The Stars and the Blackness Between Them
By Barbara Saunders,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Teen girls fall in love, face death in breathtaking tale.
Add your rating
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this book.
Where to Read
Community Reviews
There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.
What's the Story?
When THE STARS AND THE BLACKNESS BETWEEN THEM opens, Audre's mother has found her making love with another girl. She commands Audre to move from her home in Trinidad, where she's surrounded by a loving grandmother and aunties, to Minnesota, where her father lives. In Minnesota, Audre meets Mabel, the daughter of her father's friend. The two become close friends, and their relationship blossoms into romance. Mabel feels under the weather for many weeks, and the doctor's tests reveal a life-threatening illness. As she undergoes treatment, Mabel leans on Audre, who draws upon the healing powers her grandmother has cultivated in her. She also takes comfort in the music of Whitney Houston and the spiritual writings of a death-row inmate whose book she finds on her parents' shelves. Mabel and the inmate, Afua, become pen pals and begin a correspondence about life and death.
Is It Any Good?
This is a breathtakingly beautiful book. The Stars and the Blackness Between Them is Junauda Petrus' first novel; however, she's an accomplished filmmaker, poet, performance artist, and playwright, and brings all of those talents to bear. The book benefits from rich visual imagery, poems, and a skillful use of dialect and accents to reveal character. The author touches on coming out, conflict with parents, extended family relationships, friendship, justice, the immigrant experience, and mortality, all the while making her characters feel like real, specific, lovable people.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how young love shapes the lives of the characters in The Stars and the Blackness Between Them. Each of the two main characters falls in love for the first time. The author also includes early love stories about the Audre's grandmother and her parents. How are their stories different? How are they similar?
The book is written in a style called "magical realism." The story takes place in the real world, but supernatural events happen. Why do you think the author chose to use magic the way she did?
The adult family members have conflicting approaches to dealing with Mabel's and Audre's concerns. How do the adults' own lives influence their attitudes and behaviors?
Book Details
- Author: Junauda Petrus
- Genre: Romance
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy , Friendship
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
- Publication date: September 17, 2019
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 14 - 18
- Number of pages: 320
- Available on: Paperback, Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Kindle
- Award: Coretta Scott King Medal and Honors
- Last updated: February 6, 2020
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
Where to Read
Our Editors Recommend
Books with LGBTQ+ Characters
Books Like The Fault in Our Stars
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate