I think I've just come to the conclusion that I am no longer a sad book person. I used to love reading sad YA contemporary but maybe now it's just not my thing. This book was fine, it was good even. I just don't like to set myself up to be sad LOL.
It was written well, tackles difficult topics nicely, and will be a great read for anyone who is craving an emotional read.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately I have been unable to get into it. DNF @ 10%.

This book was okay in my opinion. I had high-ish hopes for it as the premise seemed intriguing. I'm only giving this 2 stars because I didn't really care for the story at all and could care less about it's characters.

This was really good. I felt like the beginning wasn't as fast paced as the end, so it felt like it was dragging a bit. I liked that this book was told from two different POVs. I felt like it added more to the story, especially because it was a very emotional novel! I just felt like you got more from seeing inside the two POV's minds. This was honestly hard to read, because it was just so sad. I really liked how the author captured Alice's voice in this novel, and how she put it across in paper for us. I felt like this novel was really diverse, and the characters weren't held back by their stereotypes, they actually broke them! It was just a beautiful novel to read, and so sad. It just really ripped my heart out! Highly recommend it!

I want to keep this review as simple, direct, and quick. For me, things the book surely isn't. I found it complex, flowery, and draggy.

Honestly, it took me months to finish this book. I started reading a third of the book then took a long break after that and finished it after a few months later. At the start of the story, it was very slow-paced and I hoped that there would be better progress in the chapters to come. It did build up for a few moments but then I felt that the story lost its momentum after half of it.

The idea of the book containing both prose and poetry excited me so I decided to read it. I did enjoy the small bits of poetry written by Alice. But once there was prose involved in the switching perspectives of Alice and Manny, things just got more confusing and it continued as the story went by.

The book did talk about heart-warming themes such as family, friends, love, etc. I saw that but to be honest, I just didn't feel it. The blurb intrigued me which made me curious. But as for the plot, it wasn't clear to me or maybe I just didn't understand it. The characters were okay, I guess and there was representation which was great. I didn't like or hate any of them so I think that's alright.

In conclusion, "The Stars at Oktober Bend" just didn't work for me. Maybe my expectations were just too high. I could say that it was good at the beginning and at the end of the story. I liked the poetry but other than that, I feel in-between about this up until now. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a copy.

The plot in this book wasn’t entirely engaging, I couldn’t really get myself interested in the book.
That being said the diversity in the book was marvellously done, and I liked how they weren’t stereotypical characters. They both broke the bonds of their stigmas.

So despite being a little boring the book definitely earned itself 4 stars

Not really my cup of tea. I definitely had a hard time getting into this one and had to forced myself to keep reading it.

I’ve been reading a lot of extremely moving books lately and this one has definitely been added to this list. At first I thought this one was going to be written in verse, but it wasn’t, though it was written in a way that flowed so lyrically it was hard to put down. It was very character driven and was hard not to fall in love with each and every one of them (the main ones anyways). I was a very beautifully written, moving story that immersed me from the beginning.

I feel like you get a real look into Alice, and how she feels about everything happening around her. She is very intelligent, and uses her poetry to express the things she has a hard time articulating. She radiates hope, even when having to deal with people not understanding her (speech wise and what’s inside).

If you are looking for a beautifully written and depicted story about tolerance and acceptance, give this one a go. Be prepared it is tough to get used to the writing style immediately, but is more than worth it to stick it out. This. Is a story that needs to be told and the author really did it stunningly.

This is not a traditional narrative. In the early chapters, in particular, it can be difficult to tell what is going on and parse out what Alice is talking about. Obviously that's intended to reflect her brain injury but it doesn't make for a particularly illuminating read. This is a story of slow revelas more than events. We slowly learn the details of Alice's attack and its affect on the community, of the boy's history in his home country and how that has shaped him. We could use more of his life, really.

Bahh bahh black sheep (that's me)... I struggled with this after two pages, but I kept going until I got to Manny's perspective. I know a lot of people have liked this, and they say the story is beautiful, but I found it really hard to follow the writing. I understand that Alice has brain damage, and I appreciate the authenticity the author was going for, but it didn't work for me. There are no capital letters when Alice is speaking, she makes up her own words when something doesn't make sense, and she switches from sentences to poetry quite often. It was hard for me to follow, so I felt like I was missing important aspects of the story.

I thought Manny's perspective would have been easier to read from, but one of the first things he says is, "It was a girl. Her hair was very long. Down to her waist it was. That is how I knew that person was a girl," and I was finished. I know the synopsis mentions him being broken, too, so I guess it makes sense on some level, but it was a struggle for me.

I really wanted to like this, so I hate that it wasn't a good fit. However, if the formatting doesn't bother you, definitely give it a shot. I can honestly say that the voice is original, and Alice brings a unique perspective to the story.

Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on June 30, 2018.

Just when you think you things figured out this book was really good. I’m happy I got read it. I love that I got to read this. This author will blow your mind.

