Of Scars and Stardust by Andrea Hannah

Of Scars and Stardust by Andrea Hannah

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After her little sister mysteriously vanishes, seventeen-year-old Claire Graham has a choice to make: stay snug in her little corner of Manhattan with her dropout boyfriend, or go back to Ohio to face the hometown tragedy she's been dying to leave behind.

But the memories of that night still haunt her in the city, and as hard as she tries to forget what her psychiatrist calls her "delusions," Claire can't seem to escape the wolf's eyes or the blood-speckled snow. Delusion or reality, Claire knows she has to hold true to the most important promise she's ever made: to keep Ella safe. She must return to her sleepy hometown in order to find Ella and keep her hallucinations at bay before they strike again. But time is quickly running out, and as Ella's trail grows fainter, the wolves are becoming startlingly real.

Now Claire must deal with her attraction to Grant, the soft-spoken boy from her past that may hold the secret to solving her sister's disappearance, while following the clues that Ella left for only her to find. Through a series of cryptic diary entries, Claire must unlock the keys to Ella's past—and her own—in order to stop another tragedy in the making, while realizing that not all things that are lost are meant to be found. (From Goodreads)

Of Scars and Stardust is written by Andrea Hannah and published by Flux on October 8, 2014. It is 336 pages.

THE FAERYS VIEW

Of Scars and Stardust by Andrea Hannah is such a surprise and an amazing book. I don’t really know how else to describe it. It’s incredibly mysterious, suspenseful and wow, did it throw me! I’m a bit thrown off – okay, I know I already said that but Wow! Holy Unexpected Endings!

Let me just start with this, Of Scars and Stardust is creepily atmospheric, beautifully descriptive and seriously suspenseful but not really in the 'OMG, I was turning pages like a maniac' way more of the it 'creeps up on you in an insidious sneaky way' and sort of 'grabs your heart and squeezes' way. Ms. Hannah’s writing is eloquent and thought-provoking, a true joy to read. The content itself is really unlike anything else I’ve ever read, sounds kind of trite, I know but I don’t know how else to explain it. I’ve never read a book before that left me feeling so uneasy or unsettled – but in a good way!

The main character, Claire, believes that wolves are responsible for attacking her sister, Ella. Claire has an exceptional amount of guilt over this since she sent Ella home from her birthday party and that's when the attack occurred. Claire has a very close relationship with Ella and the night that Ella is found bleeding in the snow, Claire just knows that the wolves are the reason but she’s sent away to New York to live with her aunt. She believes that the wolves continued to watch her while she was in New York, but of course, her psychiatrist tells her she is delusional, as many of the townsfolk also believe. It’s only when Ella goes missing two years later that Claire comes back to Amble to uncover the mystery.

There’s so much at play in this book, and there’s so much I don’t want to say for fear of spoiling it. Nobody believes her and most think she's delusional, including her family. Grant enters her life again and they fall for each other fairly quickly but I can overlook this, mostly because it’s such a sweet romance and also because they did know each other prior. Grant believes in Claire and he’s a fantastic character, probably my favorite. Claire makes for a fantastic heroine, she's incredibly realistic, traumatized, and certainly questions her sanity. It's difficult at times to figure out exactly what's really going on.

The ending is written so beautifully and so amazingly sad. I think what I'm feeling is a sense of sorrow but I'm having a hard time putting my finger on it. I am definitely putting Andrea Hannah on my read list, she’s amazing and I look forward to reading more from her.

I received a finished copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.




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