Lost Stars by Lisa Selin Davis

Aug 14, 2016 Lola rated it liked it

Shelves: music, troubled-teens

My advice to people interested in reading this novel is to be patient.

It doesn’t have the best of book beginnings, since the main character will appear extremely careless, reckless and sort of suicidal—a danger to herself.

But the best thing about this story is Carrie’s character development. Because of her stupid behaviour, her father sends her to a work boot camp for troubled teenagers, where they have to construct a footbridge.

The character development doesn’t happen in a single page or in a My advice to people interested in reading this novel is to be patient.

It doesn’t have the best of book beginnings, since the main character will appear extremely careless, reckless and sort of suicidal—a danger to herself.

But the best thing about this story is Carrie’s character development. Because of her stupid behaviour, her father sends her to a work boot camp for troubled teenagers, where they have to construct a footbridge.

The character development doesn’t happen in a single page or in a snap of finger. It takes time for Carrie to realize some things about the people who love her and the people she loves. Although she is almost impossible to like in the beginning, I still opened my heart to her. And I’m glad I did because, by the end of the novel, I wanted to applaud her.

The writing is pretty charming. I especially enjoyed the metaphors that center around the stars and the many mentions of astrophysics. It’s a believable story, in the sense that I had no difficulty imagining everything truly happening in front of my eyes.

My problem was with everyone who isn’t Carrie, her father, her sister or the camp monitor. Even her love interest, Dean, couldn’t charm me. Carrie’s friends are those kinds of people who know nothing else but to party, drink and flirt with boys, so I really couldn’t bring myself to welcome their role in the plot.

The romance is okay. If it hadn’t been so slowly introduced and explored, I would have cried insta-love, but it is, so thank god for no heavy love-triangle, insta-love or even insta-lust. Dean is not my type of book boyfriend—actually no one in this book resembles the people in my life—but I guess I liked how he made Carrie feel.

And well, hurray for a 80s setting. The mentions of countless old songs made me feel nostalgic. There’s a slightly melancholy atmosphere in this book here and there. It really is a good debut. Not incredible, but good still.

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Sep 30, 2016 Sarah rated it liked it

Shelves: r2r-read, netgalley-edelweiss, young-adult, romance, death, read-with-abbie, historical, read-2016

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Bonnier Publishing and NetGalley.)

“And then, for some reason, I hated my job twelve percent less.”

This was a YA story set in the 1980’s, about a girl whose older sister had died.

Carrie came across as the sort of girl who went out of her way to irritate people at times, and I could see why her father was so worried about her, especially after the death of her older sister.

The storyline in this was ...more

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Sep 18, 2016 Carrie rated it liked it

Shelves: netgalley

After the death of her older sister Carrie becomes the typical rebellious teen acting out in her grief. She's begun hanging out with the older crowd that were friends with her sister and doing all the wrong things. Getting fed up with her behavior Carrie's father insists she go to a summer work camp at a local state park to hopefully get Carrie back under control again. Carrie meets Dean that summer, a guy who sees the real her and helps to pull her back out of the wild crowd she'd gotten ...more

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Jul 14, 2016 Stacee rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: edelweiss, doctor-who-reference, title-in-the-story, read-in-2016

This one took some time for me to settle into. I struggled with this story. Hard. And if not for a blog tour, I might have DNF'd.

Carrie is hard to like in the beginning. She's rude and mean and careless and perhaps a bit suicidal. There's been a lot of loss and upheaval in her world and her reaction is to act a fool. There are loads of secondary characters, but we don't really get to know them. It's an effective way to show Carrie's state of mind and how she feels alone.

The book is set at a very ...more

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Feb 14, 2017 Reg rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, reviewed

Despite the really beautiful cover and the potentially heartbreaking premise, Lost Stars did not engage me at all. I actually picked it up multiple times over a number of weeks, waiting for that moment of utter attention to strike, but after perhaps the fifth time I just gave up because it just never happened. Had this not been a review book, unfortunately, I probably would’ve DNFed it pretty early on.

