View source for These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

{{infobox1
|title=These Broken Stars
|author=Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
|reviewer=Loralei Haylock
|genre=Teens
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=978-1423171027
|pages=400
|publisher=Hyperion
|date=January 2014
|website=http://thesebrokenstars.com
|summary=A great romance story with some interesting extra sci-fi and horror layers that made it a compulsive page turner. A really enjoyable read.
|cover=1423171020
|aznuk=1423171020
|aznus=1423171020
}}
Lilac is the untouchable LaRoux princess, daughter of the richest man in the Universe. Tarver is a decorated war hero, allowed to mingle outside his social circles because the upper classes love to celebrate his heroism.  After chance meeting aboard the Icarus - the most luxurious ship space travel has to offer - neither Lilac nor Tarver can deny the attraction blossoming. But Tarver knows he isn't good enough for Lilac, and Lilac knows that her father has very strong ideals about who she spends time with. It's over before it's even begun.

But when the Icarus crashes, and Tarver and Lilac are the only survivors, and they must depend on each other if they're ever going to make it home. Things aren't right on the planet they've crashed into - the terraforming is unlike any Tarver's ever seen on his travels, and Lilac is sure the voices she's hearing aren't because she's crazy...

This was the sort of book that I stayed up reading far too late, and neglected important things in order to finish it. Utterly compelling from the opening pages, I was quickly sucked in to the survival situation Tarver and Lilac find themselves in.

The characters were great - polar opposites, but Lilac's strength and determination made her endearing where her selfish, spoiled nature might have otherwise alienated her from the reader. And Tarver's skill and resourcefulness made him the perfect foil for a girl who'd never really had to struggle for much in her life.

I'm a sucker for opposites-attract romance, but this book was much more than that. It had some almost horror elements - the voices that Lilac begins to hear are really creepy, making it an unnerving read at times. It never quite strays into full on horror territory, keeping the scares very PG, but it's an extra dimension that really adds pace and makes the story more compulsive.

There were also some great sci-fi concepts, from the Icarus itself to the ideas about terraforming and folding dimensions. I'm not a PhD level physicist, but it all sounded very authentic and convincing, without being distractingly difficult to understand.

Overall, a great romance story with some interesting extra sci-fi and horror layers that made it a compulsive page-turner. A really enjoyable read.

My thanks to the publishers for sending a copy.  We also have a review of [[This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner]].

Bookbag has also recently read [[Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard]], another thought-provoking teen novel with sci-fi themes.

{{amazontext|amazon=1423171020}}
{{amazonUStext|amazon=1423171020}}

{{commenthead}}

[[Category:Science Fiction]]
[[Category:Amie Kaufman]]
[[Category:Meagan Spooner]]