I can honestly say that the contents of this book were unexpected. I listened to an audiobook and had requested a copy because it seemed to be a blend of historical fiction and family drama, two genres I was trying to get back into.
It is not a book for the faint of heart. There are many different sections to the narrative, with the main halves being about a grandmother and the current day grandson. This was something that I did not immediately grasp (much to my surprise). The lives of the two are further divided linearly while skipping ahead every few years into significant chunks of events. I almost gave up halfway because I did not see myself as vested in it as I would like, though, but I gave it another shot and was glad I did.
It is only after the foundation is laid, the situations explained, and people learn to live with the card they are dealt that adversities and positive changes are taken up a notch.
We begin with Carol, whose life is pure misery, and it only gets worse before any sign of relief comes her way. She is at odds with her grandson in the present-day timeline because she doesn't think he gets the point she is trying to make about weaknesses. Without knowing the whole story, I can imagine why it would not be easier for a teenager to take such advice seriously. There is a lot of trauma - big and small, that the characters have to bear before reaching their respective middle ages. With some help from well-meaning people and family, they overcome the collective adversities. It is very realistic, even with a happier ending, because it is not magically smooth sailing for anyone.
The ending did the job of making my listening experience worth the effort because there was a point to the entire narrative. This last part is essential to me as even if the whole book is sad, I need the ending to make some sense of why I put myself through it. If this book was shorter or split into two, I would have liked it even more!
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is based on my own reading experience.

Carol was only thirteen when her father lost her in a poker game. Her father was a mean alcoholic who had a gambling issue and her mother died early. For the next year, Carol spent the week with him cleaning and cooking and then on the weekend, going to the house of the man who won her and doing the same except with nightly rapes thrown in.
When Carol realizes that she is pregnant, she knows she has to get away. In 1933, there isn't much of a social safety net so she decides to run away and hope that she finds a better situation. Luckily for her, the man who picks her up on the road takes her to a refuge for unwed and abused women. Carol stays there and has her baby whom she names Rusty. Rusty has developmental issues but Carol loves him more than life itself. Years later when Carol and Rusty move into town, she meets Joe. Joe also had a rough start in life. His mother also died and his father was imprisoned for stealing one chicken, leaving Joe on his own. He does the best he can but is struggling by the time a neighbor family takes him in.

Together, Carol and Joe create a home and a family. We read about their lives and family over the decades. There is never much money but there is always love and loyalty to their family and friends. Eventually the story goes full circle and Carol's grandson moves into the house that Carol ran away from all those years ago.

Simon Van Booy has created a wonderful family epic that speaks to the lives of rural poor Americans in the Depression years and afterwards. We see the effect that factory work had on the lives of the people and how they suffered as the factories closed down. Those who were poor struggled to get an education or find work that would sustain their families while the institutions meant to protect everyone seemed to single them out for prosecution. I listened to this novel and the narrator got the accent of the rural South dead on. While there is much to be horrified at in this novel, the overall message is one of love and hopefulness. This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Really good read, as others have said not the book to read for a pick me up lol but the stories are long and weave together very nicely, wouldn't mind owning

In 1933 Kentucky, 13-year-old Carol's daddy loses her in a bet on a poker game. In 1986 Kentucky, 12-year-old Samuel almost loses an eye while goofing around with a friend in shop class. <i>Night Came With Many Stars</i> jumps back and forth in time between the two characters, occasionally spotlighting someone else from their family.

The story wasn't bad but was often quite sad, and I just didn't care much for Samuel. I was more interested in what was happening to his friend Eddie during Samuel's parts. The book was set up sort of as a collection of moments rather than one flowing story, and it made me wonder what happened during all the times we didn't get to hear about.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

I had few expectations of Night Came with Many Stars when I received the ARC on NetGalley. It’s not a book that had been on my radar at all; I hadn’t heard it mentioned on any of the sites and podcasts I follow for book news. I was immediately and completely captivated by the prose. But that’s not to say that said prose outshone the story itself, which was equally engaging. I knew very little about this book going in, and was pleased to discover that it was actually a multi-generational family saga. However, it’s a family saga presented in a way that felt fresh and unique. I ended up loving everything about it, and am so thankful for whatever serendipity brought it to my attention.

The writing style, especially in the first few chapters, is breathtakingly pretty, and very unique. I was reminded of Where the Crawdads Sing, but only slightly. The further the story progressed, the more clearly original it revealed itself to be. The author employs some truly unique metaphors and similes that had me going back and rereading (and re-listening) to lines, just to get my head completely wrapped around the comparisons. Every single one of them worked, even though I would never have come up with them myself.

