This was recommended to me by a friend - WWII historical fiction, triple time-lines, everything right up my alley.

All in all - the STORIES are great, and I really loved the 1940 and 1980 timelines. The 2020 pandemic story is maybe too close, but I really appreciate Miles growth from wanting to be active to being active in his beliefs.

My issue with this book is some of the wording and overall preachiness - Libba Bray is a fantastic writer, but many parts of this read as an adult writing it, not the POV or words from teens. I also don't like current phrases/ideals pushed on a past where those terms would not have been in use. A few examples:

1. I'm pretty sure no one ever said during WII "Make Germany Great Again"

2. Mrs. Diaz's letter to Miles. It's forced and terribly written to get teen readers to fact check their sources. "Trace the authors/topics to their sources and for verification, run it through fact-checking websites like snopes.com and Politifact. Sources with .gov and .edu in the header are best". It comes across the page as condescending and not authentic.

3. Bray excelled at tongue-in-cheek humor to get her point across in books like Beauty Queens (perfection), but here it is so direct and in your face that it made me feel like she thinks teens are dumb and couldn't get inferences as well.

4. Her explanation of mycorrhizal relationships in the forest is twisted a bit for her purposes to get a point across to use for the book (which is only annoying because of her fact checking spiel, I get creative license but she left out important parts to make a point).

With all those complaints, I did enjoy reading this and I was anxious to see how the relationships all fell together over the years. I liked that it wasn't all revealed at the end but there were plenty of instances where we knew who was who and how they linked together.

Recommended, but still a little disappointed.

Under the Same Stars" was an exciting historical mystery for teens and young adults. During the worldwide pandemic, two teenage friends try to solve a family mystery involving one of their grandmothers. The story spans two historically significant time periods for Germany, WWII and the cold war and it's affects on their lives.

Libba Bray is one of my favorite authors. Why? Her prose is one of the best I have ever come across - yes, she writes both contemporary and historical fiction, but she does so in a way that when I read it, I feel as if I am reading poetry. All of her books rank among my favorites and I always recommend them, and her latest is no different. Again, she astounds me with the way that she tells a story - her innate ability to transport the reader into her character's lives and circumstances, and the way she strings words together is incredible. I loved "Under the Same Stars" and consider it one of the best books I have read in 2024! I urge anyone who is looking for their next unputdownable read to grab this one! Ten stars!!!!