the sun is also a star | nicola yoon

goodreads book breakdown:

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

okay. OKAY. first off, if you haven't read EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING yet, i highly recommend it. granted these two stories aren't connected, but i feel like first books are first books for a reason and they help readers get to know authors and get used to how their voice. alright, enough small talk, let's get into this beautiful specimen of a book.

can we talk about how beautiful the cover is for a second? i know the saying is to don't judge a book by its cover, but this one just jumps off the shelves. it's a great precedent to the beautiful story that's to come.

as the blurb alludes, natasha and daniel meet on a very important day for both of them: natasha is frantically trying to stop her family from being deported to jamaica, while daniel is off to an interview for yale. their two worlds collide on the busy streets of new york and nothing is the same after that.

the book takes us through natasha and daniel's whirlwind of a day, written from both points of view. what i found myself appreciating the most, though, were the chapters that were written from the other characters' points of views, or the ones that gave insight about their families or the situation they found themselves in. (it's a little hard to explain in writing, but when you read the book it'll make a lot more sense, i promise!)

there is so much i can say about this book, but without giving too much away, i'll leave you with this quote that near destroyed me while i was reading:

No obstacles in the way, please. No one needs to get bruised up falling in love. I just want to fall the way everybody else gets to.

i know. I KNOW.

please read this gem of a book. and then let's talk about it. okay? okay.