one of those stories that manages to suck you into its world and not leave you out of there until you finish it. really beautiful story, full of realness, bitterness, but still with the hopefulness. since I always talk about how we need more diversity, I need to mention that this book has a hell lot of it, from queer ones to mental health ones, which is fantastic. and it'll probably break you.. a couple of times.

Thank you to NetGalley who approved my request to read and review this book and to the publisher who provided me a copy. In no way does the process of how I received this book, influence my opinion. 

I liked the whole Starworld created, that was different and really contributed to the text message, yet at one point I just skimmed through because there was a lot. Even though this was a proof copy, I hope they made the text messages in bold or a different font as there’s so much. I don’t think I’ve come across so much text messages in a novel unless it’s set in that format. It’s written in the first person, alternating between Sam and Zoe. The start was slow to get into things but once it did; it sucked me into the story and just waited for that moment that we all knew was coming, eventually. It came later. It took a while, and I thought they have revealed it through Starworld but the climax happened about 70% into the book. Everything else seemed to be added on. After the climax, everything dragged to a point where I was reading and thought the authors didn’t know what an ending to create so they just kept on writing. I don’t know how to feel about the ending, Sam deserved better than Zoe who’s so self-absorbed and most of the time just pity Sam. 

Which, brings me to my next point. The characters. I liked Sam Jones because she was plain and realistic. She had goals and dreams yet, didn’t have anyone to share with. She gave it her all. Starworld, Zoe and her mother. Even Zoe’s brother, Jonah to please Zoe because she knew it would’ve made her happy. Yet one thing that ticked me off and that I couldn’t get was how distant she was to her father. All the memories she’d share with him were happy and suddenly when her dad left she hates him? Assumptions without asking and when we finally meet the father, he’s understanding and way different to cliched parents who’ve divorced. The epilogue was written in Zoe’s perspective yet I wished it ended in Sam since it started with her. Same literally gave Zoe everything, the best birthday gifts, reasons to smile, entertainment, Starworld to escape in and a ride to school once in a while… she deserved better. Yet her ending seemed to be a new beginning for her in London? Illinois? I’m not sure.

Onto Zoe Miller who wasn’t all that as she’s described in the blurb and through Sam’s perspective. It’s the cliches part of the book. Perfectly, beautiful girl had problems… newsflash, everyone does. Zoe’s been through a lot, I get that but she made everything about her. At one point she wants to find her real parents which are fine but she compares literally everything! Whatever she does, she has to think who she adapted it from… her adoptive parents or biological parents. Also, spoiler alert, her real parents aren’t in the book if you’re wondering if she ever gets there. Also, she dated the hottest and most athletic guy, Hunter who was so sweet! I wish we’d seen more of him. They broke up too soon in the book and when she told Sam, it sort of implied to Sam that she’s no longer interested in Hunter but someone else. They spoke whenever they could and was there for each other. So I don’t blame Sam for kissing Zoe. Then Zoe wondered how she let her on… not a smart girl, she frustrated me so much. After the climax, she pitied Sam so much with, wait for it… ‘Oh, Sam’ almost every time like Sam was a little girl. 

I won’t go into the minor characters in such detail but Sam’s mother wasn’t the best mother and was self-fish. Her OCD was no excuse. Sam worked day and night to satisfy her mother’s needs and comply with a routine. She was afraid of what might happen if her mother lost it. It’s understandable that she cares, but no person goes through this, let alone a teenager girl by herself. The mother was no help either who was oblivious to her daughter’s life. It reached a point where Sam was afraid she might become like her mother. 

Onto, Jonah, Zoe’s brother. Not the best portrayal of an autistic character. There’s only bad moments and sacredness of how Jonah might react when he doesn’t get his way. Then the satisfying feeling of when he doesn’t hurt anyone. When he’s transferred to a facility, it became all about the family, not Jonah. Their emotions and when they visited him, Zoe realized things done there that they didn’t think of doing at home. Jonah seemed like an excuse for Zoe to deal with her mother having cancer and being adopted. I wish there were more real moments shared with him and the family where he’s treated normally and not where his disability is mentioned every page. 