Set in the 1980s, Lost Stars is the story of Carrie, a teenage girl living in the aftermath of Despite the really beautiful cover and the potentially heartbreaking premise, Lost Stars did not engage me at all. I actually picked it up multiple times over a number of weeks, waiting for that moment of utter attention to strike, but after perhaps the fifth time I just gave up because it just never happened. Had this not been a review book, unfortunately, I probably would’ve DNFed it pretty early on.

Set in the 1980s, Lost Stars is the story of Carrie, a teenage girl living in the aftermath of a family tragedy. Life for Carrie is difficult: her mother has taken off to a meditative retreat; her relationship with her remaining sister is strained; her friends don’t seem to really care for her; she’s grief-stricken and lonely after the older sister that she looked up to died:

“Before Ginny died, that was how it felt when I got upset: like I was about to throw up. Ginny used to be the one to talk me down, to stand at the door of my room and say, softly, “Caraway, take a deep breath, come here, hold my hand.”

Carrie was incredibly hard to like. She was angry and bitter, always putting herself (and her feelings) first before everybody else. She was also oftentimes needlessly cruel to others and hell-bent on self-destruction. After Ginny’s death, she took on the role of their family’s rebellious child — smoking, getting drunk, doing drugs — which was frustrating to see.

Lost Stars touched on mental illness — specifically impulse control disorder, I believe — but I can’t say that I loved it. Obviously I was very disconnected from the characters and could’ve very easily read it wrong, but I felt like the romance acted as a bit of a quick-fix to it, and given that I also didn’t really have a very strong grasp on Dean’s character, it just didn’t work for me.

“Eventually every star will explode. There’s no getting around it.”

“Maybe they’re not gone, those stars. Maybe they’re just lost. Maybe they’re just trying to find their way home.”

The other characters, unfortunately, also didn’t really work for me. We were introduced to so many people, and I could safely say that even at the end of the book, I still don’t really get who’s who and what their personalities, likes, dislikes, goals and values are. Some I felt like I had a bit more feeling for — Tonya, Lynn — but otherwise they were unremarkable.

What I enjoyed was the motifs — the astrophysics/science talk and the music references left at least some impression on me, and I also really appreciate that the book ended up on a somewhat hopeful note. While things were mostly left up in the air, at least Carrie seemed like she would eventually be happy.

“Real heartbreak, not the kind made only of loneliness and self-hatred, was almost kind of sweet.”

Overall not my kind of book, but also not the most terrible that I’ve read. Also, a final tidbit: this book apparently started as a column for New York Times’ Modern Love and boy, that piece of writing actually pretty good and engaging.

* I received a copy of LOST STARS from Allen & Unwin in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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Mar 05, 2017 Tara rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, sad, music, books-i-own, grief

This one was a very easy read, even though their was a lot of anger, grief and people being asshats (looking at you Carrie). At the beginning it is clear that Carrie's sister, Ginny, is dead.... and it is also clear that Carrie has not been coping well and has instead been turning to drugs and alcohol to get through each day. It is also clear that she is trying (and sometimes succeeding) in building a wall around herself to keep people away, as well as being an asshat to people. Carrie could ...more

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Oct 13, 2016 Tema rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, young-adult, arcs

3.5 stars.

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After reading the synopsis of this book, I was really excited to read this book, and I am very pleased to say that the book definitely lived up to my expectations!

Carrie, or Caraway, is a sixteen year old girl that is struggling with the death of her older sister, and she turns to drugs, alcohol and partying. As any concerned and worried father would, Carrie's dad sends her off to a boot camp for the 3.5 stars.

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After reading the synopsis of this book, I was really excited to read this book, and I am very pleased to say that the book definitely lived up to my expectations!

Carrie, or Caraway, is a sixteen year old girl that is struggling with the death of her older sister, and she turns to drugs, alcohol and partying. As any concerned and worried father would, Carrie's dad sends her off to a boot camp for the summer. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I would definitely recommend it to those who love Young Adult contemporary books. The plot was definitely unique to most YA books around at the moment, and it was a refreshing read.

