This book had been on my TBR shelf since forever, even before I finished reading “Everything, Everything” – another bestseller by the same author. Upon knowing that there would be a movie based on “The Sun Is Also a Star”, I knew that it was about time to read it. And I did. And it was so great. Not to mention the gorgeous book cover, which took serious work, patience, and extreme effort to make: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk32xz7mRJY
“The Sun is Also A Star” centers around two teenagers: Natasha – a Jamaican American girl, whose entire family is about to be deported from the US – and Daniel Bae – a boy born to two South Korean immigrants in the US. They meet through a chain of unplanned events that eventually binds them together, and love starts blossoming between the two. That leaves them with a tough question: how to stay with each other and let that love grow when Natasha literally won’t be here in the US tomorrow. You get that picture, right?
But this book is so much more than just a blossoming romance between two young people who accidentally meet each other on the street. It’s also about the story of each character, being a colored person living in a country which takes pride in its cultural and racial diversity, but never actually celebrates it. I was in awe at how amazing Nicola Yoon is as a writer, when she can create so much depth and humanity in a story happening in merely a day.
Through the banter and discussion between Natasha and Daniel, readers can see the real image of a boy born in a country that is somehow both his and not his; how Daniel is not Korean enough to his parents, and not American enough to other Americans. Daniel’s struggle to find his own identity amidst being torn between the culture of his parents’ homeland and the way of life where he is living as a legal citizen is so real.
And readers will also discover a broken American Dream in the way Natasha, her mother and little brother must endure a hard, poor life over the years; when her father sees his dream of becoming a successful stage actor being more and more out of reach, almost an illusion; when he leaves his family to face the reality of life, while he escapes into his own world inside his head, where he rules the stage. It’s so painful and touching to read how Natasha views her father and his tragic life story, how that same father once viewed his wife and children as a regret, a kind of hindrance which always stands in the way of him realizing his dream and living his passion.
And when not detailing these thought-provoking and heartbreaking details surrounding the two main characters to give them more depth and humanity, Nicola Yoon turns to the portrayal of their blossoming romance – the romance between two people that cannot be any more different. Natasha – after seeing her family suffering from her father’s hopelessness in the pursuit of his own passion, and experiencing her own heartbreak being cheated on by her ex-boyfriend – no longer believes in dreams and romance. Now, she only views this world through the lens of science; and love, to her, is nothing more than a combination of chemicals that work together to trick human beings into thinking they are in love.
Then comes Daniel – a boy who is on his way to a Yale university interview because his parents forced him to do so. If Natasha is a scientist, then Danial is a dreamer, because to him, life is a pursuit of one’s own true passion. To him, humans were born to serve some higher purpose than just finding a boring job inside a tall building, wasting our time away to make the money that we don’t need. He loves poetry, and is actually very good at writing some. Daniel’s story clearly reflects the expectation of many Asian parents living in America who want their children to follow respected careers that can easily pay the bills: lawyers, doctors, engineers, dentists… There is nothing wrong with wanting the best for your children, but at the same time, it’s the children who have the final say at what is best for them. Throughout the novel, Daniel struggles to distinguish and finally choose between what his parents expect him to do and what he actually wants to do with his life.
Like Daniel, I’m also a dreamer; not as big a dreamer as he is, but I also wish I could live multiple lives at the same time, being multiple versions of myself enjoying different jobs: writer, historian, filmmaker, photographer, actor… What Daniel shares with Natasha – pieces of his poetry and his personality, his dream and aspiration, the urge of putting words together to create something so magical like poems – is so real for those who always dream of being some people far above the mundane lives of their own, of being the artists that leave their marks in the world by not choosing the ordinary option: go to college, graduate, have a job, meet someone, fall in love, get married, have kids, grow old, and die.
But somehow, these two contrasting characters meet each other and fall in love. You can argue that there is no Fate, that things simply happen because they happen, that there is no deeper meaning, no grandiose reason or a higher entity putting people on their paths. But through what happens to Natasha and Daniel, through the love that is put inside Daniel the moment he sees Natasha, you may have to think again about Fate and love at first sight. And maybe you will argue that there is no love at first sight, maybe what they feel is just the physical attraction, or “koi no yokan” – the feeling of NOT falling in love with someone the first time you see them, but KNOWING that you WILL fall in love with them in the future.
But I always believe that love at first sight really exists. If it’s not, how can you explain what many people have experienced: the feeling of their hearts skipping a beat, the image of a family with that person right at the moment they look into each other’s eyes, the feeling that this person is the right person right off the bat? If it’s not, how can you explain what happens to Natasha and Daniel, the burning kisses they share after just hours of meeting? And how can you explain some couples just getting married after a short time meeting each other, and staying together ever since, while many other people, being in a relationship for 7, 8 years, still break up? Love at first sight, to me, is real and rare; it doesn’t happen much often, and this is why it’s so precious and so beautiful to witness.
However, at the end of the day, no matter how you fall in love, at first sight or slowly over a long period of time, the biggest challenge is always how to keep that love alive and growing. And this is what Natasha and Daniel fight tooth and nail to do, to keep Natasha in the US. The part before the ending sent shivers down my body, when somehow Nicola Yoon could both portray the heartbreaking beauty of first love, of letting go of someone you love so dearly, with all your heart, after just hours of meeting, and then put that love in contrast to the harsh reality and all the forces that are trying to break it.
Nicola Yoon was right: love changes everything, and it’s not only Daniel and Natasha’s love, but also the supporting characters’. Love does change Natasha and Daniel in a way that can be felt after so many years. The ending, like that of the author’s previous novel that I read, is an open one, enough to get our hopes up after all the heartbreak the characters and we have to endure. That, to me, is the perfect ending which leaves many room for readers’ interpretations of what’s coming up next for both Natasha and Daniel.
Besides love as the main theme, this book also touches on some interesting subjects, such as multi-universes, the history of the Afro hair, the eyes as the windows to our souls… “The Sun is Also A Star” is definitely a great read for anyone who’s loving some touching Young Adult romances that also feature cultural and racial diversity. And Nicola Yoon’s writing, like always, flows so smoothly and does very much to capture the essence of the romance she portrays. I’m really looking forward to reading more of her works in the future.
Final verdict: 9/10
Little Corner of My Mind 