So, back to why I liked this book. If I wasn’t going through what Sam went I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much. I would’ve been more critical and observant rather than relating and becoming emotional when Sam and Zoe became close. For once, I’ve read and enjoyed emotionally a story about two friends. I haven’t read a lot of books where it’s the main plot and I’m glad I came across this one. It made me realize that not everyone in permanent. Yes, you’ll go through many friends but it’s when you find that friend that changes your world and you guys become so close and inevitable that it feels like nothing can tear you two apart. Then something happens that changes everything and you realize how different you two are even though you’ve related. You realize that it will be okay with whatever happens because it’s the memories and how that person made you feel and how they were there for you. It’s okay if things don’t worry out or if you’re not close anymore and it’s fine if you pop in once in a while to check up on each other. Yet there’s still that feeling where one cares for the other more and that’s the worst because one always ends up heartbroken.

I loved this book so much! I love Sam and Zoe and their friendship! That’s what this book is really about, is friendship. Well, and family. And how all relationships are complicated. But I love the themes of friendship and the importance of being seen and known and loved for who you are.

Oh, and of course I loved star world, their fantasy world that they wrote together via text message.

And even though I received a free e-book from netgalley in exchange for review I ended up buying the audiobook and I love the audiobook version as well. I think I will want to read this again in the future.

Starworld is a very sweet contemporary YA novel that I couldn't put down!

Sam is artistic and likes to be by herself, while Zoe is popular and constantly surrounded by friends. They're not the type of girls who look like they'd be friends, but when Zoe asks Sam to lend her one of her paintings for the school play, they form an unlikely friendship ... and they form Starworld: a fictional world they can go to forget about their lives and be in peace.

Sam's mother has OCD while Zoe's brother has Down syndrome, so they're both very stressed and need time for peace and quiet. Both girls lead a very stressful life and Starworld helps them deal with their problems.

I adored this book but I can definitely see how the ending is not for everyone. I for one liked it. Highly recommend!

Bittersweet, hopeful, queer, nostalgia, whimsy, mental health discussion, YA, POC. This book had everything I love rolled into one book and did not disappoint. It's a story about two girls from opposite ends of a high school social spectrum who end up drawn together and becoming life-lines for each other. I don't want to spoil anything, but this is an entirely relatable female friendship based story that is a must read.

Told in alternating perspectives, & text language, this was a story of friendship and love. This book tackled some pretty heavy topics like OCD, belonging, anxiety, and disabilities. It was done with grace and style but also humor. A great YA read

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Starworld was really cute dammit. Yet, it somehow made me feel disappointed in how it ended? Not quite sure what the whole plan was here but damn, it just fell completely flat. I was underwhelmed and I'm not okay with this.

In this book, you will meet Sam and Zoe. I honestly really enjoyed their characters and was amazed with how two writers made everything flow nicely throughout the book. These two just sort of clicked with one another and it was nice to just sit back and watch what would happen. Well, until it ended and now I don't know what day, month, or year it is.

Throughout the book, you will definitely hit some bumps along the road of their adventure. I definitely wished things went differently in this book. Yes, with the ending but with other stuff as well (which I don't want to spoil dammit). Overall, I still enjoyed this book but hoped for a different outcome.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Starworld was really cute dammit. Yet, it somehow made me feel disappointed in how it ended? Not quite sure what the whole plan was here but damn, it just fell completely flat. I was underwhelmed and I'm not okay with this.

In this book, you will meet Sam and Zoe. I honestly really enjoyed their characters and was amazed with how two writers made everything flow nicely throughout the book. These two just sort of clicked with one another and it was nice to just sit back and watch what would happen. Well, until it ended and now I don't know what day, month, or year it is.

Throughout the book, you will definitely hit some bumps along the road of their adventure. I definitely wished things went differently in this book. Yes, with the ending but with other stuff as well (which I don't want to spoil dammit). Overall, I still enjoyed this book but hoped for a different outcome.