What made this book so different to most was the depth and personality given to the characters, making them so realistic and human. Carrie isn't a bad girl, she's just had a rough time, and it's definitely understandable. Likewise, her dad, her sister, her friends all have such unique traits and characteristics that allowed me to experience such emotion. I particularly liked the Carrie's character development as she learnt more about herself and her family.

I also loved the communication between Carrie and other characters, such as Dean. First encounters are never as smooth as what books make them out to be. Meeting someone for the first time never ends up being the world's most perfect conversation; it's awkward, it's new, it's unfamiliar. I feel that Lisa Selin Davis captured this perfectly when Carrie and Dean first met, and it was so realistic and easy to relate to.

It did, however, take me a while to get into this book; the first few chapters were slightly slow, but after Chapter 4, I couldn't put the book down; I loved it. I would advise readers to be patient and stick through it, because it is definitely worth the read. Finally, I do wish there had been an epilogue at the end, just because I really would've loved to know what happened to all the characters a few months later!

Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this book, and I hope you will too! ...more

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Mar 24, 2016 Elizabeth Gold rated it it was amazing

This is like a classic YA novel from the golden age -- the seventies and eighties, when kids made decisions and had problems and were idiosyncratic. Carrie falls in love with a by who knows how to play the right songs on the guitar, and who understands why she is so unhappy in her home. As she obsesses over the astronomy and him, she tries to live with her tragic past and hard present. Davis' writing is beautiful and spare and honest. A must read for everyone who thought the Velvet Underground ...more

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Oct 03, 2016 Maria marked it as to-read · review of another edition

I won a giveaway for this and got a ARC yayyyy!!

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Sep 15, 2016 Cynthia (Bingeing On Books) rated it it was ok

Shelves: arcs, mental-illness

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Okay, I kind of tolerated this book for most of it and then it just went downhill. For 70% of the book, I really thought this was going to be a three star book. So Carrie is upset at the death of her older sister, Ginny. Ginny drank and did drugs and of course, Carrie picked up the role of "rebellious child" after her death. Carrie uses Ginny's death as an excuse to push people away and act selfish and generally just act mean I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Okay, I kind of tolerated this book for most of it and then it just went downhill. For 70% of the book, I really thought this was going to be a three star book. So Carrie is upset at the death of her older sister, Ginny. Ginny drank and did drugs and of course, Carrie picked up the role of "rebellious child" after her death. Carrie uses Ginny's death as an excuse to push people away and act selfish and generally just act mean towards everyone. But I guess it's okay that she does that because she's grieving, right? She doesn't even acknowledge the feelings of Ginny's two friends who were actually in the car with her when she died. Nope, Carrie is the only one hurting.

Carrie's mom left soon after Ginny's death because that's apparently what you do: one kid dies and instead of dealing with it, you leave your other two children alone. Makes sense. Carrie's dad was a hard one. I alternated between liking him and hating him, but then I realized that he was kind of realistic. He stuck around, unlike Carrie's mom and he did the best he could to take care of both Carrie and Rosie (Carrie's sister). He got frustrated with Carrie because she stayed out all night and did drugs and made everyone around her miserable. There were times when I thought he could have reached out a little bit more, but he was doing the best he could. The problem was that Carrie did NOT make it easy.

Okay, so there is a reason why I thought this book was a bit better than it was for a majority of the book: there was an interesting twist on the whole "acting like a bitch because I'm sad" thing. The author alluded to the fact that Carrie had been diagnosed by a therapist as having impulse control disorder. That got my attention. How often is THAT mental illness talked about? Never. The way Carrie was out of control and the way she would totally overreact to stuff emotionally seemed to fit with that. And I got the feeling that her issues started before Ginny's death, but they just became so much worse after the fact. The problem though was that, aside from that one mention by the shrink, there was no other mention of it. With impulse control disorder, the patient needs therapy and medication. Well Carrie had stopped her therapy and there was no talk of medication. There were times when I wasn't sure if the author was trying to portray Carrie as mentally ill or if she was just throwing a temper tantrum. But the worst part, the absolute worst, was that the author made it seem as if Carrie's relationship with Dean was the answer to her problems. Carrie was desperate for a boyfriend; she got one. And once, Carrie felt herself start to overreact and have a "fit," as she called it. But guess what happened? One conversation with Dean and it was gone. Poof. Just like that. So freaking annoying. And she never had another episode again. Okay, I don't know that for sure, but that's definitely the direction the author was going with it. Sorry, but people who actually have impulse control disorder need a bit more help than a boyfriend can provide.

