The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow
CW: Death, Slavery, Alcoholism, Drug Use, Forced Drug Use, Racism, Internalized Fatphobia, Fatphobic Microaggression, Discussed Fatphobia, Positive References to Problematic Popular Culture (Harry Potter, David Bowie, Roald Dahl), Violence, Oppression, Trauma, Anxiety Attacks, Living without Beneficial Medicine, Classism, Blood, Domestic Abuse, Child Death, Public Execution, Vomit, Confinement, Colonization, Genocide, Murder
3.5/5
For Hannukka I received a mystery box of queer book merch from a friend. I decided to read all the books associated with the items inside that I had never read before. The first on my list was The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow. Although YA Sci-fi/Fantasy is not my preferred genre, the ace-spec representation was absolutely appealing to me. It took me longer than I'd like to get through the book and there is no guarantee that it will get a sequel, but I don't regret reading the book.
In The Sound of Stars, modern-day Earth (or that of a few years ago) is invaded by aliens, the Ilori. After the leaders of Earth attempt to destroy the invaders, the Ilori survive and take over. They begin their plan to turn Earth into a vacation home for their kind. Two years later, in an Ilori controlled center, a teen named Ellie is running a secret rebel library. The remaining humans must do the little they can to keep from losing hope. The Ilori are not a united species, however. Civil war is brewing and an Illori fabricant named M0Rr1S (Morris) is secretly working with the rebellion. Ellie and Morris will need to team up to save the humans and hopefully the universe.
This is possibly the first book I have read to have a timeline that makes sense but still had the wrong pacing for the story. The book is told in chapters that shift between Ellie and Morris. I think the inherent suspense of the style is written well and I find it intriguing that Ellie is in 1st person and Morris is in third. I also like that the book balances its tumultuous moments between Ilori and human causes. However, the pacing did not feel balanced. There were moments that felt nonchalant that should have had more time spent on them, such as the goodbye from Ellie's best friend or Ellie's night with the "wolves". There were moments that felt repetitive or drawn out, such as Ellie describing book plots, descriptions of how the Ilori function, and the falling action. I was hooked by the end and hope that The Sound of Stars gets a sequel, but the book was not flawless.
For representation, The Sound of Stars was mostly wonderful! In the book, Dow covers race, sexuality, romantic identity, gender, body shape, anxiety, physical disability, alcoholism, and trauma. It does a compelling job of answering the question, "would people still be racist if there was an evil alien species to team up against?". Long standing prejudices within society don't just disappear because a common enemy appears. Racism also appears in Ilori culture, even if it's not color-based. The fabricants are expected to do all the work for the "True Ilori", but are looked down upon and given very few rights. Morris and Ellie may come from different planets, but their life experiences have many similarities.
The book doesn't just have queer representation, it feels like a queer experience too. Every character is addressed with they/them pronouns until either Ellie or Morris knows otherwise. There are many non-binary characters in the story as well, from both species. I also believe that Dow makes Ellie's sexuality, demisexual, very easy to understand to anyone who may be unfamiliar. Ellie does not fall for someone before having a bond with them and she also doesn't get enjoyment out of casual intimacy. During the course of The Sound of Stars, Ellie only spends about a fortnight with Morris, but their journey allows them to get to know each other quite well in a very short amount of time. Due to Ellie's first person POV, the audience is made aware of all the nuance that surrounds their love story and her feelings.
Throughout the book, Ellie has no problem helping Morris understand what it is like to be human and clearing up the cultural differences. That is until he pulls what can be paraphrased as "you're not fat, you're beautiful". There is a moment where they need to ditch their car and walk a fair distance. Ellie, forgetting about the superior strength of Ilori, tries to point out that she will be heavy for him to carry. It's possible he sensed her personal discomfort with the fact, but his comment about her beauty was irrelevant and hurtful. This is near the end of the book and Ellie's POV has included many relatable fat experiences, like chafing and not getting thinner just because of a diet change. I wish she had commented that fat and beauty are not mutually exclusive or reminded Morris that she was simply discussing her weight as a possible obstacle. This book was written far too recently to be expressing that sentiment.
The end of The Sound of Stars is used to set up a sequel, which the author hopes will happen, but has yet to be confirmed. Between this and the flaws above, I would proceed with caution. There are many good aspects of Dow's story, thus I still recommend it. Decide what matters to you in a book or story and go from there. Hopefully I have helped in making the decision easier for you.
Edit: There will be a follow up book set in the same world called "A Song of Salvation. Expect it in July 2023.
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