And the Stars Were Burning Brightly

Name: And the Stars Were Burning Brightly
Brand: Simon & Schuster Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Danielle Jawando
ISBN: 9781471194320

Author: Danielle Jawando

Narrator: Kenton Thomas, Melissa Vaughan

Unabridged: 9 hr 40 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio UK

Published: 05/27/2021

Categories: Young Adult Fiction, Diversity & Multicultural, Social Themes, Family, School & Education

Synopsis

An extraordinary novel about loss, understanding and the importance of speaking up when all you want to do is shut down. From a multi-award-winning author, perfect for fans of Angie Thomas, Gayle Foreman, Jennifer Niven and Nikesh Shukla.

Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize
Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize
Shortlisted for the Jhalak Children’s & YA Prize
Shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award
Longlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal

When fifteen-year-old Nathan discovers that his older brother Al, has taken his own life, his whole world is torn apart.
Al was special.
Al was talented.
Al had so many dreams ... so why did he do it?

Convinced that his brother was in trouble, Nathan decides to retrace Al’s footsteps. As he does, he meets Megan, Al's former classmate, who is as determined as Nathan to keep Al's memory alive. Together they start seeking answers, but will either of them be able to handle the truth about Al’s death when they eventually discover what happened? #BurnBright

Praise for And the Stars Were Burning Brightly:

‘Jawando’s writing is incredibly raw and real; I felt completely immersed’ Alice Oseman

'An outstanding and compassionate debut' Patrice Lawrence

'One of the brightest up and coming stars of the YA world' Alex Wheatle

‘An utter page turner from a storming new talent. Passionate, committed and shines a ray of light into the darkest places - the YA novel of 2020!’ Melvin Burgess

Warning - this novel contains themes that some readers may find upsetting, including suicide and intense bullying.

About Danielle Jawando

Danielle Jawando is an author and screenwriter. Her debut YA novel, And the Stars Were Burning Brightly, won best senior novel in the Great Reads Award, and was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the YA Book Prize, the Jhalak Children’s & YA Prize, the Branford Boase Award, and was longlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal, the UKLA Book Awards and the Amazing Book Awards. Her previous publications include the non-fiction children’s book Maya Angelou (Little Guides to Great Lives), the short stories Paradise 703 (longlisted for the Finishing Line Press Award) and The Deerstalker (selected as one of six finalists for the We Need Diverse Books short story competition), as well as several short plays performed in Manchester and London. Danielle has also worked on Coronation Street as a storyline writer. Her second novel, When Our Worlds Collided, won the 2023 Jhalak Children’s and YA Prize and the 2023 YA Book Prize.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Alice

Such a beautiful and powerful story about mental health, grief, and bullying. The characters felt so real. Gonna be thinking about this one for a long time.......more

Goodreads review by Irena BookDustMagic

And the Stars Were Burning Bright is such a wonderful, heart wrenching story with important topic (bullying) more people should talk about. It explores the dark side of human beings and the ways to recover from loss. I have to admit, I didn't know about And The Stars Were Burning Brightly before it wa......more

Goodreads review by Claude's

That was a particularly difficult and gut wrenching read. I suppose that this is a YA novel but it tackles, very graphically, bullying and suicide. I expect this to be an incredibly triggering book for vulnerable people so I would suggest talking to a trusted adult first so a discussion can take pla......more