I love the juxtaposition in perspectives and time periods. Life was so radically different for a thirteen year-old girl in the 1930s than it was for a boy of the same age in the 80s. This is a fact that anyone would know if they took a moment to think about that scenario, but the back-to-back jumping between the two drove that truth home on a far deeper level.

I also loved how the author kept pace as he swapped between these two perspectives. We see Carol and Samuel alternatively at similar ages and stages of life, which just further drives home how different their lives were based on gender and time period. And yet there were some beautiful parallels, as well. I very much enjoyed watching both of them grow.

What makes a family? Does shared blood mean more or less than love developed over the course of years? Watching Carol slowly build herself a family without noticing, and watching Samuel grow to appreciate his own family more and more, was absolutely lovely. The side characters in this story were just a beautifully full of life as the main characters, with a couple of notable exceptions. I found anyone with a villainous role in the novel to be a bit two-dimensional, but even that decision served the story well. While I loved all of the supporting cast, I developed a serious soft spot for Eddie and Joe, in particular.

Night Came with Many Stars is a hopeful, beautifully written story with a lot of depth and even more heart. I didn’t expect to be adding it to my list of favorite books of the year, but that’s exactly where it landed. Also, I can’t recommend the audio version highly enough. I’ll definitely be buying myself a physical copy in the near future. This is a book that deserves a place on my favorites shelf.

This book completely caught me off guard. It is so beautiful. If you like multi generational family sagas that have roots in specific cultures or periods of time this book will delight. Each character is flawed, but they have the ability to grow and you will find yourself in love with them. I have never read anything else by Simon Van Booy, but now desire to check out other works by him.
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This was an unexpected hit for me. I’d read great reviews of Van Booy’s other works but I tend to turn away from family dramas and I wasn’t sure I’d be engaged by this one. One of the most beautiful elements of this book is the recognition of the importance of families of birth and those made by choice and circumstance. I also appreciated that the story covers many of the darker elements of family life in a way that is surprisingly gentle and humanizing. I fell in love with many of the characters over the course of the novel and was sad to have to say goodbye in the final moments of audio. Would highly recommend this novel and especially the audio version.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ALC.

Recommended for: those who love stories told over multiple generations, those who enjoy stories of non-traditional families, and those who like to ponder the human condition.

Categories: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Family Saga, Social Commentary, Multiple Narrators, Coming of Age

Content Warnings: Abuse, Sexual Assault, Abortion, Drugs, Addiction, Death, Violence, Incarceration

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher of Night Came with Many Stars for allowing me to listen to an advanced copy of this beautiful audiobook. What a phenomenal journey I have been on!

Before beginning, I think it’s important to warn readers that this book contains some heavy themes such as sexual abuse and substance abuse.

Simon Van Booy’s Night Came with Many Stars is set in Kentucky and tells the life-long story of Carol and the people who enter and exit her world over the course of her life.

This novel follows Carol’s hardships, but also the triumphs of her life and how they shape both her and the people around her. This book is ultimately about the power of the family you choose and not necessarily the one you are born in to. Carol’s story reminds us that family isn’t always blood.

I utterly adored the way Simon Van Booy linked every character back to Carol. Figuring out how they all related to her and her story was so intriguing and made it difficult to put the book down. Van Booy’s narrative beautifully flashes from the past to the present and then back again with such elegance, allowing readers the opportunity to fully understand the motives and choices of each character at that particular moment in time.

Van Booy’s story conveys a beautiful message in that love, compassion and hope can and will always prevail over pain and hatred. Life may not be easy, but it’s the challenges we face that shape who we are.

Night Came with Many Stars moved me in a way I didn’t see coming, and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if this was to become an Oprah or Reese’s Book Club pick. That’s how much I believe in this book. It’s an easy five out five stars for me.
This was my first Van Booy novel and I hope to read more of his work in the future.

The advanced copy of this audiobook was provided to me by NetGalley and was narrated by Courtney Patterson.

4 stars

<I>"Writing the novel was not so much an intellectual exercise as it was an empathetic one.”</i> Simon Van Booy talks with Jennifer Solheim about his new novel, <b>Night Came with Many Stars</b>

Van Booy’s empathy for his characters is one of the most palpable aspects of this novel. He creates a world in which most of the people are physically and/or emotionally damaged and shows how love and compassion can help these people move on from their pain. He writes this with beautifully poetic prose, one of the greatest strengths of the novel. There is quite a bit of trauma in this story but it is told with such delicacy that the impact lands more softly than seems possible.

In 1930s rural Kentucky, Carol, an illiterate thirteen-year-old girl is given to her father’s drinking buddy when he loses a poker game. In 1990s suburban Louisville, Samuel, a middle-school boy, is accidentally blinded in one eye by his best friend, and struggles with where he belongs, and how he should be in the world. Their stories and those of three generations of their families weave together over the course of this novel.

