How do you begin to review a book that reawakens your long-dormant memories, bittersweet regret and love for the violin? How do you even review a book that lays bare trauma and never once lies about the pain whilst also being one of the most affirming and heartening stories you have read in recent memory? How do you review a book that doesn’t just tell you that life is worth living, but shows you with gentle scenes about two broken queer women who feed ducks at a park and a trans girl who, despite all the trauma she’s endured, learns how to love herself? How do I even begin to review Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki?

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki follows three women: a trans girl runaway and violinist who plays video game music; a violin teacher who has made a deal with a devil and is looking for her seventh and final soul to sacrifice to Hell; and a retired spaceship captain and mother of four who has escaped an impending calamity light-years away and now runs a donut shop. The story follows these three women as their lives become intertwined, revealing a wondrous story about identity, music, belonging, and hope.

Despite the promise of Faustian bargains that seemingly makes the book a dark science-fiction thriller (it is not and is far from it), Light from Uncommon Stars is wonderfully tender. It is beautifully told, lyrical and emotional and personal at times, all while also depicting the honest and confronting prejudice and challenges that trans people, especially trans people who have recently transitioned, endure. Though there are three main characters in Light from Uncommon Stars, at the very heart of the story is Katrina, a trans girl who runs away from her abusive household.

Katrina is a violinist, but she’s also, what most people in the violin community would call, an unconventional violinist. Rather than playing classical pieces, she plays video game music and is mostly self-taught. I adored Katrina; she was such a gentle soul who has endured too much. Though the story portrays the prejudice and trauma that she goes through as a trans woman and portrays candidly her experiences of doing sex work and how that, in itself, is rooted and intertwined with anti-trans sentiment, Light from Uncommon Stars isn’t about her pain. Rather, the story is about how she finds belonging and love in the most unlikeliest of places – in the open and nurturing arms of a violin teacher and a retired spaceship captain and intergalactic refugee, two queer women who have complex pasts but too find comfort in each other.

What makes Light from Uncommon Stars such a gorgeous read is that it doesn’t hide the fact that sometimes the world is ugly – that there’s racism and sexism and anti-trans sentiment and bigotry and cruelty – but it shows that there is goodness and healing and hope. That sometimes family is found, and that, despite all the trauma and hurt, there is also softness and love and beauty in the possibility of being alive. That despite all of our mistakes that we have made and all of our regrets, love and care is forgiving and can make us feel like we are more again. Furthermore, Light from Uncommon Stars is incredibly affirming of queer identity and our harsh edges in a way that is gentle but staunch.

Light from Uncommon Stars is a love letter to many things – to found family, to being queer, to donuts, to food, to immigrants, to refugees, to diaspora. But what really connected with me in a deep and resonant level was its love letter to music. I played violin for ten years, and reading Light from Uncommon Stars reminded me of my profound love of music – and after finishing this book, I rushed to relisten to music from Shostakovich and Saint-Saëns and Arturo Márquez and Rossini, basking in my nostalgia of the music I made with others. But it wasn’t just the profound and palpable love of music overflowing in Light from Uncommon Stars that I loved; it was also how Aoki captured the classism, eurocentrism, and hypercritical tendencies inherent in violin communities with startling accuracy. So the fact that Katrina plays video game music, in a world and community where video game music isn’t considered ‘real music’? I loved it and loved that it was delightfully subversive.

With Ryka Aoki’s enchanting and beautifully emotive writing, Light from Uncommon Stars is a profound and affirming story that will win the hearts of its readers. I adored Light from Uncommon Stars; loved that it felt like a hug, a house that feels safe and yours, and a soft bed that you can just sink into. This is science-fiction in its sweetest and finest, and I cannot wait to read whatever Ryka Aoki gifts us in the future. Read this book. (And now, to find some donuts.)

I have really been looking forward to reading this book. The description calls out two books I love and the brief synopsis made me think this might be a good book for me. And it totally is! Like a Stefon nightclub from Saturday Night Live, this book has everything! A trans violin prodigy, a fabulous diva, a deal with a devil, interstellar refugees running a donut shop, and look! What's that over there? It's some real emotion and a lyrical explanation of what it feels like to repair and craft a violin!