I have mixed feelings on this. On the one hand, the summary was incredible and gave me high hopes. And, since I love both authors, I assumed this would be fantastic! Sadly, as I was reading, I just didn't enjoy the story as much as I'd hoped to.

Unfortunately, a big issue was the writing style. It was almost written in a texting format. It didn't work for me.

I also think some characters were underused (Will) and MORE interactions between characters could've helped.

This was just okay for me.

This book was unlike anything I've ever read and so unique. The world that these two were able to create was fascinating and the way the book was written was compelling and held my interest throughout.

It was well written and an interesting story, but found the ending a bit disappointing. My 13 year old daughter enjoyed it and would recommend this to her friends!

STARWORLD sounded like such a fun idea. Two girls exchange numbers for what is, essentially, a school assignment. But then they start texting each other as an escape from their problems, and together they create Starworld - an adventure through text that grows and progresses with each exchange.

However fun the idea seemed, though, I just did not find STARWORLD to be very compelling. I could empathize with the problems these girls were facing, but I could also see the end coming right from the start. While I appreciate that this ending was more realistic than most would have been given the same set up, this book just wasn't for me.

I liked Sam as a character much better than Zoe. Even though Zoe was going through a really tough time at home, her friends a boyfriend were incredibly understanding and supportive. She thanked them by ignoring them and pushing them aside. I get that teens don't always react well, but Zoe just made me roll my eyes.

And while this Starworld they created together seemed fun, it came off feeling superficial and altogether too cheesy for my liking.

I was not invested in any of the relationships, characters, or situations, and I really didn't care too much about how it ended.

Amazing fresh book with a cute romantic element that was written perfect from the point of both characters.

What a nice find. This was the first book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed it. The story was different from anything I've read recently and really captured my attention. It was so well written and the characters were fantastic.

I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, the book promised a lot and I just felt like it didn't really live up to its expectations.

First off, I wasn't a big fan of the writing style. Most of the book is written using a text format and while it was fine the first few times, after a while I ended up skipping a lot of these parts because it got too much.

Overall, it just fell short for me. The characters aren't really developed and neither were the relationships. And if you were hoping for a queer relationship... that doesn't happen in this book, although the premise is bit misleading of that.

I really liked the premise of this book but ultimately, the writing style did not work for me and the book just didn't hold my attention as much as I wanted it too.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Starworld follows two girls, named Sam and Zoe, who each have a lot going on in their lives. Together, they escape said lives into a place called Starworld.

This book was a wonderful time. In fact, it was well on its way to being a five star read for me until the ending didn't exactly go the way that I wanted. But hey, that represents real life, and I can always appreciate that! Otherwise, this book was a tremendous amount of fun. I absolutely adored the characters and the story. I also really enjoyed all of the issues and representation packed into this novel. Side note: If you enjoyed Geekerella by Ashley Poston, I have a feeling you'll really enjoy this book as well! All in all, Starworld is an absolute GOOD TIME, and I highly recommend that you read it!

I got this ARC from Netgalley after I requested it because it sounded very good and I heard so many people being excited about it. Reading it, however, it didn’t really live up to my expectations. Until like 65% trough, this was going to be a 2-star read but I did like the ending so I ended up giving it 3 stars.

Content warnings for this book include: mother with cancer, OCD, anxiety, unrequited love, a handicapped brother (that is gonna live in a facility instead of home), adoption (and wondering who you are).

First off: the bad parts. I really really really disliked their texting style. It filled the most of the first 60/70% of the book and it really made me want to stop reading. It was so cringey and it reminded me of my maybe 10 or 12 year old self, not the 16 year old version. It was literally like this: *hops on a dragon* *follows* and I just couldn’t handle it. I ended up skipping a lot of these parts.

I also felt like it was a pretty flat book. No characters or friendships were really fleshed out and it was all a bit meh. Zoë struggled with being adopted and with the moving out of her disabled brother but it felt like that was all she was. She wasn’t excited about anything else or did anything else. Like Sam was just struggling with the relationships in her life (with her mom,Will, and her dad) and every now and again there was a mention of her wanting to be a astrophysicist but that was it. They both had friends that made appearances but their friendships were not really that supportive or really worked out.

