This book is very well done! The world building is great, the characters are engaging, the social tension is real. My one problem, as an educator is that it is really really long which makes it harder for use in a class. Regardless, I think it will make a good book club choice, but it's appeal will definitely be to particular students.

A YA dystopian version of Les Misérables! I have never read the original, but this retelling -- set in the far future on a distant planet after humans have had to leave Earth That Was, so to speak -- does a very good job transposing many of its characters and plot beats insofar as I understand them, while managing to slot in a ton of sci-fi elements, such as cyborg policemen. Well done.

There are a few things that bothered me about this book, and unfortunately they also had largely to do with some of the choices the authors made in an attempt to hew closely to the source material. Some of the plot devices and several of the character interactions are quite cringeworthy. For example, romance is introduced in very clunky ways, including a triangle and some insta-love... which come from Les Mis, but could easily have been excluded here. Why introduce het romance at all, when one could choose to go with interesting friendships or queer subtext instead? (Although the latter would perhaps be too much to ask from a book in which the presence or absence of long hair on a girl seems to be a good indicator of gender, to the point where Chatine, masquerading full-time as a boy called Theo but growing our her hair in order to sell it... simply needs to hide the length in a bun under a hood... which seems like a really fragile idea... but I digress...)

Also clunky are moments such as the part when the General asks Chatine (which is a really terrible name!) to spy on his officer grandson Marcellus because Marcellus trusts her... after they met once, just one day prior, for like a hot minute. But, as the three main YA characters also employ a LOT of YA tropes -- Chatine the streetwise, crossdressing thief girl; Marcellus the dreamboaty upright citizen boy who meets a girl (or two) and slowly learns the truth about the faulty regime he's been part of; Alouette the sheltered girl who is secretly trained as a stealth weapon of some sort -- it's not surprising that the plot would employ tropes too. The good news is that the plot and the characters also contain interesting details that are unique to this book, and that the whole thing is pretty well written! Chatine is the most interesting and developed, but that could be in part because I tend to enjoy the streetwise, crossdressing thief girl trope. Still hate her name though. (Seriously, it is a made-up, French-sounding word meant to mean "little cat"!)

The other main problem that I had and which derived from the source material, was with the way the French language was used. Rather than just having characters with French names and a planet called Laterre, etc., French words -- primarily but not always French/English cognates (such as "stupide" and "plastique") -- were used throughout this English-language book, somewhat arbitrarily. That is, why use certain words in this way but not others? Obviously, there are plenty of English-language books set in, say, France but written in English that might use certain French terms when no English equivalent will do, but I've never seen it done in quite this way, and I did not like it. It tended to kick me out of the story. I don't recall any sensical worldbuilding that would explain it. Though the planets in this star system (the "System Divine" of the series title) ostensibly represent different countries and there's mention made of a past war with Albion (i.e., England), there's no context for the language of Laterre to have been changed to, like, English-with-French-twists after interplanetary colonization or something. Laterre is established as having always been French from its original human colonization, though they may have been politically controlled by Albion at one point. To sum up: the French words were used for French color to remind readers that this is Les Mis.

To sum up, I had some problems, but overall I enjoyed this book and will most likely read the next installment when it comes out. I would recommend it to YA fans, and to anyone who likes unusual retellings. And yes, this book is rather to Les Mis what Cinder is to Cinderella!

Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell is fantastic. I am loving this book. If the cover doesn't grab you right away then the story will draw you in. As the reader you are introduced to three characters, Chatine, Marcellus, and Alouette. These three people couldn't be more different but they will all touch each others lives in a different way.

Chatine is a thief. Chatine has lived a hard life. She is considered to be part of the lowest part of society, the third estate. No one cares about her or others like her. Obviously she doesn't have the best outlook on life.

Marcellus is the son of a renowned traitor. Marcellus wants to be the best solider that he can be but he just isn't cut out for it. He is so used to being alone that he really just wants to be loved by anyone.

Alouette has a secret. She has lived underground her entire life. She grew up helping the sisters record history. Now she lives in a time that people don't remember the written word. Alouette wants nothing more than to go outside but once she is outside she discovers secrets about her past that she wasn't ready for.