I would just recommend skipping this one. ...more

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Dec 26, 2016 Shanayah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-novels, review-copy, read-contemporaries, gorgeous-cover

Actual rating: 3.5 stars
Full Review Here

Before starting the book I had only briefly skimmed the synopsis a few months ago and had a vague remembrance of what the book was about, so when I picked it up to actually read it, I kind of went in blind.

Lisa’s writing was beautiful, I loved the metaphors and the fluidity of the story. I didn’t actually realise that the book was set in the 80’s until I read a couple of other reviews, oops. However, that does explain all the music references scattered Actual rating: 3.5 stars
Full Review Here

Before starting the book I had only briefly skimmed the synopsis a few months ago and had a vague remembrance of what the book was about, so when I picked it up to actually read it, I kind of went in blind.

Lisa’s writing was beautiful, I loved the metaphors and the fluidity of the story. I didn’t actually realise that the book was set in the 80’s until I read a couple of other reviews, oops. However, that does explain all the music references scattered throughout the book!

So, when I started out I didn’t like it but didn’t dislike it, but I pushed on and ended up either really liking it or disliking it I honestly don’t know?? But it made me cry so I suppose that means it’s good??? After sitting on it for a while I think I’ve decided I did like it. While the romance itself wasn’t exactly the highlight, I think I liked the family aspects more. The parts that made me cry were more about how estranged the family had become and what had happened afterwards, and my heart broke for the characters.

I also liked how imperfect it was, like life definitely isn’t perfect and things don’t always work out 100% right, and that’s ok. I also really liked the astrophysics aspect of the book! I felt like that isn’t something you generally come across in YA fiction, and I love space, so I was super excited whenever it came up.

Carrie herself kind of annoyed me sometimes, and I wasn’t a fan of the constant self-pity or how rude she was. I get that was the whole point of her character, but sometimes it was just too much and the other characters she was being rude to didn’t deserve it, and yeah, she’d gone through tough things, but that doesn’t give her an excuse to just be a terrible person. I also really, really, REALLY disliked how she kept going on and on about how she wanted a boyfriend. GIRL. Boys aren’t everything in life!! I was happy when she finally changed her mindset.

The book deals with a lot of teenage problems, like drugs, alcohol, toxic friends and relationships, and I think Carrie’s grief was depicted relatively accurately. Her recovery, however, I had minor problems with, as I don’t think it would’ve been that easy to do what she ended up doing over a one-month period.

I think all in all, it was an ok book, not good but definitely not bad. The ending made up for majority of the problems in the beginning.

I received a review copy from the publisher

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Sep 26, 2016 Forever Young Adult added it

Shelves: contemporary, reviewed-by-lacey

Graded By: Lacey
Cover Story: Under the Milky Way Tonight
BFF Charm: Beat It
Swoonworthy Scale: 3
Talky Talk: Hip To Be Square
Bonus Factor: Astrophysics
Factor: ’80s Music
Relationship Status: I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For

Read the full book report here.

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Oct 05, 2016 Terri rated it liked it

Shelves: netgalley

Review also found at http://kristineandterri.blogspot.ca/2...

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The book was just released.

I will begin my thoughts with what confused me about this story. I was quick to discover that this story took place in the eighties. While there was no specific mention of the period of the story, the reference to cassettes, jelly shoes, shoulder pads and balloon pants was a dead giveaway. While I Review also found at http://kristineandterri.blogspot.ca/2...

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The book was just released.