The narrative alternates every other chapter between Carol and Samuel, moving forward to 2010. Several family members and friends also take part in telling the story. I struggled with this aspect of the novel. I found it difficult to stay connected to the characters with so many abrupt changes. So, unfortunately, I often felt removed from the characters and their stories.

Otherwise, a gorgeously written novel with a beautiful message.

Courtney Patterson narrated this audiobook. She did an amazing job bringing all the different characters to life.

Thank you to RB Media and Netgalley for a copy of this audiobook.

The Night Came With Many Stars by Simon Van Booy is the story of two people, with most chapters alternating between the two. Carol is a little girl in the 1930's whose father loses her in a card game to a man who impregnates her at a young age. Her story doesn't get much happier throughout the book...Samuel is a boy in the 1980's that suffered an eye injury at a young age and that follows him around and impacts his life forever. Carol is Samuel's grandmother. This is the story of their life and finding that commonality between the two of them.

First off, Courtney Patterson did an amazing job narrating this book. It took me a little time to get used to her heavy Southern drawl, but once I did, it was perfection. Her voice lent to the characters in the book so well. As for the story? Well, I didn't LOVE this story. As others have mentioned, it was difficult for me to really get into this book. I'm fine with jumping between two stories and time periods, as the book does with Carol and Samuel's stories, but I just didn't get into the stories themselves. I will say that the book cover is just beautiful though! I was given this audiobook by the publisher as an ARC in return for an honest review.

Night came with many stars was such a beautiful heartbreaking book. Carol was lost by her daddy in a hand of cards. Daddy was abusive, but the man she was given too was even more so. The stories spread through generation from 1933-2010. Was a little hard to follow at first listening with all the time leaping, but I understand the author’s intent. I hung on every single word of the last chapter. I thought my heart might burst! SO poetically written and impeccable.
The narrator’s accent and cadence brought the setting of Kentucky and Van Booy’s gift of storytelling to life.

Thank you Netgalley, David R Godine Publishing, and Simone Van Booy for this audiobook.

Format: audiobook
Author: Simon Van Booy ~ Title: Night Came with Many Stars ~ Narrator: Courtney Patterson
Content: 4.5 stars ~ Narration: 5 stars

Night Came with Many Stars is a beautifully written novel. It is a family saga that spans from 1933 to 2010. The story unwinds mostly around grandma Carol and her grandson Samuel. This book was my first one by Simon Van Booy, and I was surprised by the quality of his writing. I will look for some other of his works. I would recommend this novel to literary fiction and historical fiction fans.

The narrator is amazing. She managed to bring to life all the characters, and her accent was perfect.

Thanks to the publisher HighBridge Audio for the ARC and the opportunity to listen to this! All opinions are my own.

Night Came with Many Stars is a generational novel that follows Carol and her family. Throughout the novel, Simon Van Booy shows us how the choices we make affect those who come after. His writing was supremely beautiful—not just the prose, but also the motifs and subtle symbolism.

Courtney Patterson also did a lovely job reading. The book skips around, spotlighting different viewpoint characters over several decades, but they each felt unique and well-defined by her narration.

I am grateful to both the publisher and NetGalley for providing an Audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For some reason, Night Came with Many Stars reminded me a lot of Where the Crawdads Sing, but it was much better written in my opinion and the characters far less clichéd and irritating (can you tell I was not a fan of the latter book?!) I liked the multiple POVs, and though it took me a moment to get used to the structure of frequent time jumps, after a while I felt it really added a roundness to the story. This is my first book by Van Booy, but I don't think it will be my last. He has a talent for telling a dramatic story in a quiet way, and an insightful manner of looking at the inner and outer lives of his characters that appealed to me. Recommended!

Even though my rating is so horrible, I <i>did</i> like this book. Buuuut, I think it is mainly thanks to the narrator. Courtney Patterson, you're a star.

So, this book follows 2 people and we have 2 <u>main</u> narratives, although there are some chapters "dedicated" to other characters for no obvious reason. But okay, I guess.

1. We follow Carol in the 1930s. Her father lost her in the game of cards to a guy who would rape and impregnate her. She had a rough life, and something about the vibe of her story reminded me of [book:Before We Were Yours|32148570].

2. In the second story, we follow Samuel, a teenager in the 1980s. There is nothing special about Samuel. He is a kind guy and that's all. He is also Carol's grandson, but they have no connection apart from that.