I really enjoy these characters. Just as importantly, I enjoyed the world building. Brody and Rendell brought us a beautiful world that is so vivid. Even the drabby parts were described so beautifully. I really enjoyed this book. One thing I really appreciate is this book makes me feel like I am there and that I am part of the story.

I have read Les Miserables and I have to say that this is a great retelling of Les Miserables but I feel like a lot of backstory is left out compared to the book it is based on. I think someone who has not read Les Miserables won't have any issues with this story and they will probably breeze straight through it. Someone who has read it, will definitely notice the differences and the backstory that is missing.

You should definitely check out this book. I really like it and I think it is worth your time to read. Plus there are so many good and fun things coming out about this book. Check it out because I don't think you will regret it.

DUUUUUUUUDE this was so good!!! I came in extremely apprehensive and unsure of what this behemoth of a book was going to be buT WOW! Considering it is a Les Miserables retelling in space, it has the heightened elements thanks to the original story. But as someone who hasn’t read LM, I was still so captured by the entirety of the story.

I loved the political intrigue that the story thrives off of. The entire revolution, the military forces, spies and whatnot made this such an intense read. And having the main characters be on different sides of the revolution, THEN FORCING THEM TO INTERACT was superb.

These characters all play such a big role in understanding the world in a new way, and I loved learning with them. Marcellus has such a great character growth and is easily an all time favorite male character, Chatine is honestly the best character in this entire book, and Alouette is so smol and has SO much to learn.

THE ENDING??? I really sat there thinking I was going to get this epic conclusion or somethIN but nope. Obviously it’s meant to set up book 2, but WHEW did that throw me. This entire book felt intense and kept me on the edge of my seat, but was also a great set up for the sequel, and I cannot wait to see what’s developed in the next.

Sadly I was not able to read and review this title before it was archived as I couldn't get the non-Kindle option to work - but I ended up picking up a finished copy and figured feedback never hurts! I absolutely LOVED Sky Without Stars. As I wrote on goodreads:

"It's Les Miserables, retold in space. If that alone doesn't convince you, consider that I inhaled this nearly-600 page book in a single afternoon. If you're still not convinced, there may just be no helping you.

I LOVE Les Miserables - it's my favorite musical, but I'm also one of the few people I know who thoroughly loved the book as well - and SKY WITHOUT STARS is an epic reimagining that pays tribute to an incredible work but with a fresh, inventive spin that feels wholly original and (see above re: one afternoon) utterly un-put-downable. I loved spotting the callouts to Hugo's masterpiece, but it's not just copy-and-pasted into a space setting, it's telling a whole new story too. Highly, highly recommend!"

I have been highlighting it on our YA Staff Picks shelf whenever it's in the library since we got it, and while I'm bummed that I couldn't read the ARC and start recommending it sooner, I am delighted to have still read it.

I ended up DNF after 20%

I was really excited about this book as I love Les Miz and was excited to see it reimagined into a YA sci-fi book, Unfortunately, the book failed to hook me and felt meh about the storyline and characters. I was mostly bored reading this book and took forever to get through the first 20% - I am a big mood reader so maybe wasn't in the right mood to read the book and might pick it up at a later date

I have been a huge fan of Jessica Brody but I struggled to get through this book. It's length was a bit daunting and I had a hard time getting into it. I think that some people will love this story and the complexity, but it just wasn't for me.

Sky Without Stars is everything you ever wanted in a space drama (and/or Les Mis retelling) AND MORE. I can’t believe how quickly this book went by and how much I was begging for book 2 at the end (Jess and Jo - are you listening? Feel free to download it directly in my brain. Thx).

Let me give you three reasons why you’ll love Sky Without Stars:

1. Chatine
2. Marcellus
3. Alouette

That’s it! There you have it. Happy reading.

