A single kindness can save a life.
Book Summary
Journal entry: Heading to school. I know what everyone will say. There goes the girl who tried to kill herself.
Addison is no stranger to feeling stressed, insecure, and sad. Her therapist recommended she keep a journal to help her understand those feelings better, which she really needs today. It’s her first day back to school, several weeks after she survived her suicide attempt. She knows there are rumors about why she did it: A lousy home life? Bullying? Heartbreak? None of them are true, but it doesn’t matter because Addison still feels like she’s drowning. She still holds secrets she’s not ready to share.
During the school day, Addison encounters four other students struggling with their own secrets:
Booker is anxious about seeing Addison. They were sort of a couple until he tried to kiss her. She fled and then tried to end her life. Those two things couldn’t be related, could they?
Celia feels trapped by her mother’s abusive boyfriend. She can guess why Addison did what she did.
Damion is TikTok-famous and thinks befriending Addison could boost his followers. But what no one knows is he needs the world to remember him since his sick mom doesn’t anymore.
Avery is considered a loner and doesn’t know Addison, but they have neighboring lockers. With Avery’s older brother in jail for dealing drugs, Avery is desperate for meaningful human connection.
Swimming in a Sea of Stars is a poignant and gripping novel about how we’re all interconnected, like the stars in the night sky that form constellations and map out the universe, and if even one star goes missing, the effect is profound.
Addison is no stranger to feeling stressed, insecure, and sad. Her therapist recommended she keep a journal to help her understand those feelings better, which she really needs today. It’s her first day back to school, several weeks after she survived her suicide attempt. She knows there are rumors about why she did it: A lousy home life? Bullying? Heartbreak? None of them are true, but it doesn’t matter because Addison still feels like she’s drowning. She still holds secrets she’s not ready to share.
During the school day, Addison encounters four other students struggling with their own secrets:
Booker is anxious about seeing Addison. They were sort of a couple until he tried to kiss her. She fled and then tried to end her life. Those two things couldn’t be related, could they?
Celia feels trapped by her mother’s abusive boyfriend. She can guess why Addison did what she did.
Damion is TikTok-famous and thinks befriending Addison could boost his followers. But what no one knows is he needs the world to remember him since his sick mom doesn’t anymore.
Avery is considered a loner and doesn’t know Addison, but they have neighboring lockers. With Avery’s older brother in jail for dealing drugs, Avery is desperate for meaningful human connection.
Swimming in a Sea of Stars is a poignant and gripping novel about how we’re all interconnected, like the stars in the night sky that form constellations and map out the universe, and if even one star goes missing, the effect is profound.
Book Details
- Publisher : Shadow Mountain (August 1, 2023)
- Language : English
- Genre: Teen and Young Adult Fiction
- Subject Matter: Depression, Mental Health, Suicide, and Family Issues
- Hardcover : 256 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1639931015
- ISBN-13 : 978-1639931019
- Reading age : 13 - 17 years
- Grade level : 7 - 12
****I received a complimentary book from publishers, publicists, NetGalley, book tours, and or authors. A review was not required and all opinions and ideas expressed are my own.****
My Review
Swimming in a Sea of Stars was a powerful read. The fantastic thing is the whole book takes place in a 24-hour time period. We follow 5 teens who are going through something difficult in their private lives. What they don't realize at first, is how they will end up interacting with one another and change the outcome of the day in all of their lives. What a great message for teens and all people to realize and remember: that everyone matters. Julie Wright brilliantly shows in this novel how a smile, acts of kindness, and a few positive words can change people's lives.
There are so many things that work to make this a great novel, and one thing I loved were the parts of the book written by Addison in her journal assigned by her therapist. There is so much honesty and truth as Addison expresses her feelings and interactions on that first day back at school after her suicide attempt. Between the five teens and their problems in life, there will be something that any teen or adult will be able to relate to.
I hope many teens get the chance to read this book. Hope Squads across the country should make this a book their members read. If you already didn't know, Hope Squad is a peer-to-peer suicide prevention program. Hope Squad members are nominated by their classmates as trustworthy peers and trained by advisors. The program reduces youth suicide through education, training, and peer intervention. My son was on the Hope Squad at his high school. It made a huge impact on his life and many others he helped along the way. Swimming in a Sea of Stars will do the same. Just like Booker mentioned in the novel about the Linkin Park song, 'One More Light', it asks who cares if one more light in the sky goes out in a sky full of a million stars? Who cares? This has been one of my son's favorite songs and he loves this group. This song is telling listeners that they are important and cared about. Author Julie Wright is also telling people that they are cared for and loved. We as readers are blessed that Julie has written such an influential novel that parents, teens, and teachers can read and be encouraged in opening up their eyes and truly seeing the needs of others around them.
5-Star Read*****
Side note-None of the hard topics inferred in this novel are going into depth about their sensitive topics.
****Meet Author Julie Wright****
Julie Wright wrote her first book when she was fifteen. She's written over twenty novels since then. She is a Whitney Awards winner for best romance with her books Cross My Heart and Lies Jane Austen Told Me, The American Library Association listed “Glass Slippers, Ever After, and Me” in their 2020 top ten best romances and "A Captain for Caroline Gray" in their 2021 top ten best romances.
She has one husband, five kids, two grandbabies, one dog, and a varying amount of houseplants (depending on attrition).
She loves writing, reading, hiking, playing with her kids, and watching her husband make dinner.
She hates mayonnaise.
She has one husband, five kids, two grandbabies, one dog, and a varying amount of houseplants (depending on attrition).
She loves writing, reading, hiking, playing with her kids, and watching her husband make dinner.
She hates mayonnaise.
Learn more about Julie and her books HERE:
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