So, I really have no idea why there were 2 stories. It was distracting and made no sense. If the stories were intertwined or if Carol and Samuel had some suuuper deep connection, I would get it. But not like this. Because just when you get into the story and start empathizing with a character, he/she is pushed aside and you are taken to another time and another protagonist.

Also, there was no plot. There is no reason why the story of these two people is being told. They are ordinary people who had a rough life (well, Carol did) and that's all.
As I said, Samuel is a nice guy, but there is nothing special about him and I really see no point at all for the existence of him as a character.

The writing style was nice, really, even enjoyable. The reading of Courtney Patterson was even better, and it might be the sole reason I enjoyed this book.

It's not bad, but there is NOTHING special about it and I wonder if I'll even remember it tomorrow.

<i>A big thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for providing me with a free version of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I was unfamiliar with the author Simon Van Booy before reading this book, but am so glad I was given the opportunity to listen to this wonderful audiobook by this talented author. I plan to check out more of his books.

This book tells the story of Carol starting at age 13, in 1933, when her father lost her in a game of cards. The book follows by skipping in time from 1933 to 2010 and tells the story of what happens to Carol and various members of her family and other important people in her life. This story engaged me from the beginning and had a satisfying, realistic ending. The characters were brought to life by the author's beautiful writing style and the amazing narrator, Courtney Patterson. The author's writing style and Ms. Patterson's narration seemed to match perfectly. Her character voices were well defined and fit each character in a natural and not "over the top" manner. This was honestly one of my favorite books I have listened to this year. I am sure that it would be equally engaging in print form because of the author's detailed character development and flowing story line, but if you are an audiobook listener, you will love this one! I highly recommend it.

I never miss a book by this author. His writing always reaches in and touches my heart. The story lines in this book, moving back and forth in both perspective and in time, all tie together beautifully.

without giving too much away, this was a very good story, it is one of those stories that will move you and bring so many tears to your eyes.

Night came with many stars it is the story of a man who gave away his daughter after he lost in a gambling card game, this is exactly when the story begins and starts to take shape, at first I was very alarmed and broken to find what the father did, but eventually, we find that things happen for a reason and Carol was in fact much better being far away from her father.

Two different stories that happened simultaneously and at the same time at a different time, connecting in some way or another the story of Carol and Samuel both didn't have an easy life, sam had a terrible accident when he was just a teenager leaving him with scars that will mark him forever even his soul felt like something was missing... this is when this started to connect between them.

Two lost souls trying to find a common ground, a familiar place in their lives but at the same time something that will give them peace.

The secondary characters were a huge key to helping this story go even deeper but what I really loved was the way it was written in such a way that even if at times was heartbreaking it was also beautiful to hear.

The Narrations by Courtney Patterson were great, I think this is the first time I hear her work and I really like the way she brought the story to life.

this was a very great journey..

'Night Came with Many Stars' has a beautiful title and cover.
The novel is made up of two alternate narratives. Carol is one of the protagonists. Her father lost her in a game of cards, in Kentucky in 1933. The motherless teen, age unknown, ends up helping a rough around the edges neighbour. Let's just say things don't go too well for her.
The second narrative belongs to Samuel, we meet him when he's a teenager, in 1986.

The alternating timelines and POVs are the main drawback when it comes to this novel, as I was abruptly pulled out of the story completely, just as I was getting comfortable getting to know Carol or Samuel. It just didn't work for me at all. It took me a long time to realise how Carol and Samuel connected. Their individual stories were fine, although not awfully interesting. They were, afterall, ordinary people, most of us are.

I thought Night Came with Many Start was directionless and its delivery didn't work for me at all. At the end of the novel, I couldn't quite get why Van Booy chose to have Samuel as such a big part of the novel.
In conclusion, I expected to like this much more than I did.

The narrator of this audiobook, Courtney Patterson, did an excellent job.

It's always exciting to find an author that writes the type of books that you love. This is the case with Simon Van Booy. I was drawn to this book by the description of the story. In Kentucky, in 1933, a 13 year old girl lives with her abusive father who loses her in a card game. Thus begins the saga that spans several generations, and is told from the perspective of the various characters, either related to or otherwise connected to this girl, named Carol. This is a mesmerizing tale and Van Booy manages to include the ugly with the beautiful in his descriptions of the events in the characters' lives, and somehow, the book is not disturbing. This, to me, is the mark of a great writer. Weaving the stories starting in 1933 with the more recent ones starting in 1991, we follow Carol through her life and learn of her connection to others and how they affect each other's lives. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Courtney Patterson who did an excellent job of reading and acting out this story. Her accent was perfect, and she was easy to listen to. I highly recommend this book, and I am eager to read more of this author's books. Thank you, Netgalley and Highbridge Audio for the opportunity to preview this wonderful book in exchange for an honest review.