Review ~ Star Bright by Christina Ow

Star Bright

by Christina Ow

Published March 21, 2012 by 5 PRINCE PUBLISHING

332 pages

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Formats: Ebook or paperback

My Copy: Kindle editon  for review

Average Rating: 4.07 / 5.00

My Rating: 3.00 /5.00

 

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Star Bright….

A haunting mistake that brought them all together…

Maria’s fear and hate for men is solidified by Ricky’s abuse and his obsession to kill her. In an effort to save her son, she runs away and crosses paths with Dave, a man going through his own tribulations with his wife. He is determined to protect her, show her that not all men are evil and that true love exists. And he in turn, finds a woman worthy to be a mother to his daughter.

Maria finally finds peace in her new roles as a mother, a wife and a home maker but that dream is short lived when a ghost from her past threatens to take it all away from her in the most brutal and torturous way.

But Maria isn’t alone anymore, her father finally shows up to do what he was supposed to five years ago. Protect his daughter.

 

My Thoughts

 

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through the We Love YA Books! group on Goodreads.

Maria has been in a physically abusive relationship with the father of her child, Michael. The abuse has escalated over the years to the point where her life and the life of her son are in immediate danger if they don't leave; however, if they try to leave, that's when they're in the most danger of all. This book puts you in the shoes of Maria--many people don't understand why someone would choose to stay with his or her abuser (for the sake of simplicity, I am going to use feminine pronouns since this story is about an abused woman rather than an abused man; however, I recognize there are also men who are abused by women), especially if she also has a child or children to think about.

I've never been in a relationship like this, so I admit I'm one of those people who don't quite understand. At a previous job, I worked with abused women, all of whom had children, and some of whom, like Maria, had very visible effects of the abuse they suffered at the hands of their abuser. Looking in from the outside, it seems like it should be a no brainer, but this book will cause you to think differently. You will be inside the mind of what an abused woman feels like, thinks about, and fears. Sometimes it will be uncomfortable, but I think it's really important to be able to step into someone else's shoes without harm to yourself in order to learn about other people and their struggles in life.

This book gave me insight into what it would be like to be in an abusive relationship, and I still can't imagine what it would be like. I don't want to be able to imagine what it would be like either. Horrifying and inexcusable are two words that came to mind as I read, and the scenes where Maria is assaulted by her boyfriend had me feeling physically ill and disgusted that someone who says he loves you can treat you that way. He took his anger out on her and her son, and no one should ever take his or her anger out on someone no matter the circumstances.

Dave the second main character, and he is having issues with his wife--an incredibly selfish woman who is also a poor excuse for a mother. They have a young daughter together, but all his wife ever wanted from him was his money--he's a successful lawyer and also comes from a wealthy family. He decides to divorce her and begins the proceedings.

Every other chapter alternates between Maria and Dave's points of view, which I appreciated and felt I was able to get to know them better this way with their thoughts and motivations. The story was absolutely riveting--I had no idea what to expect next. While I was captivated by the story itself, there were many spelling and grammatical errors which normally I can overlook and for the most part I did, but sometimes the grammatical errors caused some confusion in the action. Without the confusion, I would have given this book a higher rating.

The characters were also a bit cartoonish to me--all of them were quick to anger and often made poor decisions, especially the scene when Maria, Dave, and Maria's parents are all arguing in front of the children. That was just painful and awful, and I didn't agree with their actions at all. If they had seemed more natural, with dialogue that wasn't stilted at times, then again, this would have caused me to give the book a higher rating. I also thought it would have been more believable and realistic if Maria's trust in Dave had been built up more slowly along with their entire relationship. It should have taken more time--an abused woman wouldn't just jump into another relationship. I would think she'd be too afraid to find herself in another abusive relationship and have a difficult time trusting someone.

Maria's son, Michael, doesn't speak or act like a four-year-old little boy, but I believe this was done intentionally by the author to make a point--Michael has been through too much, especially for his young age, and he has been forced to grow up faster than other kids due to the abuse he lives with. He became Maria's parent, trying to protect her from his father and make up for the love she wasn't receiving. He took on too much responsibility, and I know that's definitely something children of abused parents are prone to do. They lose the carefree nature of childhood and that is instead replaced with fear, dread, and stress, that which an adult has a hard enough time handling let alone a child.

Overall, the story itself was realistic and definitely worth reading, which kept me turning the pages until the very end.

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About the Author

 

Christina Ow was born in Nairobi, Kenya. Some of her influences include Stephanie Mayer, Danielle Steel, Sheldon D. Sydney, and Sherrilyn Kenyon.

 

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