In Sight of Stars

Excellent story! Fast paced, this book can definitely be completed in one sitting. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Our main character Klee is brutally honest. At only 17, he has faced grief, trauma, and adversity. At the heart of the book is the idea we most often see what we want, what is easiest. The truth is so unclear sometimes. Particularly when it concerns loved ones. We can twist reality to match our ideas of our life story. The difficult part is removing those rose colored glasses and living in our true story, not just the one we dreamed for ourselves.

Although definitely in the YA category, I recommend In Sight of Stars for all readers looking for an authentic account about youth, mental illness, and forgiveness.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.

I looooooovved this book. I really liked her other most recent one, The Memory of Things so I thought I would read this one. I didn't read the description before hand so I had no idea what I was getting into, I was extremely pleased. The book follows high school senior Klee in a mental hospital after attempting to slice his own ear off. The book goes back and forth between his recovering in the hospital to the memories that led him to self harming. There was so much I loved about this one. I really loved the Van Gogh talk in it. Van Gogh has always been one of my favorite painters. There were some Van Gogh facts in the book that I didn't know about! I also really loved Klee's character. Gae Polisner broke that stigma around men and emotions. There have been so many times when I'm reading from a male point of view that he is never shown weeping or sad - most of the time they get super angry. Klee's character is constantly reassured by the nurses and doctors that he is allowed to express his sadness and emotions. Reading from Klee's point of view felt like a breath of fresh air. I'm already planning on ordering it for my library YA collection and purchasing this one in hardcover for myself. Love loved loved this one!!

I find books about teens dealing with mental health issues fascinating (not sure why) and this was no exception. 
The story moves from his incident, forward, alternating with his life before it and sometimes it's intermingled as he's remembering things from before while in real time. Yes, the beginning starts out very confusing as we get plopped in Klee's mind (pronounced Clay) and try to figure out what's going on along with him. Gradually as he gets better, the story becomes more linear reflecting his healing state of mind. 
It was really interesting how the story of Van Gogh wove through the story both with Klee being a painter and his memories of his dad painting and telling him stories. So if you couldn't tell before now, I really liked this book and I think everyone should read it.

‪Amazing, beautiful, heartbreaking, and uplifting all in one.  I loved the characters, the art tie-ins. Sister Agnes Teresa—I loved her! A book that needs to be shared with young adults. Thanks for writing it.‬