I loved this book! It’s very well-balanced. A lot happens to the characters, but it never feels excessive or overloaded. You never feel like the author is piling things on just to pile things on. I also love that even though this spans 60 years of American history, everything in it still feels completely relevant to today. It reminded me a lot of The Heart’s Invisible Furies & I think anyone who enjoyed that would enjoy this book too.

I received a free electronic ARC of this excellent novel from Netgalley, Justin Deabler, and St. Martin's Press.  Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work.  Justin Deabler writes a tight family saga with protagonists you feel you know.  Some of them, I'm afraid to say, I'm probably kin to.  This is a debut novel, but you won't know it by the stories here.  Justin Deabler writes with heart.  

We follow four generations of the Warner family through the ins and outs of central Texas from the late 1960s through the 2000s.  We see the Vietnam War through the eyes of Texas boys.  We live it, through the rise and fall of the first air-conditioned events stadium, the Houston Astrodome, the growth of and the sudden death of Enron, the loss of the space shuttle Challenger, the rapid growth of Houston.  Especially, we see the problems with the border of Mexico, the efforts we must make to help immigrants settle into life as we know it here in the U.S., and the inroads made through these years into finding equality for our minorities, the LGBT community,  immigrants, and women in our world today.  This is a book to savor, with protagonists who matter to you immediately, going through life challenges that we have each faced ourselves, in one degree or another.  It is a joy to watch as the world begins to adapt to a more liberated community of folk.  There are days you might need a microscope to see progress, but we ARE finding our way to a more equal standard.

I'm still parsing through all of my thoughts on this one a bit, but overall I really enjoyed this debut by Justin Deabler; I think this would a really interesting book to discuss with a book club. I love a good multi-generational family story and this one definitely delivered on that front. I was quickly sucked into the story and trying to figure out where it would all lead. In particular, it made me think a lot about how we are shaped by our parents'/family's pasts, even the parts we may not know about. There were some parts of the family's story that I was hoping we'd eventually get more clarity on - but perhaps that was the point, that some things will remain somewhat unknown? I was completely engrossed for the majority of this book but then there was something about the ending that left me a bit dissatisfied - and I'm still trying to figure out what exactly it was.

4/5 stars

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

CW: racism, sexism, homophobia, death

I want to thank St. Martin’s Press for the digital netgalley copy of Lone Stars by Justin Deabler in exchange for an honest review. 

I have loved being able to find local historical fiction to enjoy this year, and this one especially stood out with a LGBTQIA+ theme. In it, the author outlines a multigenerational family history alongside the many social topics that affected them. Viewpoints of immigration, racism, and discrimination ultimately lead to the coming-of-age story of a gay young man in the South. The synopsis mentions that “by uncloseting ourselves - as immigrants, smart women, gay people - we find power in empathy.”

The author notes on GoodReads that he wrote this story based on his own journey to learn more about his Texan family. I think Justin summarizes the overlapping theme of his story the best in his own words: “Immigrants who cross national borders to find a better life. Queer people and misfits, who can’t live where they are born and so they leave for safer lands.” He also says that he in adulthood is “only now beginning to appreciate how much we live in the echoes of all that came before us.”

I think this debut novel is powerful and provides representation that is always needed. 4/5⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for gifting me a digital ARC of this book by Justin Deabler - 4.5 stars for a great debut!

This story traces Julian Warner's life as well as the generations before him as he becomes a parent and thinks about what legacy he will impart on his child.  We see the struggles of each generation - as immigrants hiding their true origins, a promising PhD candidate forced out of her dreams because she was a woman, and a gay teenager desperate for escape from his small town.  As we see the generations pass, the author imparts the pertinent historical events happening at the same time giving more glimpses into how such events shape us.

I really enjoyed this book.  Some people may pass it by because of its LGBTQ+ classification; this book is so much more than that.  It's a family saga seeped in history and well worth a read.  I loved Lacy's character and her desire to do whatever she could to see that her son succeed.  It's also a story of regret and grief.  A great debut novel - looking forward to more from this author!

The book was very well written, but after a few chapters, I found I wasn't connecting with the characters so I did not finish the book.