I will begin my thoughts with what confused me about this story. I was quick to discover that this story took place in the eighties. While there was no specific mention of the period of the story, the reference to cassettes, jelly shoes, shoulder pads and balloon pants was a dead giveaway. While I enjoyed revisiting my youth, I do fear that the demographic that this story is geared to may be too young to identify with this. Maybe I missed a reference indicating that the story took place in the eighties, or perhaps this is a re-release? I don't know.

As a main character, Carrie is a little hard to like. She lashes out at everyone and makes fun of everything. She is so unlikeable that you start to question why you are investing so much time in her journey. Many times I found myself thinking that I would write her off if she acted that way towards me.

Alas, the point of the story is her journey (read synopsis) to healing and accepting who she really was. While painful at times, you know you have to stick with it to get to the good stuff. I looked forward to her astrophysics rants because for once she was passionate about something that was not negative.

The story of Dean and Carrie is a little bit slow and really not the main point of the whole story. It reminds you of what you of what young crushes and romance is like but to be honest, there are much better stories that focus on that. What was interesting was their exchanges about music. While it became quickly evident that my musical taste did not match theirs, it was also clear that Davis must have a keen interest in music to reference so many artists and songs. It is that or she just really remembers the eighties. I myself only recognized the extremely mainstream music, clearly I would not be favored by Carrie and Dean.

While this is a story about dealing with an emotional trauma, healing and learning about oneself, it was just ok for me. I feel that if Carrie was just a tad more likeable, if even in her own head, that I would have enjoyed the story a whole lot more. ...more

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Sep 26, 2016 Laura.125Pages rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Lost Stars by Lisa Selin Davis is the story of a family coping with a devastating loss that may end up tearing the whole family apart. Carrie has turned to partying, her mother took off, her little sister is lost in the shuffle and her father is just angry. Facing the death of oldest daughter Ginny, the family is fractured in many ways. I must admit, that I at first thought that Carrie, our MC, had awful fashion sense but amazing taste in music (The Pixies on vinyl!). Then once I realized that ...more

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Apr 30, 2016 Aline rated it really liked it

Shelves: a_-stand-alone-recommend

Lost Stars by Lisa Selin Davis * 4.0 Stars*

Since her sister Ginny died, Carrie stopped being herself a hundred percent, and started becoming someone else. Partying, alcohol, and drugs became frequently activities for her. Not knowing what else to do to help Carrie, her father enrolled her on a summer job, where she encountered a friend from her past (who I really liked). This friend shared the same feelings towards astrophysics as Carrie and being close to her made Carrie remember how things ...more

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Feb 04, 2017 A. rated it did not like it

Shelves: did-not-finish

I can't. I just can't. I only made it maybe three pages in, but I have a life to live and a lot of books to read in that lifetime and so sometimes, rarely, but sometimes, I have to say no. I might have been willing to get through this book if the author had given me a reason to care that didn't feel so overly manipulative, but three pages in and all I know about this girl is that her sister is dead, and she spends all of her time either: high, getting high, thinking about getting high, in ...more

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Oct 28, 2016 Kirsty McGhie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-physical, arc-galley, reviewed

Lost Stars is about a girl called Carrie whose sister died causing her to go on a downward spiral, so her dad enrols her in a summer youth program in an effort to make her grow up.

I wasn't overly fond of Carrie, whilst she was just acting out due to loss she just seemed really ignorant to her dad caring about her and just generally obnoxious, but thankfully she progressed as a character throughout the novel. Carrie loves astronomy which I loved reading about because it's not often you read about ...more

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Aug 19, 2016 Sara rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya-fiction, arc, aug-2016

This book has left me nearly speechless, so I could probably put together a mix-tape to better express my feelings. I knew when the first song Carrie listened to was "Unsatisfied" by the Replacements that this was going to be very, very good. Such gorgeous writing, a story of grief and loss and love and hope and forgiveness. I loved the setting - the book takes place in 1987ish - and how the music helps Carrie grieve and heal.

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Jul 16, 2016 Melanie rated it liked it

*Review copy received from publishers*

This was a pretty good read. The best part of the book was all the music references. The astrophysics part, at times, seemed forced. It's set in the 80s, but the teens are super relatable. Overall, I liked it. Will be purchasing for the library.

