found that this was a problem with some people, but I found it best to read the book with an open mind. In the end it’s more of a romantic fantasy, but I found it fun to indulge in.
Great chemistry between an adorable couple. Natasha is fiery and founded on science, while Daniel is a dreamer and a romantic. When Daniel sees Natasha and believes they are meant to be together, Natasha pushes back despite her growing attraction to him. Though I found Daniel’s beliefs unrealistic, he won me over with charming remarks to Natasha’s sarcasm and sass. The romance is made all the more bittersweet with Natasha’s deportation looming over their heads, and I found my heart aching knowing that they may never see each other again.
I really enjoyed the short stories of the side characters. It’s easy to tunnel vision into our own lives and forget about the people around us. Yoon writes short anecdotes of the people Natasha and Daniel pass by in their lives – the security guard in the immigration office, the driver that almost runs Natasha over – these people may seem insignificant in Natasha and Daniel’s narrative, but Yoon reminds us that they too have their own story.
The portrayal of Daniel’s family was…disappointing. I was pretty disheartened that Yoon decided to go with the Asian-American family stereotype – strict father and mother who force their son into a doctor’s career. Call me cynical and pragmatic, but I also thought that forcing their son to attend Yale was entirely reasonable, even at his protests that he ‘wanted to be a poet’ and ‘didn’t want to go to college’. I found myself taking the side of Daniel’s parents and rolling my eyes at his optimism. Then again as a Westernized Asian myself, I might be more than a little biased.
All in all the book was a fun albeit far-fetched romance of a couple young and in love. I’m looking forward to finally watching the movie!
The Booking Child 
Love your book review! Im gonna have to read this book this summer.
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