Bel Reviews: Christie Nieman’s – “As Stars Fall”

This story has an innovative twist, using a bird as the glue that holds the storyline together. It works amazingly well.

A Bush-Stone Curlew is injured by a fire that kills the mother of two of our characters, and we see that scene from the bird’s point of view. The bird escapes the blaze and takes up residence in a city park near where our third main character has been replanted from her happy country life.

We then spend the book jumping between the heads of our three main characters: Robin, a self-confessed bird-nerd, Delia, a high-achieving weirdo, and Delia’s brother Seth, a drop-out who is severely affected by the death of his mother.

It’s taken me a while to process this book so that I am able to review it. I did love the book, and I want that to be in the forefront of your mind. I was, however, extremely disturbed by how realistically these teens and adults struggled through this traumatic chapter of their fictional lives.

Christie did a brilliant job of capturing emotions and giving an unflinching look at how different people cope in the face of adversity.

If you’re in the mood for something a little deeper and more serious over the summer break, I’d suggest you seek out As Stars Fall. I’m trying to think of comparisons, and the closest I can think of is the Australiana feel of Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden (minus the war), and the stark, unshrinking nature of Siege by Sarah Mussi.

**Note** This book contains drug use, so be aware that it is better suited to mature readers of YA.

Paperback, 320 pages

Published July 1st 2014 by Pan Australia

ISBN 1743517696 (ISBN13: 9781743517697)