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Dec 01, 2016 Natalia rated it liked it · review of another edition

Such a bittersweet YA contemporary. Here's my review: https://nataliawikana.wordpress.com/2...

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Oct 28, 2017 Annies Diary rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars
You can read my spoiler-free review on my blog :)
https://anniesdiary.nl/2018/10/21/all...

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Jun 18, 2018 Marsha rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: humor, young-adult, literature-fiction, romance, advance-reading-copy-advance-uncorr, owned-books

Teenager Carrie (born Caraway, named after a spice like her sisters Ginger and Rosemary) is caught in the throes of self-destruction. After her older sister Ginger dies in a drunk driving accident, Carrie seems determined to push herself down a similar road to her own annihilation. She immerses herself in Ginny’s crowd of older friends, drinks, takes drugs and allows boys to diddle her while she’s semi-conscious. Her inability to move past her sister’s death means a never-ending cycle of grief, ...more

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Sep 21, 2016 Melissa (BookNerdMomo) rated it liked it

Review link: https://booknerdmomo.wordpress.com/20...

I received this eARC via the publisher from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

All quotes are from the ARC and subject to change.

Going into Lost Stars I was a bit hesitant as I’ve seen more negative reviews than not. However, I ended up enjoying the majority of this book. It wasn’t a book that completely wowed me but it wasn’t terrible either.

I actually put this book down at about 85% through and didn’t pick it back up for several Review link: https://booknerdmomo.wordpress.com/20...

I received this eARC via the publisher from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

All quotes are from the ARC and subject to change.

Going into Lost Stars I was a bit hesitant as I’ve seen more negative reviews than not. However, I ended up enjoying the majority of this book. It wasn’t a book that completely wowed me but it wasn’t terrible either.

I actually put this book down at about 85% through and didn’t pick it back up for several days, so I apologize in advance if this review seems a bit choppy and all over the place.

Lost Stars is a realistic, raw, and poignant tale of a girl who doesn’t know how to properly navigate through the grief and guilt she feels over the death of her older sister. It will frustrate you a pull on your heartstrings.

It’s also very slow in pace. This book is a slow build – character development doesn’t happen in the blink of an eye. Which can be frustrating for the reader given the state of Carrie as a character from the beginning to the end.

It’s set in the 80’s and the author does a brilliant job of depicting that aspect. I loved it and whenever it would slip my mind something as simple as the type of music they listened to, the fact that cell phones weren’t the norm, or even something as simple as using a map to navigate would remind me.

In a way, Lost Stars was reminiscent of Love Letters to the Dead with a bit of a darker feel. No, they weren’t set in the same era but they felt similar to me.

“Before Ginny died, that was how it felt when I got upset: like I was about to throw up. Ginny used to be the one to talk me down, to stand at the door of my room and say, softly, “Caraway, take a deep breath, come here, hold my hand.”

The main character Carrie (Caraway) makes a lot of mistakes. She is an extremely flawed character and I think that’s something I loved about her. At first, she is a bit hard to like as she is going down a really self-destructive path as a way to cope with everything she is feeling. In the wake of her sister’s death and her mother’s seeming abandonment, she turns to partying with Ginny’s friends, getting drunk, and doing drugs. She alienates herself from everyone who cares about her. It was frustrating at times and I wanted to shake some sense into her, but I also couldn’t help having my heart break for her. I felt that Lisa Selin Davis portrayed Carrie’s struggles in a very realistic light because losing someone you’re close to and the subsequent grief that follows can be hard to cope with.

“An exploding star.”

“I thought they were made of gas.”

“Most of them have every single element in the entire universe. That calcium deposit could be billions of years old – it could be made of the stuff that was present when the universe was born. Is that the coolest, or what?”

Something I really loved about this book was the fact that Carrie was an astrophysics nerd. I love anything to astronomy and all of the metaphors to do with the stars and space were incredible and they were my favorite aspect.