If you’re hoping for an f/f romance… this isn’t the book for you. This doesn’t happen. There is queer representation and it is handled really well and everyone is supported but there is no queer romance.

I did really enjoy the ending. It showed not everything goes as you planned and you win some and you lose some. Both Sam and Zoë handled things their own way and it was beautifully done. I loved how they both got a hold of themselves and managed to confront the things they struggled with. The epilogue was beautiful and really brought a smile to my face

I really like the promise of this book but the two points of view made it difficult to really get into either character. The idea was beautiful and I loved the friendship that emerged between Sam and Zoë but the texts… the texts made it so hard to enjoy this book. I’m sure there were beautiful sights described in these texts but I just couldn’t read them. The story that happened between these texts was written fairly well and the ending was beautiful. If you can handle these texts and the summary sounds good to you, go for it! Because it’s actually a pretty neat story.

Talk about being completely blown away by a book that you expected to be a nostalgic whimsy read! Y'all, this book was EPIC and I LOVED it. I loved the synopsis and have a particular weakness for a dual POV book with two authors that each write one of the characters, so this was one I was really looking forward to and it did not disappoint.

The basic story is that two girls from opposite ends of the social spectrum end up involved in each other's life, and it quickly becomes a profound relationship for both of them. The thing that struck me most about this plot-line was how COMPLETELY relatable it was. Some of my most intense and important female friendships have sprung from some of the hardest moments of my life, where I just happened to reach for a tether at the same time as the other girl did - and it turned out we grabbed the same line.

The other thing that I found so noteworthy about this book was how complicated, messy, and REAL it was. I have a gripe with books that add in timely subject matter just so they can say they've included it. It feels as though some authors have a checklist next to them, and they just write a sentence, i.e. "And Lindsey had anxiety.", check off "Anxiety Disorders," and then somehow want to claim that they're hip to the difficulties and have representation in their works. HOWEVER, as messy as these girls' lives were, none of it felt contrived. And when you break it down, they're dealing with a lot: divorce, adoption, LGBTQ+, disability, anxiety disorders, abandonment, etc. Not once did I feel like a situation was created to fit one of these issues -= it just felt like reading about two girls that I probably knew in high school and had no idea the lives they were actually living.

Lastly, the way their relationship was formed and the beautiful world they created was so amazing. It felt really reminiscent of The Bridge to Terabithia, and this + the nostalgia of creating my own imaginary worlds as a kid made this such a fun part of the story. I loved the silliness of their dragon companion, and was especially tickled that he was fueled by Taco Bell hot sauce. (If you know me at all, you know I **love** me some Taco Bell!)

Okay, so as it turns out I have one more thing ... it's somewhat of a spoiler, so I don't really want to lay it out here - but suffice it to say that I was hovering at 4 stars until the ending of the book. And it skyrocketed to 5 stars because of how the authors chose to end the book, which made it an even better representation of so many relationships I've had.

Read the book, y'all. Share it with your girlfriends. Share it with your teen patrons. Share it with your kids. Just. Read it.

This book was really amazing and I am so glad that I read it!

Sam and Zoe go to the same school but are very different and in completely different social groups and don’t talk to each other. Zoe wants one of Sam’s paintings for the play and so, they exchange numbers and start texting.

Through their texts, they form Starworld, where they can share their feelings and rant about their lives and just be vulnerable and I love that!

I love their friendship and how they are there for each other, how they support each other in hard times and how they just seem to connect.

I also love the diversity in this book and how different problems in one’s lives are dealt with.

Overall, it was a very positive book and it made me realise how we may never know what’s going on in someone’s lives and how we all have different problems to get through!

The ending wasn’t really what I wanted but none the less, I loved it just like the rest of the book!

Thank you Candlewick Press for the free copy. I do not think this book was for me. I could not get into the love story. It was interesting to learn about living with someone with OCD. It put my tendencies in a new light. I was glad that the book did not follow a typical Rom com. It however left some unanswered questions at the end.