There are a lot of layers to this book. It talks about many serious topics (and some not so serious topics) and showcases some really interesting personal interactions. My favorite theme running through the book speaks to the power of creation and how it enriches our lives. Whether it's playing the violin, making donuts, or spending hours focused on how best to transform an instrument through subtle changes, examples of the power of creativity in our lives abound.

The characters are beautifully drawn and all have complexities to them. The story is fun. The writing is assured. I really loved every minute I spent reading this book!

It comes out in September. Get yourself a copy and enjoy!

This book is a wonderful amalgamation of stories you would not think to put together. Each character is fully-formed and handled with grace. The way that they connect somewhat takes you by surprise, but makes perfect sense once you see the completed picture. It's a lovely ode to charting your own path.

This book is quirky, beautiful and ambitious. I loved all of the moving elements and the absolutely gorgeous writing. This is an excellent character-driven story with a fun mix of sci-fi & fantasy! So incredible!

Ryka Aoki's Light From Uncommon Stars is quite simply amazing. She deftly weaves the stories of three very different women together in a way that will punch you in the feels.

Katrina, an abused, trans, runaway with an incredible but unpolished talent as a violinist.

Shizuka, the Queen of Hell who made a bargain with the devil and now is paying with the souls of her students. One more soul delivered to Hell and she's free. Katrina's soul could mean Shizuka's salvation.

Lan Tran, spaceship captain who escaped intergalactic war by fleeing to Earth with her family. They've bought a donut shop, Starrgate to help blend in.

With three main characters, secondary characters, backstories, and side stories, this book could've been an absolute muddle. But it wasn't. I always knew which character was speaking, who they were, what they were feeling.

The amount of detail about such a breadth of topics was amazing whether it was doughnut types and recipes or violins/violin makers/classical music/composers/gaming music. Yet it never felt like a dry info dump; instead, it was all so fascinating. And the descriptions of food, so luscious!

Found family trope is one of my favorites and Light From Uncommon Stars scratched that itch so hard and satisfyingly. These characters show so much love and concern for each other that was heart-melting. Not just caring but affirming and protecting each other.

I got teary more than once reading this because I was so invested in the characters' lives. I also giggled more than once at the joyfulness and hopefulness.

There are some seriously tough subjects in this book - transphobia, homophobia, abuse, rape, and racism. Ryka Aoki wrote them with amazing care, heart, honesty, and skill.

REALLY wish I had liked this more than I did. The elements of a story I could and should love were all there - found family (two!) queer rep, music as metaphors for life/the universe/everything, but something about it just didn't ring true for me. I always felt very aware that I was distanced from the characters in an irrevocable way; that I was reading a book instead of falling into a story and world. Perhaps given another 200 pages or a few more edits I would have really been able to sink my teeth into it, and I would definitely read a later work from the author.

CW: Sexual Harassment, Transphobia, Rape, Child Abuse, Racial Slurs
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This book is one of the most uniquely told stories I have read but I do not think I can eloquently articulate the reading experience going through it. As much as it is calling to be told, it is also calling to be felt.
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"Light From Uncommon Stars" follows three wonderful Asian women: a violin teacher who made a deal with a demon to entice seven violinists and trade their souls for success, a runaway trans violinist who is the seventh potential candidate of the violin teacher with her gift of talent; and a single mother who is a retired starship captain turned a donut shop owner.
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This is very much a comforting read, and is character-driven with a fairly paced story journeying through ups and downs, pains and loneliness, but also healing and found family; an emotional and hopeful story of very different and very human cast of characters finding belongingness and home. The trans-positivity/trans-affirmative aspects was so beautiful to witness, and the book in itself was like a warm hug and just so loving while bearing its raw and honest self with the challenges trans people face and what some do in order to keep themselves afloat in a world that is excluding.
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A few things that had me bothered with the book though was, first, is that there was a (non-spoilery) part where a young character a casually asks another if they're retarded in a belittling tone and it was not challenged, which I think does not garner excuses for anyone to use the term in a condescending way. And lastly, despite it being a great book as it is, I just found that there was just too much mention of food for my own mind to take that it takes me out of the story at times.
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I recommend it if you love stories with discussions of queer and trans struggles, found family, and if you are interested in music, instruments, and food. Also bare in mind that even though it is marketed as sci-fi, it does not lean heavy on that.
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I will post this review on my social media platforms a week before publication date.

