Welcome to my stop on the Starlight Blog Tour hosted by CBB Book Promotions! Click here to follow along with the full tour schedule!
Title: Starlight
Author: Chelsea M. Campbell
Publication date: September 2, 2014
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Source: Copy for review
ON SALE FOR 99 CENTS UNTIL NOV. 8TH!!!
Adrienne Speck is the biggest loser in her high school, so she can hardly believe it when a magical boy falls from the heavens to grant her three wishes. He is cool, confident, and definitely popular-crowd material - everything Adrienne's not. With his help, she has a chance to get everything she's ever wanted: get kissed, get popular, and get a date for the upcoming dance.
But Adrienne discovers magic isn't all it's cracked up to be, and the road to popularity is paved with humiliation. To make her dreams come true, not only will she have to get the lead in the school play, ask out the most popular guy in school, and stand up to the current queen of popularity, but also keep her personal genie from trashing her room, dressing like a nerd, and revealing to her mom that he's living in their attic. For someone who's supposed to be helping her, he couldn't be making her life any worse. That is, until she starts to fall for him.
I'm a sucker for beautiful covers. And starlight. Put the two together, and you've got me hook, line, and sinker! Starlight is a fun read that draws you in right away; I love it when I begin a book that's so easy to get into quickly. There were times I laughed and other times I felt like punching those popular bullying girls even though I'm not a violent person. (I swear I'm not!)
Chelsea M. Campbell brings plenty of humor into Starlight - for instance, I couldn't help but laugh when Adrienne's genie, Saiph, insisted on staying at her house which leads to her hiding him in the attic away from her mom. When he sees that her bedroom is decorated in unicorns (she hasn't redecorated since she was six years old), he teases her about needing help with style. I personally would love for my bedroom to be decorated in unicorns, but I don't think my husband would like that too much! Those scenes had me giggling.
I liked the light and non-preachy way the subject of bullying was dealt with which in my opinion made a greater impact than if it had been presented in a hard hitting way. Bullying is so rampant nowadays, and Starlight shows both sides. You see the ugly way the popular girls behave towards Adrienne, and the way she shrinks into herself when those girls go out of their way to insult her.
The shenanigans (there's really no better word!) that go on with Saiph around made me laugh, especially when Adrienne had to scramble to cover his presence around her mom, in front of her coworkers, and at school. There are also cute moments, too, where she realized he treated her with dignity and respect, something no one has done before. While reading about Adrienne and thinking of all the different ways she could respond to those stuck up girls, I was taken back to my own high school days where I wish I had defended myself instead of letting a small group of other girls push me around.
When she starts to fall for him, I was dying to know what was going to happen. Would he fulfill her wishes and then leave? Would he find a way to stay with her? The possibilities were endless! Starlight was exactly the kind of book I needed after reading so many dark and heavy stories lately, and I recommend this to anyone looking to lose her/himself in an uplifting and fun story.
My Rating:
Chelsea M. Campbell grew up in the Pacific Northwest, where it rains a lot. And then rains some more. She finished her first novel when she was twelve, sent it out, and promptly got rejected. Since then she's written many more novels, earned a degree in Latin and Ancient Greek, become an obsessive knitter and fiber artist, and started a collection of glass grapes. Besides writing, studying ancient languages, and collecting useless objects, Chelsea is a pop-culture fangirl at heart and can often be found rewatching episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Parks and Recreation, or dying a lot in Dark Souls.
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I'm so glad you enjoyed this too! It really is a cute and fun book but has some great messages as well. Thanks so much for hosting a tour stop!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Candace - I agree! Thanks for having me! :)
DeleteLight and fun sounds great, Jennifer. I like the way you describe bullying being dealt with in Starlight. And I really want to meet Saiph! I don't believe I've read a book with a genie in it, so I'm curious. And he made you laugh! Great review, girl!
ReplyDeleteThis was a really fun read that also dealt with some heavy issues, and it was done in a clever way. Saiph is one of the most interesting characters I've read about in quite a while - I think you'll really grow to like him. :)
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