The biggest problem I had with this book was, in fact, Ginny’s friends. Not only were they toxic for Ginny, in my opinion, which is something I won’t go into detail about because spoiler, but I felt that they were extremely toxic for Carrie as well. I kept getting the sense that they were pretty much using Carrie as a placeholder for Ginny. I think they thought they were saving her, but in the end pushed her even more down her path of self-destruction. I didn’t connect with any of them and didn’t particularly like any of them.

I actually didn’t connect with any character in this book besides Carrie, Dean, and Rosie.

You would think given the fact that Ginny’s friends and Carrie’s old friend, Tonya, seem to play a major role in her journey in this book that I would have connected with them but I didn’t. I didn’t even form an opinion about Tonya except for hoping that she and Carrie’s friendship worked out.

So there was this minor disconnection with the characters that threw me off.

“I have a statement. I think you need to be open to the idea that people will surprise you. At any time, someone you’re sure will disappoint you may come through. Find a little optimism somewhere.”

Dean, I adored. He was so awkward and cute and I couldn’t think of a better character for Carrie to have met. Sure, he has a lot of problems himself. He was not a perfect character and had secrets and mistakes of his own, but I felt like he and Carrie were good for each other. They played key roles in the healing process of each other’s journey.

Rosie is the little sister that annoys the hell out of you but you love anyway. I adored her too. In fact, I loved the sibling aspect of this book and how there was this unspoken camaraderie.

I also wasn’t sure, and am still not, what to think of her father. At times, it almost seemed as if he had given up on her but then he signs her up for this summer work camp which might be the thing that has the most positive impact on her. Her mother I definitely didn’t like – she was selfish. They also both kept a lot of secrets that I felt that they shouldn’t have kept.

“Eventually every star will explode. There’s no getting around it.”

“Maybe they’re not gone, those stars. Maybe they’re just lost. Maybe they’re just trying to find their way home.”

Carrie’s journey in this book was a bumpy one. Like I said, the character development is slow going and might not be for everyone. However, all hope is not lost for our main character because, in the end, Lost Stars will leave you with this sense of hope and peace for Carrie’s future.

I’ve read a lot of books where siblings are dealing with the grief of another sibling’s death and this one is definitely one of the darker ones, but it’s a powerful and realistic story about what grief can do to a person as well a story about growing up.

Personally, even with the disconnect I felt for most of the characters, I did enjoy this book. I’m not sure if it is for everyone but if you think you would enjoy it then I say give it a chance!
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Dec 11, 2016 Danielle rated it it was ok

This is the story of Carrie who after her sister dies takes her place in her group of wild older group of friends. She is struggling with drug use, drinking, anger issues, stealing, and major issues with her family (especially her dad). Because of all of these struggles her dad makes her take a job working for the local park with other troubled youth. Even though Carrie is a wild child who loves good 80's music, she is an astrophysics nerd at heart. She loves all things space and spends most of
This is the story of Carrie who after her sister dies takes her place in her group of wild older group of friends. She is struggling with drug use, drinking, anger issues, stealing, and major issues with her family (especially her dad). Because of all of these struggles her dad makes her take a job working for the local park with other troubled youth. Even though Carrie is a wild child who loves good 80's music, she is an astrophysics nerd at heart. She loves all things space and spends most of the book waiting for and completing calculations on a comet that will enter the earth's atmosphere for the fist time in over 75 years. Of course there is also a cute boy (because it is basically a must have in YA).

On to my thoughts...this book was ok. My biggest issue was Carrie. She was super unlikable until the very end of the story. I get that she is struggling, but she is the most selfish human being on the planet. She has no conception of other people's issues. Also she sees the worst in her dad. They have a tough relationship, but anyone can tell that he is just trying to set boundaries and make sure he doesn't loose another daughter. Does he make mistakes, of course, but if Carrie was my kid I would have been 100x more strict. I get that these are all "typical" teenage traits, but it far from worked for me in this book.