Light From Uncommon Stars is an absolute joy to read. It is a book that will take you in its arms, tell you everything will be okay, make you feel empowered and remind you of the simple pleasures in life. Comforting prose, compelling characters and a vivid atmosphere come together in beautiful harmony to create a novel that is a celebration of culture, family and the resilience of humanity.

To summarise my thoughts I thought I would structure my review as 5 reasons you NEED to read this. I said this about Becky Chamber's The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet, and I think it holds true for this as well and that is that the world would truly be a better place if everyone could read this.

1.<b>The Characters</b>

<b>Katrina Nguyen</b>
Katrina's resilience and hope in the face of a lot of hardship is truly an inspiration. She is transgender and has never been accepted at home, at the start of the book she runs away to make a new start - taking with her only her violin and some emergency supplies. She has a passion for music but has not had much oppurtunity to pursue it. Katrina's story is heartbreaking but at the same time throughout the book seeing her slowly start to grow in confidence and believe in herself, and believe that she will be safe is such an emotional ride and towards the end there is a beautiful scene that made me tear up. Her character is a beautiful ode to womanhood that does not fit societies narrow definitions and the obstacles and prejudices one can face.

<b>Shizuka Satomi</b>
Shizuka is such a fun character, she is a famous Violin teacher known as "the queen of hell" and has previously tutored 6 musical prodigies (who all met unfortunate ends) and is now on the hunt for the seventh. She has made a deal with a demon that if she sacrifices 7 souls she can get her music back, as she can no longer play or perform for herself. Seeing her journey through the book as she takes Katrina in and slowly starts to care for her hit me in all the found family feels. I also really loved the budding relationship between Shizuka and Lam, we love to see an older sapphic couple and I was dying at their romance scenes and how funny and adorkable they were. I also really loved the cat and mouse game she had going on with the demon.

<b>Lam Tran</b>
Captain/Mother of an intergalatic crew of aliens, Lam starts the book having arrived on earth with her family as refugees from an intergalatic war and a mysterious endplague and in order to fit in they take over the running of a donut shop. I loved Lam and her whole family, I'm a sucker for big family dynamics and exploring the intricacies of their relationships. They are aliens trying to fit into human society, and seeing their perspective on some human quirks was so funny and a refreshing perspective. I loved the donut shop storyline, seeing them going from making the donuts in replicators to slowly learning that in order for food to truly be a treasured experience it has to be made with love made me so nostalgic and was a beautiful metaphor for the rest of Lam's story. I also liked exploring how she gives everything to everyone else to make sure they are cared for, but rarely looks after herself and how this can lead to burnout.

There are also some really great side characters; Astrid - Shizuka's housekeeper is such an icon and I loved how she fitted in perfectly to the dynamic between Shizuka and Katrina. Lam's whole family were all great; Shirely, Lams daughter but also a computer program whose storyline was a beautiful story of what it means to be human. Edwin and Windee, Lams twin children who were both adorable and I loved seeing the little parts they both got to play. Markus, Lam's son who was an interesting look at someone who was not happy with the new situation and the rage and homesickness this can produce. Aunt Florestra, Lam's Aunt, who gently guides Lam and the donut shop onto a better path and I love her characater and the way she truly understands the community and love that goes into making a great food shop.

2.<b>Music</b>

I'm not really a musician myself but I have to say I loved the muscial components of this book. I found myself fascinated by all the techinal aspects of the Violin but I think the thing I loved most was how the music in the book was a symbol for change of all kinds and the sense of understanding of the human experience music can bring. I loved the scenes where music was played and it would evoke strong emotions in the characters (and readers) and create a safe space for them to express themselves and unite people despite differences. The way the story was told you could almost hear the music running through the pages and some of the scenes where characters were performing were so moving you really felt like you were there listening to them play.