Ok but no seriously - there are a million reasons to love this book but I’ll give you a few of my top reasons:

1. The characters. Told in alternating chapters from each character’s perspective, Sky Without Stars takes you through the dynamics of living on a world without sun. The majority of the population, the working class, lives in horrid conditions (the Frets) and is tasked with making the finer things that the second and first class enjoy. Oh, and there’s a secret society tasked with protecting the last library on a world where the written word has been vanquished. Chatine, Marcellus, and Alouette share the world of Laterre through their unique lens.
2. The world. I talked about the classes above but also add in how amazing Jess and Jo are at bringing this world to life. There’s a scene that describes carrots that have been grown without sun and it’s so visceral that I can taste it in my mouth. The dichotomy of living in 500 year old space ships versus under a weather controlled dome is enough to draw you in. Then you add robotic investigators and a regime that will make you say OFF WITH THEIR HEADS and...
3. The development. At no point in this story did I feel like things were going to slow down. The pacing is fantastic and I just kept turning pages (and later speeding up my audio) so I could find out what’s next. You’ve never read a space book like this!

There you have it - characters you can’t wait to see again, a world you can taste, and a story that keeps you yearning for more. What more could you want (except book 2!)?!

Bonus: you do not have to know anything about Les Mis before reading. I was blind going in!

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I enjoyed reading this. An interesting story with fun characters. Well written.

“‘What good would it do to send you back there? You’ll only escape again. I’ve chased you across Laterre. Hunted you down for far too long. You’ve evaded me one too many times, LeGrand.’ Limier clicked his neck to the side, and Alouette could swear she heard metal parts grinding. ‘I’m done chasing you. This is where the hunt ends.’”

There are a lot of similarities between the Les Miserables and Sky Without Stars, but enough of a change so you don’t feel like you’re just reading the same book in a different setting, which is a big leap forward when compared without retellings. Where Les Miserables seems more centered around Jean ValJean (LeGrand) and Javert (Limier), Sky Without Starts is more centered around Chatine (Eponine), Alouette (Cosette), and Marcellus (Marius).

In this book, the revolution hasn’t really started. It sets up all the characters’ pasts, they reveal secrets about themselves, and like pieces on a chess board, they’re put in position for the revolution to begin.

Chatine is the character that really makes the story take flight. Much like the Les Mis version of Eponine, she’s hard and streetsmart. She definitely has a deep grey area when it comes to morals, but unlike her parents, she does seem to have a line that she won’t cross.

Marcellus is much like Marius in that I don’t care for him much. Maybe I have a thing against love-sick rich kids. I do have to give props to the authors for giving Marellus a deep back story with his father and grandfather.

I feel about Alouette much as I do Marcellus. She seems to have a stronger personality than I remember Cosette having in the book, and she’s more inquisitive instead of just accepting things as they are; but she also just has that love-sick personality that grates on my nerves.

The world building in this book is amazing! Laterre the planet where the story takes place. It’s widely influenced by French culture, but spun so there’s no doubt you’re in a sci-fi setting. There are three suns in the sky that no one has seen for years due to thick grey clouds, making the setting even more dark and dismal.

There are three estates (and classes); the first estate consists of the monarchs, the second is the government, and the third is the workers. Most of this book takes place in the third estate where the conditions are deplorable. Luckily for them, once a year The Ascension allows one worker to move up in class. Workers accumulate points for going to their jobs. The more points, the more chances they have in being chosen at The Ascension. Hard workers, like Chatine’s sister, strive to be that one lucky person, while Chatine herself sees it as a fantasy.

The second estate governs and policies the third; police being composed of large robots with tasers, and beings such as Inspector Limier, who is some sort of cyborg. I loved this addition because it gives Limier a stoic personality, but it also hints that the character may not have human feelings and was designed that way to better do his job.

For those that only watched the Les Mis musical, there are a few easter-eggs that you won’t quite understand that the book-readers will drool over. In Hugo’s book, Eponine has three brothers one being Gavroche, the little boy of the barricades, and a sister, Azelma. The musical tends to skip that information, but Sky Without Stars gives Eponine (or at least her dopple in this book) her sister and at least one brother back.

Though most of the readers are probably going to be picking up Sky Without Stars because of their interest in Les Mis, you don’t have to be a fan in order to enjoy this story. Overall, I can’t wait to get the next book not only to see the differences in the story compared to Hugo’s original work but to also keep following this space opera on its own.