My biggest issue though was she spends way too much time in this book complaining about how she doesn't have a boyfriend, never had a boyfriend, is a virgin, and all she wants is a boyfriend she loves so she can have sex. She repeatedly reminds us that she has done "every thing but" with any guy she comes across, but she won't have sex. I completely respect wanting to have sex with someone you love, but we did not need to hear about it 1,400x. Also she has a fully on mental breakdown when a guy she doesn't even like breaks up with her after a day. I get that this is suppose to be a character that struggles with mental illness, but we really don't see it throughout the book. To me she seems like the type of person that would throw a hissy fit after her boyfriend of one day dumps her for the attention. It just does not make sense. The one kinda breakdown we see that is not that big of a deal. She gets in a fight with her dad and runs away. That isn't mental illness, it is a lack of communication on the part of both parties! This leads her to continue to be rude and throw a hissy fit every time she encounters someone. She keeps telling us she is "crazy," but she is only really crazy when she is drunk and high.

The shining light in this book though was the ending. Carrie finally learns how to grow up and be a semi-functional teenager, but for someone who is "crazy" it doesn't really explain how she works through her issues.

Another thing that I really enjoyed were the music references. This book for sure has a solid playlist!

Educator Warning- Frequent drug use, drinking, sexual situations, and profanity. I would say not appropriate for anything under high school. ...more

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Dec 13, 2017 Cindy Hudson rated it liked it

Since Carrie’s sister died she’s been spiraling downward, drinking and using drugs with Ginny’s old friends. Her mom has left, her dad doesn’t know what to do, and her younger sister is frightened of her. Carrie resents being forced to enroll in a summer work camp for teens, but as she works to build something new, she slowly reconnects with her old self, the one who liked being smart, the one happy to be an astrophysics nerd.

Lost Stars by Lisa Selin Davis examines a family coping with tragedy. ...more

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Jun 04, 2018 Aslyn C rated it liked it

GoodReads Review

Lost Stars by Lisa Selin Davis a young-adult novel that features a romance between two teenagers. One named Caraway, also known as Carrie, lost her sister a few years ago and has been affected ever since, and the other Dean who is her new neighbor. I enjoyed this book although I feel some changes could have been made to improve the overall experience of reading it.
One element of literature is the setting, this element was unique and effective. One example is that this book was ...more

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Nov 27, 2016 Book rated it liked it

I was pretty excited about reading LOST STARS as it seemed to promise the intense, deep, and meaningful contemporary YA's that I enjoy reading. I was expecting something with a similar tone to EVERY LAST WORD. Sadly, I got something that definitely didn't measure up. It wasn't terrible, but it was just okay at best.

LOST STARS brings you Carrie, a teen who is still grieving the loss of her sister to suicide. Following her death, she rebels and acts out. She starts hanging out with the wrong crowd ...more

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Mar 15, 2017 Deanna (A Novel Glimpse) rated it liked it

Shelves: romances, ya, fiction, ya-contemporary-romance, read-in-2017

Original review: A Novel Glimpse

3.5 Stars

Note: I won a copy of this book from Rockstar Book Tours.

Lost Stars is a story about a young woman learning to accept the cards life has dealt her.

Nothing is as it should be in Carrie’s life. Her sister’s dead, her mom’s MIA, and her dad is just plain mean. All that Carrie has left to make her world a decent place are her sister’s friends. They’ve taken her under their wings, and been there when she needed them. Those same friends have helped Carrie ...more

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Mar 02, 2018 Aurora rated it it was amazing

Shelves: realistic-fiction

This book is about a young teenager who is making her life worse, even though it was bad enough. Her older sister is dead, her mother moved out, and her dad is a huge jerk! So that's when her father put her in boot camp this summer to see if it helps her any. While she's at this boot camp, she realizes 3 things. #1. That Ginny's friends are bad influences and she should stop doing drugs and alcohol. #2. That she has fallen in love with a boy who has some secrets of his own from the past. #3. ...more

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Dec 14, 2016 Jana rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was an adorable romance. I also really liked how much of a focus was on family and family relationships in this book, as that is a thing that often is overlooked in YA. I adored the characters and their quirks, and I really enjoyed that this was science buff girl and English lit-student boy, I just liked that it wasn't the stereotypical other way around.

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