THE BRIGHTEST STARS (Karina and Kael #1) by ANNA TODD

‘Stars seemed so fierce and bright, but by the time they got to us, they were dying, almost gone. And the biggest stars? They burned the fastest as if their intense radiance was too much for them to hold onto.’

Anna Todd writes a melancholy slow burn story about abandonment, deceptions, survival, and love in The Brightest Stars. We carry the marks of our childhoods –be they good or bad- with us into our adult lives. What doesn’t break us makes us stronger as they say, however sometimes, whilst we may have an inner strength, we also develop traits of insecurities, skepticism and a self-preservation that can impact us as negatively as it can positively.

 ‘Life support. That’s what he was starting to feel like for me. I should have been worried about that, but I wasn’t.’
‘We were trying to crawl inside each other, anything less…well, nothing would feel close enough unless that was possible.’

Karina has had a disruptive childhood with absent parents added to the difficulties that come with growing up in a military family. The strains and the impact of this life as well as being abandoned by her own mum has influenced how she currently lives her life. It’s not a bad life, however, her self-inflicted constraints rules a large part of it. A twenty year old girl who has already experienced more than most women her age she has a somewhat cynical view yet at the same time she’s certain in her wants and needs. Karina came across lonely, with only her twin brother a positive constant in her life. She’s protective, forgiving and nurturing despite them being the same age. Karina braces herself automatically against life in some respects. We felt for her the whole way through and understood her actions to be an instinctual consequence to what was taking place around her.

“Everything hurts,” he said. “All my body. All the time.”

As this story was entirely in Karina’s pov we never fully connected with Kael, but oh did we want to. His story, alongside Karina’s, had a solemnness to it. A twenty year old solder back from war who is clearly struggling physically as well as emotionally. We were desperate to get into his head to uncover how deep those evident scars ran. A man of few words, you just know that the words he does set free are relevant and meaningful. This man is the quiet to Karina’s inner storm.

“The words, your words—“ Kael’s voice was raspy, his dark eyes smoky. “The way they taste.” He bent down to kiss them. “They taste even better than they sound.”

No road to stillness, calm and love runs smoothly though. Secrets are uncovered, hearts are broken and loyalties are tested. Some bonds are stronger than others when faced with adversity at a most inopportune time. Love needs roots to grow and find its strength or the roughest current can dislodge it, making it harder to hang onto and preserve. We were left with a heart full of emotions as we wait for the continuing story of Karina and Kael. In The Brightest Stars, Anna Todd writes a very different character driven story with such detail and emphasis on life and its daily routines. An emphasis on people, their actions as well as thoughts, ensuring the -we as readers- become fully immersed into the fray.

“Let me fall in love with you, Karina.”