I was very much intrigued by Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell, partially because of the interesting cover, and partially because it was co-written by Jessica Brody. I’ve read a few books that I enjoyed by Jessica so far, so of course I wanted to check out this new book by her. Sky Without Stars was definitely an interesting read.

Let me start by saying that Sky Without Stars is a retelling of Les Misérables, a story which I know absolutely nothing about. (I have not read the book, nor watched the movies, or anything else. I know next to nothing about the story, expect that Anne Hathaway was in the movie.) That being said, I was still pretty excited to start the story, AND as I read it, I found myself getting more and more curious about the original, and how this retelling compared. (I doubt that I will read the original anytime soon, but we’ll see…).

So even though I didn’t know anything about the original story, I still thought this retelling was very interesting. I especially enjoyed the sci-fi aspect to the storyline. I’ve just recently started reading more and more sci-fi, and I always enjoy an author’s take on the genre. The world-building was very interesting, as were the characters in the story. (Of course I had to stop reading the story multiple times to look up who was who, and though the characters have different (yet similar) names to the original cast, I still managed to figure out who was who.) The book ends with a pretty big cliffhanger, and I’m pretty curious to know what’s going to happen next.

Overall; Sky Without Stars was a really interesting read. It did take me a while to get through the book, as it was pretty massive, but I did enjoy the story, and I’m curious to see what will happen next. (I assume this will be a series, but I do not know if it will be a duology or a trilogy.) Fans of Les Misérables will probably appreciate the retelling parts more than I could, having not read the original. I hope you all enjoy the book if you decide to read it!

Happy Reading!

I totally skipped over Sky Without Stars at first.
Hello, I’m confessing that I scrolled straight past Sky Without Stars until someone said the words, “Les Misérables in space.”

Then all the grabby hands came out because I love that movie AND I love space??? And I sure as hell am not going to read 1000+ pages of the classic. Hahaha, required reading scarred me.

Sky Without Stars has the feel of Les Misérables.
It’s been like 5+ years since I watched the movie so I don’t remember much from the movie aside from the French revolution. I also recall having a fascination with Éponine, who I don’t recall having much screentime. Despite not remembering much from the musical, Sky Without Stars gave off the vibes and had many elements frequently nodding to the classic.

The different perspectives worked in favor.
This whopping novel is divided between three different characters who will all eventually play a role in the brewing revolution on Laterre. With such a long length, having one perspective could have easily bogged down the story and be boring. But having three characters who each brought their own perspective and struggles? I enjoyed learning about each of them while reading Sky Without Stars.

Chatine: Chatine, based on Éponine (I think?), is by far my favorite perspective out of the three. She dresses up as a boy to go about her life in the Frets because she feels being a girl would put her at a disadvantage (and it really would). With the goal of leaving Laterre one day, she goes about her life stealing on the streets to save up for the passage.

Alouette: Y’all, I hated Cosette for some reason but I adore Alouette??? Brody and Rendell give Cosette a very nice upgrade here in Sky Without Stars that fit into the timeframe here! Alouette, despite not knowing much of her past and living underground, is curious and crafty as she occasionally navigates aboveground.

Marcellus: Poor Marcellus is divided between believing his grandfather as he’s always had growing up or his now-deemed-traitor former governess. Despite being the least interesting perspective I read, I enjoy seeing his internal conflict and want to know what he will do in later books.

There’s apparently a love triangle.
Younger me found the revolution too fascinating to care about trivial things such as romance. Lo and behold, I didn’t even notice the love triangle until near the end, whoops. However, romance is a minor aspect of Sky Without Stars, and I found myself more swept away by the world.

A lot of worldbuilding on Laterre.
Drop yourselves into a rocket ship and let’s go soaring into space because the worldbuilding is A+! Sometimes I found myself overwhelmed because I am a character development and fast-paced action person in books. However, I think it’s well worth going through nearly 600 pages of mostly setup. Brody and Rendell will sweep you away to another world while bringing in elements from the original.