Although I found it a little off-putting for the first chapter, the stream of consciousness prose was a beautifully effective narrative style given the context of the story. This story is haunting, touching, filled with melancholy, pain and an indescribable beauty. In the end I was hopeful that Alice and Joey had both found their happy ever afters.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Stars at Oktober Bend
by Glenda Millard
Candlewick Press
Candlewick
Teens & YA
Pub Date 08 May 2018
I am reviewing a copy of The Stars at Oktober Bend through Candlewick Press and Netgalley:

Alice has something broken inside her, she can remember words but struggles to speak them. But Alice does have a voice she writes in her book of flying, she writes on scraps of paper. A few years prior Alice had been in an accident leaving her with an acquired brain injury.

Manny is broken as well, he was once a child soldier and he carries the weight of that with him, even in a new land, with a new life. The horrific things he was forced to do will always be with him. One day he finds a poem Alice had written, and carries it with him. The relationship with Alice and Manny was the start of healing.

I give The Stars at Oktober Bend, five out of five stars.

Happy Reading!

Way to sad for me. Beautifully written, but just took sad. Alice can't speak as well due to bran damage but she has a beautiful gift of poetry that she leaves for people to leave. People take it for granted until one realized how wonderful they are.
Thank you Net Galley for the Arc

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is a uniquely special story. I think it’s worth reading though I’m afraid people might be afraid by the unique voices of the characters. I hope everyone will give it a chance!

It took me a while to get into this. Alice's voice was very interesting and I liked her use of words, but especially in the first few chapters and the poems were hard to understand, but after I got into it, it became much easier. It was definitely a unique voice, with a playful use of words that really showed Alice's character, that despite her struggles with words being a result of her brain injury, she has found a way to own it and make it her unique way of speaking.

I felt that the story was a bit lacking through most of the book. The fact that Manny and Alice didn't even meet properly until quite a way through the book meant that the first half was just them wondering about one another and not much really happened.

I really got into the book by the end though and the finale was very good and quite gripping. I only wish that the rest of the book could have been as satisfying plot wise.

Title: The Stars at Oktober Bend
Author: Glenda Millard
Genre: YA
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Alice is fifteen but to everyone else, she is forever twelve: she has acquired brain injury as the result of an assault she can’t remember, and now her electrics don’t work. She can speak, but her words don’t always come out right. Instead, she writes poetry; beautiful, haunting, anonymous poetry that she leaves all over town, hoping that someday, someone will read her words.

Alice lives with her brother, Joey, and her grandmother, in a house that’s mostly hidden from the rest of the world. Alice doesn’t go to school. Instead, she writes, ties fishing flies, and takes care of her grandmother. Her family is her world, and she wants things to stay the same forever.

Then Alice meets Manny, a boy who reads her poems and wants to hear her speak. Manny was forced to become a boy soldier, and he still suffers from PTSD. In Alice he finds comfort. But not everyone in town wants Alice, her family, or Manny to be happy, and as Alice finds out more of the truth surrounding her life, she will be faced with her greatest fears.

I’m not a fan of stream-of-consciousness writing, nor with lack of proper punctuation or capitalization. The parts of this novel from Alice’s point-of-view employed this, and I initially considered not finishing this. However, I got so drawn into Alice’s tale that I stopped noticing these things—they absolutely made sense for Alice, and by the end of the book, I had forgotten they existed.

This is a book with a lot of sadness, but there is joy and hope as well. I found this very lyrical and compelling, and Alice and her family broke my heart, as did Manny and his story. The other people in town were infuriating, but typical for society, making this a highly believable book to read (even if it made me angry). A very good read, and one I highly recommend.

Glenda Millard is an award-winning author from Australia. The Stars at Oktober Bend is her newest novel.

(Galley provided by Candlewick Press in exchange for an honest review.)

I’m sorry but I couldn’t get into this book. The way it is written, is just a headache for me. The description sounds lovely but the writing style is a no go for me.

If you want a book to rip your heart out and wring out every last drop of emotion, you need to pick up this book NOW.
Alice is different, Alice is special, and you will never forget her. She is fifteen, but may always be twelve because of an acquired brain injury, she struggles to speak, but my word can she write...her only real way of expressing herself is in the snippets and fragments of poetry she carries around with her, and occasionally gives to those she cares about. Living with her elderly Grandmother and her brother on the edge of town, while she rarely mixes with other young people, but still manages to catch the eye of Manny,
A new comer to Oktober Bend, Manny does not know about the tragedy in Alice's past , but his own past has been far from easy, as a child soldier in SIerra Leone, he has witnessed things that no child should see. When these two damaged souls find each other, they being to bring about a mutual healing that will change them both forever.
This book is simply beautiful, from the powerfully observant poetry of Alice, to the beautiful way the story is slowly allowed to unfurl and draw the reader in, and draw me in it did. I was so captivated that I read it in a single sitting, getting a little choked up as I did so. Alice may not be a kick ass warrior or a superhero in tights and cape , but she is a hero in her own way, and strong too. She may be one of my favorite new characters, and I feel both she and her story will stay with me for a long long time.
The use of a first person narrator may not be to everyone's taste but I think it works spectacularly well here, really evoking Alice's daily struggles for the reader.

The Stars at Oktober Bend is a great emotional young adult book that you won't be able to put it down.