3.<b>The Food</b>

There is so much wonderful food in this novel. Food as a sign of love, food as a sign of safety, food to bring joy and community, food to heal and . I was so hungry after reading and have never craved donuts so badly in my life haha. The descriptions of all the foods are luscious and richly imagined, really bringing to life the sense of wonder and nostalgia you can get from eating amazing food.

Getting personal for a second as someone who has an eating disorder for a long time (mostly recovered now) the sense of safety and love I got from the exploration of food in this book was so meaningful and I honestly think if I'd read this book when I was 16 I might have given myself permission to relax some of my rules around food and just eat for joy. I don't think I can really express what I'm trying to say in words very well but just know to see food so celebrated meant the world.

4.<b>LGBTQ rep</b>

I loved all the LGBTQ themes and representation in this book. I am cis so can't speak to the authencity of Katrina's character (I also don't know if the author is trans/gnc or not) but I thought it was beautifully handled and showed the struggles and hardships she faced, and how hard life can be especially for trans women but also the small life affirming moments that can bring joy and affirm identity. At the start of the book you can palpably feel Katrinas terror at being discovered just for being who she is, but throughout the book watching her slowly start to gain more confidence and find the people who support her was such a joy.
I also really liked the sapphic relationship between Shizuka and Lam, it was so cute and I love seeing older wlw couples in fiction.

5.<b>Hope</b>

A fundamental theme of this book is hope for a better future. All our characters driving force is hope for the future (from Lam and her family travelling to earth, Katrina leaving home and Shizuka trying to get her music back) and I love how despite everything life throws at them they don't give up. I don't want to say to much about it because I think it's best to discover yourself but this book will really make you stop and think and remember to cherish the joy you have in the moment. And how one ending is just another beginning - so never give up!!!

In conclusion, a fantastic book and easily one of my favourties of the year. I know this review has gotten quite long but there are so many wonderful things to discover as you read so if you need a book that feels like a warm hug whilst still exploring some of the darker aspects of humanity and important LGBTQ themes then I implore you to read this amazing novel!!

If I were to write out a summary of Light from Uncommon Stars, it would sound overly ambitious at best, ridiculous at worst. The disparate elements—music, space aliens, devilish bargains, ordinary (and not-so-ordinary) immigrant and trans experience—shouldn't work together as well as they do; each of the pieces, in the wrong hands, would overwhelm or undermine the others. Yet Ryka Aoki has accomplished something profoundly difficult with skill, heart, and daring, crafting a beautiful story that balances the darkness and light on a razor's edge with brilliant success. One of the best books I've read in 2021.

I received a message from the publisher making me aware of this text. After reading the marketing, I accepted an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! There are quite a few moving pieces: a runaway trans girl who plays violin, the Queen of Hell looking to collect a soul, literal space aliens who are hiding from war in a donut shop. I wasn't sure if this was going to come together... But it all did and I loved it!

I totally understand the comparisons to Becky Chambers in the marketing for this. I think fans of the Wayfairer books will also like Aoki's work. "More feminist Star Trek" definitely still applies to parts of this story.

There is quite a bit of violin world, classical music world nerdiness. I'd recommend listening to the pieces mentioned while you're reading, especially during Katrina's performances.

Overall, a delightful character-driven story that I'd love to reread.

This is the best book I’ve read all year. Hands down, no contest, and as you may know, I read a lot of good books this year. I picked it up blind, without having heard of the author, because the plot sounded zany - the Queen of Hell, a classic musician’s deal with the devil, a family of aliens on the run, a really good donut shop, and at the center of it all, a runaway trans girl. And it WAS zany. I laughed out loud, more than once. But it was also so sweet, so tender, and so true that it may have changed my life. WHO is Ryka Aoki? Why is her name new to me? Is her other work this amazing? Because she does with her words what her character does with her violin. I hope Ryka Aoki hasn’t sold her soul to the devil, or if she has, I hope it’s a nice long contract with time to write at least twenty more books like this before she is dragged into Hell, because this book is amazing and you need it in your life.