A solid beginning to a series.
Sky Without Stars is a solid start as a first novel, and I enjoyed seeing Brody’s and Rendell’s take on Les Misérables! This book is perfect for those who are fans of the musical or enjoy a good sci-fi with a brewing rebellion on another planet.

Many years in the future, humans have abandoned Earth and settled on other planets. One of these planets is Laterre, the coldest and wettest of the twelve planets where in spite of the three suns, the inhabitants spend years in darkness. It's a planet where life is miserable for all but the rich.

Chatine has no respect for the rich. She disguises herself as a boy and makes her living stealing, hoping that one day she'll make enough to buy her way off this miserable planet. Marcellus is the grandson of General Bonnefacon and an officer.  Marcellus doesn't seem to notice the poverty of those below him. He's caught up in trying to please his grandfather and make up for his father being a traitor. Alouette lives underground with the sisters and her father. She has been training all her life to protect the written word in a world where reading is a forgotten skill. When Marcellus is injured, Alouette makes a daring attempt to help him, putting the lives of those she loves in danger. Meanwhile Chatine sees Marcellus as a mark, someone who just might be her ticket off Laterre. When she is offered a reward in exchange for spying on Marcellus, she jumps at the chance; however, it isn't long before she develops feelings for him and begins to regret her decision.

Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell is an ambitious new series set in a fascinating futuristic world where everyone is tracked by the screens in their arms.  Readers will enjoy the world building and the romance. The story is loosely based on Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. Readers who are familiar with that story may notice some parallels, but you don't have to know the background to enjoy the story. My only complaint is the novel left me with a feeling that too much was unresolved. I definitely will want to read the sequel.

I began reading Sky Without Stars prior to the book’s release, but y’all I underestimated its length. 😂 I spent the last two weeks on another planet. While Chatine was chased by Policier droids, I held my breath. I swooned over the slightly incompetent Marcellus, and I rolled my eyes at the smart yet naivé Alouette. To say that I enjoyed Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody, Joanne Rendell is an understatement. The complexity of the characters and their plights will leave you breathless and your heart aching. Told from the point of view of three very different characters, as the reader you get a glimpse into life on Laterre.

The Thief
If I had to guess, I’d say that Chatine has the most page time of the three main characters. She is a hard girl to like, but equally hard to dislike. She’s crafty and fiesty, living her life cheating the system that rules her. Chatine goes by the name Théo and has tricked her Skin (this is like a tracker/communicator/barcode type thing in her arm) into believing she is a boy. She lives in the Third Estate which is basically the poor working class on Laterre. Her parents are head of a gang, and she is saving as much money as she can to buy her way off planet. I can’t blame her one bit. Her life sucks. When she is offered an opportunity off planet by none other than the general, she grabs it. However she didn’t expect to fall for the boy she is sent to spy on.

The Officer
Marcellus is the grandson of the general of Laterre and the son of a traitor. Needless to say, he is confused and constantly questioning himself and those around him. Marcellus has a complex where he needs to prove he isn’t his father and that he is the most loyal of the Second Estate. He works hard to prove this to everyone around him. When he learns that his father is dead, Marcellus tries to show no emotion, which is heartbreaking. Then when he goes to identify the body and determine what will happen to it, he finds a message written in the Forgotten Word (re: all writing) sewn on the inside of his father’s prison uniform. This sends him spiraling, and it doesn’t take much imagination as to why. I hurt for him, and at times wanted to slap him upside the head. For an officer, he was not observant.

The Guardian
Alouette is my least favorite of the three characters. I’m not really sure why either. I struggled reading her chapters. They were a distraction from the main plot and my obvious ship (Chatine and Marcellus….it will never happen, but I can dream right 😉) Alouette lives underground, literally, with her papa and the Sisters who are charged with protecting the Forgotten Word and Laterre’s last known library. Alouette is studying to become a sister and working towards this the entire book. Yet a brief encounter with Marcellus sends her on a wild goose chase as she discovers her papa isn’t who she thought he was and the world isn’t how she believed.