I guess I should have read the description a bit better, but I gave it my best shot and got to 55%. Then I closed it and said, “self, you don’t have to finish this”. When a book makes you feel uncomfortable and anxious, I have to call it quits. 
I am a 64-year-old grandmother, have two nephews that are gay and I respect their choices. But I do not want nor need to read about, observe or inquire of their personal sexual relations. This story crosses that line. The first half of this book is good, it starts out with Lacy and Julien’s early life, then about 50% in, it takes a dive and that was it for me. I even started flipping thru trying to see if it got better and I couldn’t find it. Sorry, this one comes in with 2 stars since the first half of the book is really not bad but then there should be a gay sexual alert in the description due to the content.
I think this story had potential if the author could have just stayed with the family saga and the trials and tribulations of immigration, but it tipped over into politics and intimacy. Quick turn off for me. 
I was given the opportunity to read an ARC from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my honest unbiased review. This one comes in with 2 stars.

4/5

***Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of Lone Stars in exchange for an honest review***

I really liked this book. I am a sucker for historical fiction, especially when it has LGBT+ themes. This book was done in a masterful way and handled a wide arrange of social topics well.

From racism, sexism, homophobia, and blatant forms of discrimination, this book followed a family and their collective histories. Although a lot of the issues were tackled very lightly I satisfied with how they were presented (the author did not include unnecessary drama).

This book was an outstanding read and I would recommend it.

A beautifully written elegy of family and home, and a moving ode to generational inheritance, both positive and traumatic.

Not everything worked, ultimately, but the emotions run so high that it doesn't particularly matter. I didn't get enough development of Aaron, for example, to make the payoff to his arc satisfying. (This is one of very, very few times I'd advocate for a longer book, but a couple more chapters exploring Aaron, Phil's parents, and maybe even Clay would have done wonders for their characters.)

But again, the connection I had to the emotions present made any misgivings seem small.

I enjoyed this debut novel. I look forward to this author’s future work. 

     I connected with each character and appreciate that the novel ended on a positive note. I recommend ghat everyone should read this book.

An engaging family saga, sometimes joyful, sometimes heartbreaking, but always genuine, exploring numerous characters and their beautiful flaws.

Read if you: Enjoy character-driven historical fiction. 

Librarians/booksellers; This is a sensitive and moving portrayal of family history, and the difficulties in escaping it and facing it. Although relatively brief when compared to other historical fiction novels, this is quite memorable; touches on everything from upward mobility, women's empowment, divorce, coming of age as a young gay man in the 1990s, and the heartbreak and uncertainty of adoption. 

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

When I read the description of this book, I sounded like something of substance that i would like to read..  I prefer to give positive feedback and highlight the good parts of a book. Unfortunately, there was substance, but not very interesting or well created substance.  It was confusing from the start what the real underlying structure of the book was supposed to be.  Part of the weakness there was probably in the editing not making it clear that the flow from the prologue to the core of the books was a look back in time at the characters history.  There is a clear need for some re-editing as there were multiple instances of jumps in time or character from one paragraph to the next with no indication that a change was to take place.  It required me to go back and re-read a paragraph or two to see that I had not missed something, that the focus had changed to a different character or a shift in time had taken place.  The characters were largely not likable.  Not that unlikable characters are bad, except when it draws down the story and lessens the desire to read on.  Were it not that I was reading this book with the understanding of giving feedback, I would not have completed the book.

I was originally not going to review this book at all, but I decided not to take a hit on my review percentages.

I tried about a dozen times to get into this book and failed miserably.  I never got beyond page 20.  The description was really interesting, and I normally reading a book from this genre from time to time.  However, this title was so poorly written that I was not able to get to know the characters or discern a plot.

This book held me from beginning until end. I love generational family sagas and found this one particularly captivating! Such issues as feminism, racism and sexual identity are woven throughout - just as they are in life. Would definitely recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.  This story will stay with me for awhile.  The author was able to bring forth every emotion while reading this book.  Enjoyed learning and reading about all the characters. Will recommend...

Interesting look at rural life as a queer person. I found it both thought-provoking and emotionally provocative.

"Lone Star" by Justin Deabler is a fictional story that centers around Julian Warner and the history of the family that raised him. Deabler's inclusion of many different topics like racism, discrimination, coming out, and same-sex relationships and adoption made this a really interesting read.  The beginning of the story made me think the focus of the book was Julian and Phillip's journey into parenthood, but Deabler takes the reader into the distant past, through Julian's childhood, and into his current life. This is definitely an enjoyable read that will make you feel a multitude of emotions.