*slams fists on table* this was absolutely exquisite and I will be preoccupied with basking in its glory for 3-5 business days

This book is everything. It's got queer Asian violinists, bargaining with demons, galactic travels, and lots and lots of donuts. It bleeds Asian American. It's casually yet unapologetically queer. It's bursting with originality. It's so heartfelt and genuine, and yet delightfully quirky and humorous. I'm truly so impressed with the way Aoki manages to pack all this and more in less than 400 pages in such perfect harmony.

Light from Uncommon Stars is also such a phenomenal book objectively. The writing was so raw and beautiful in its simplicity. It was so easy to read and I breezed through this book in just 2 days but there were so many moments where the writing alone made me feel so much. The pacing was also great and I completely lost myself in this story and never found myself bored or confused for even a second. And then there were the characters.

I haven't fallen in love with characters like I did the characters in this book in a really long time. I just felt so much for all of them. For Katrina, as she grows and becomes entangled in the world of violin while the world continuously refuses to see her as the woman she is. For Lan as she navigates life on earth and running a donut shop. For Lucy as she realizes her place in her family's violin repair shop. All the people (and holograms) in this book were so distinct in who they were and I connected with all of them.

Related to that, I also loved the feeling of community that was present in this book. Seeing Katrina and Shizuka find each other and grow together with Astrid on the side was so precious. The relationship between Shizuka and Lan and how the kids at the donut shop were involved was also so sweet (the scene at Olive Garden was my personal favourite). Even the little details: the wealthy old lady across the street collecting cans and the fresh fruits brought by the neighbours, just added such a comforting and familiar feeling to this book.

Despite the fact that there were multiple non-human characters in this book, it just felt so deeply human and I think I really picked this book up at the perfect time.

At the end of the day, this book means so much to me, it's got so much going for it, including copious amounts of mouthwatering food descriptions, and I really hope Aoki writes another weird SFF book like this in the future. Would highly recommend!

A lovely, gentle, silly adventure of a story bursting with found family and queer joy. This is a book that doesn't take itself too seriously, even though it deals with an array of serious subjects. The creativity and playfulness balance out the more intense parts, which makes for a fun and cheerful ride.

Quirky, sweet, beautiful and honest. A great mix of fantasy, sci-fi and real world struggles.
Also just purely full of love.

This is an ambitious book, both for the writer and readers. There are many storylines that weave together over time. I did find myself a little lost a few times, but sometimes getting lost makes finding oneself so much better. Great read.

Even after reading the blurb, I wasn’t expecting the blend of sci-fi, fantasy, queerness, and quirkiness that makes up this novel, or how well all of these elements would work together. Just a delightful, heartwarming read.

I read a physical copy of this arc and wanted to leave a review here. This is probably the best realistic science fiction I've read, ever. The prose drips with personality and the characters are some of the best represented members of the LGBTQ+ I've read from, full stop. This is akin to the works of Becky Chambers. I cannot wait to read more from Aoki.

This book had every element you could think of and then food! It reminded me of when I lived in Los Angeles and brought back a lot of great memories. Just WOW! Really enjoyed this book!

'Light from Uncommon Stars' is a difficult book to review, but is always an incredible and sometimes unbelievable one to read. At times when reading this I found myself pausing to ask myself, "I've read the back page, I know what is going on, but I have no idea how this is all going to come together... will it be able to? Is this going to work?"

After finishing the book, I can say that the answer is yes, in every way that matters the answer is yes. Sometimes the way in which it was a 'yes' was glorious, unexpected, or cathartic. This is a great crossing of fantasy and science fiction that really managed to wow me.

While there were a few things I had issues with, generally the pacing or some of the asides which I felt impeded some of the momentum in the novel, this is definitely a book you'll want on your shelves.

There are a lot of interesting elements to this book, and the author is very ambitious in how they mix science fiction and fantasy tropes (deal with the devil, alien refugees), and multiple, very diverse plot lines. I quite enjoyed how two characters with wildly different backgrounds came to know each other and grow closer through a donut shop, for example. The third story thread, however, involving a young Asian trans woman, included the relentless abuse of that character to the point where I found it impossible to continue reading their storyline. It is possible that the writer will find a better ending or a safe haven for that character, but it was too dark a path for me to follow.