A Sci-Fi Les Misérables
When I first heard that Sky Without Stars would be a futuristic, sci-fi retelling of Hugo’s classic, I knew I would read it. While I can honestly say that I’ve only ever read an abridged version of the book, I do love all its incarnations. It’s iconic! When someone takes something that is iconic like Les Mis and makes it their own, it will either flop or be fantastic. There’s very little middle ground, in my opinion. I can confidently say that Sky Without Stars is brillant! The author’s borrow very little from the original. They do borrow the characters (most notably Cosette, Marius, and Éponine), the discontent among the classes, and of course the revolution. It’s beautifully written! People that haven’t read or watched Les Mis will be fine. I loved the world-building, incorporating revolutionary France with life on another world and the dystopian side of it as the Third Estate starves to feed the First and Second.

Final Thoughts
Overall I really enjoyed Sky Without Stars….have I said that already 😉 In all seriousness, the book is a fantastic read, though a little long. Alright a LOT long, and at times because we are reading from three points of view, it can be repetitive which is why I rated it 4.5 instead of 5 stars. Despite that, I highly recommend this to any fan of Les Mis, space operas, and dystopias. It will not disappoint!

Sky Without Stars was an epic adventure that will leave you craving more. This book is being compared to Les Miserables in space and for someone that loved that show, I happily agree with them. This story is well-written, exciting and will keep you on the edge of your seat as you turn the pages of this story. Sky Without Stars is a beautiful start of what will be an amazing series and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book.

I wanted to love this so much. Dystopian France and compared to Lunar Chronicles. But I just couldnt love it. The main characters and the romance was just so flat for me.

Settle in friends, because this is going to be a fairly long review. I was deeply excited for Sky Without Stars, since Les Miserables is one of my favorite stories of all time. While there were a lot of portions of this story that caught me up in their magic, there were also a fair amount of issues I had that kept me from really loving story. Once again, I find myself with a book that has me sitting right on that proverbial fence. So bear with me while I sort it all out.

First, let's talk setting. Laterre is an an absolutely fascinating setting for this story to talk place. Imagine the dregs of a world that was supposed to be a new start for the masses. A place that promises a fair chance for fair work, but in reality just enslaves over half of its population for the benefit of the wealthy. That on its own is already an amazing setting for a retelling of this nature, but add in the fact that there are science fiction elements galore and you have a space that truly amazed me. Les Miserables in space is a perfect description, and you're in for a treat when you visit Laterre.

In terms of the story line, it actually sticks fairly closely to the original subject matter that it is pulling from. Of course there are differences, since this is a YA book that is set in space, but I enjoyed the fact that Brody and Rendell honored the original story so well. You can see glimpses of Jean Valjean, Eponine, and Inspector Javert. I could see the story unfolding in a similar manner to the original story. A revolt. A rebellion. Unfolding love. Terrible tragedies.

So what made this a three star read? First off, the characters were rough to love. While I saw their counterparts firmly in my head, all of them but Chatine had no depth for me. Marcellus is frustratingly unsure of himself throughout this whole book. Alouette is just that lost little girl who needs people to save her over and over again. I found myself skimming their chapters because they were just so slow. If this whole book had revolved around Chatine (which yes, I know it wouldn't make any sense that way) I would have loved it. She was the fierce peasant, the wily street rat. In other words, my favorite kind of character. Her chapters are what helped me make it through this story.

Which leads to the fact that, yes, this story is lengthy. While the writing is well done, and not too flowery, there are definite portions that felt like they dragged well beyond what they needed to be. This is a tome, to be honest. I completely understand that the source material is also this long, having read both the book and watched the musical, but there's something that's a bit lost in translation in Sky Without Stars. It doesn't feel like the length adds to anything, but more tends to slowly pull the reader out of the story being laid out in front of them. I think if this book had been just a little shorter, focusing more on character development, I would have loved it that much more.

As it stands, I rate this a solid three star read. It wasn't my favorite book, but it does have potential. Since this is the first in a series, I'll probably pick up the next book to see how things evolve. Perhaps my characters will pick themselves up a bit, and things will move along at a quicker pace.

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

Oh, where do I begin with this book? Such promise! Les Misérables meets The Lunar Chronicles! Did I read the former? No! Do I plan to? Definitely not. (There’s a musical for that, right?) But did I read the latter? You bet I did and I loved it! So what could go wrong? There’s a 50/50 chance this could be great or horrible.

Thanks to Simon Pulse and NetGalley for providing a free, digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

For the record I read the SparkNotes version of Les Mis, thinking it would help me with this book since it’s a “reimagining.” Alas, it did not, lol. For the most part, the plot was well-written, the pacing was fine, too. I’m not saying the premise as a whole was bad; I thought it was engaging. The story revolves around three characters who come from three very different backgrounds. As the story progresses, they come to realize not everything they thought they knew is true. I was intrigued most by Alouette and her story, but I was left feeling a bit empty when the book finished as we don’t get all the answers. I mean, of course we don’t since this book is a series but it felt…unfinished. There was definitely a lot of mystery, and if anything, the only reason I would continue the series is to find out more about Alouette.

Despite my interest in Alouette, I really didn’t care for the other two characters. I found Chatine to be unlikable. She called Alouette a “bimbo” multiple times, basing her dislike of her due to a “gut feeling” and the way Alouette looked. It made me uncomfortable. In a sense, I can see why Chatine is the way she is: her family is horrible, for one, and she’s desperate to leave Laterre. Fine. Whatever. The authors tried to show her in a semi-redeeming light when she helped Marcellus while also spying on him. She isn’t loyal to anyone but herself.

Marcellus was fine, and at times I felt bad for him, for the way he’s treated by his grandfather to the lie he’s been told about his family. I’ll always wonder what it takes to have the guts to go against everything you’ve ever known, and Marcellus is really torn. He wants to hold on to parts of his past even though he’s not sure he believes everything in it, and he doesn’t, in a sense, want to continue with the ways things are going presently.

Alouette was my favorite. She’s smart despite her somewhat sheltered upbringing, and she’s able to make connections to things as the story progresses. She’s known the safe haven of her life and her father for so long, she feels guilty for some of her actions. But she’s soft at heart and as a person, which really makes you root for her in the ending chapters. We don’t get all of her story, and like I said, I would only read the next book just to find out what happens to her.

This book was written by two people. In the middle of reading it, I wondered which author wrote for which character and if they switched back and forth between one. Overall, I liked the writing style. The world-building was good, too, but left me wondering if this was a dystopian, post-apocalyptic society. The world reminded me a tiny bit of Red Rising by Pierce Brown, with its different Estates dictating how the society is run. But I wasn’t blown away by all of it.

Les Mis is one of my favorite plays which immediately drew me into this book. While this is a Les Mis retelling it was also a unique read which will remind you of Les Mis without being repetitive. The world of Laterre is very immersive, disturbing at times, and full of sci-fi tech. The three main characters were also very well written. The Cosette and Eponine characters are well rounded instead of being flat one-dimensional characters like in Les Mis. Each of the main characters made some significant growth in this book and even made some shocking desisions. I can't wait for the next book in this series!

Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell is the first book in the young adult science fiction fantasy System Divine series. This series is a retelling of the classic novel, Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.

Now, I’m not familiar with Les Misérables myself so I went into this one blind on comparing it to the classic and only reading based on the new fantasy set in space. The world within is built on the idea that there were twelve families that went to twelve new planets and now five hundred years later a revolution is about to begin on Laterre.

Laterre is a planet that is ruled by the wealthy and elite while the poor are starving in the streets with no help from the rulers. Chatine is from a poor family and disguised herself as a boy stealing what she can to survive. Marcellus is a officer in training to rule but questions the methods of his grandfather and then there is Alouette who has been in hiding for the past twelve years only to come to the surface to cross paths with Marcellus and Chatine.

Sky Without Stars isn’t really a bad read overall but at close to six hundred pages I couldn’t help but wish for more to happen in this first book making it seem very slow paced to me. Also, I seemed to enjoy the story a lot more when it came to Chatine and without her/him things would seem rather dull as Marcellus and Alouette just didn’t appeal that much to me. Since book one felt like six hundred pages of world building I will think twice about continuing onwards when it’s time for book two.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.