I was blown away by this book, it's incredibly powerful and hard-hitting. In Little Stars is a modern day version of Romeo and Juliet set in post Brexit Yorkshire. Jodie and Rachid meet and fall head over heels in love but their families are very different so they keep their relationship secret. The story is set over just a few weeks and is told from the points of view of Rachid, Jodie, Donna (Jodie's mum) and Sylvie (Rachid's mum). The families are both really interesting and both pose significant challenges for the teenagers. Religion and cultural expectations weigh heavily on Rachid and his family and for Jodie racism and bigotry from her brother and father are enormous issues that impact her and her mother hugely. I enjoyed the way the story was written and it was really helpful in showing the similarities between the two mothers -both menopausal women taking the weight of family responsibility and work on their shoulders and wanting the best for their children whilst dealing with their own insecurities and challenges. The purity and intensity of Rachid and Jodie's love was beautiful but also concerned me as the book progressed because of the direction things were taking. There are strong themes in the book of racism, bigotry and violence which are hard to read but need acknowledging and expressing. Green doesn't shy away from these emotive topics. There were also themes of women, mothers, friendships and connection and the struggle to keep everything together. I enjoyed reading about the mothers in the book and could really feel for their inner struggles with their sense of self, their relationships, their changing bodies and the sense that everything was their responsibility. I could not put this book down and read late into the night to finish it. It is compelling, thought provoking and powerful. It is also incredibly emotive and I shed a lot of tears throughout the last third of the book. It's not an easy read and it comes with trigger warnings, but my goodness it is impressive. Green is great at writing the underdogs of society and hard hitting themes and she had done a fantastic job with this one.

I wanted to love this book but I’m afraid I didn’t. Its heart is in the right place – dealing with themes of intolerance and hatred in modern day Britain. But I found the characters too one-dimensional and binary in their opinions.

Rachid and Jodie, the star-crossed lovers, fall madly in love at first glance. And although their dialogue is well written and I found them the most compelling characters in the book, there was little room for complexity in their relationship – it was simply their love against the world. Other characters are either out and out racists or are blind to what is happening or choose to ignore it.

There is one incident on a train where someone doesn’t speak up when they should and this is examined deeply in terms of its consequences but, apart from that, I felt things were glossed over. There was little examination of how opinions were formed. An antagonist is a hero in their own mind and yet we had very little back story to explain why people behaved the way they did.

I’m sorry, I simply wasn’t drawn in.

A modern day Romeo and Juliet, with an honourable mention to West Side Story.

Set in Leeds, this story begins with the murdered MP Jo Cox’s words from her maiden speech to Parliament. Hers was a senseless murder that shocked the nation and should never have happened.

In the aftermath of Brexit, two teenagers with very different families meet on a train and fall in love. Jodie and Rachid aren’t ready to share their love with their disapproving relatives so carry out their relationship in secret. Until on fateful day brings together the families in the cruelest of ways….

I spent the last part of this book in years. I love Linda’s writing but this will go straight to the top of my list as a favourite of hers. I read it in a day on holiday and will be highly recommending it.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this wonderful book.

It seems I was not in the right frame of mind to read this book, unfortunately. It seems to me to be unremittingly full of anger, hate, hostility, warring families, with somewhere within it all, a love story.
It appears to be a modern reworking of Romeo and Juliet. The families are on either side of the Brexit divide, which dd nothing to entice me to continue to read. Brexit caused enough conflict in real life without using it as a form of entertainment in a novel, in my humble opinion.
I am sure it will be enjoyed by many readers in a more positive frame of mind than me.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book.

Thank you to the author and publisher of this novel which I acquired through #NetgalleyUK in return of an honest review

One of the most touching and honest books I have read this year, "In Little Stars" tells the story of two families who's views fall on both sides of the post Brexit debate.
The families lives are entwined by the blossoming, but secret relationship of their teenage children, Jodie, who's family are Brexiters and Rachid, who is Uk born, but who's parents are immigrants.
The story is so full of honest thoughts and views, of the era, and brings to the forefront, the outcome these views have had on families throughout the UK and Europe.
So beautifully written and emotionally expressed, I had to continue reading it at every possible opportunity to see where it would lead me.
A wonderful book of honest, human behaviour, which tugs at the hardest hearts and teaches valuable lessons in how to love and respect each other, in order to improve social acceptance.

"In Little Stars" is a fantastic and emotional modern re-imagining of "Romeo & Juliet" set in the Leeds area. In this novel the differences between the two families are down to race/religion. Rachid is a Moslem with a Moroccan father and a French mother. His parents are both professionals so they would probably be termed middle or even upper middle class. Jodie is from a local working-class family, so there is also a bit of a class divide.

The young couple meet at college and conduct a clandestine relationship as they both realise that their parents would not approve of the liaison. I will not give away any more details but, suffice to say, the ending may involve you reaching for the tissues. A great, thought provoking read.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

This is a powerful love story that will stick with me long after finishing the book.
It’s quirky, unique, current and thought provoking.
I was quickly embroiled into the story and characters and was touched throughout.
I enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend.

A love story about two young people trying to overcome the obstacle of their family’s dislike of each other.
I liked parts of this book but the constant use of swearing really put me off.
Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

.3.5 stars rounded up
A re-imagined Romeo and Juliet plot with two teens who seem to have only their love in common. Rachid is Muslim and his family feels unwelcome in England, Jodie's family is bitter and filled with resentment toward immigrants or anyone of color. Of course it all comes to a head in a tragic event and each family must decide how to move forward, questioning their actions and reactions.

The story is well written with great dialogue and the kind of character development where the reader becomes emotionally invested in their lives. However, I found my attention lagging around halfway through as it seemed to rehash the main points without moving forward. I think it could've been a shorter book and been just as powerful.

This was a brilliant book
On so many levels and so hard to
Review and do it justice. This book will stay with me for a long time and still thinking about it now a few days after finishing it.

I love this author as she has a real knack of getting into the heart of the human condition and writes about real life and real events.

This book is a thought provoking and very topical for todays society and highlights a lot of very difficult and profound issues that are unfortunately part of our society today and focuses around brexit and the cultural divide of two families and the struggles they face.

This book highlights these issues which are often not talked about or discussed and brings them into the fore in a very sensitive and well thought out way. The authors note at the end pulls it all together as gives background as to where the idea for this book came from.

This is an interesting book about the challenges of settling into a post Brexit Britain as the offspring of refugees and the heartbreaking racism that exists.
I can't honestly say that I enjoyed it, as, for me it was a very challenging book to get through. However, I celebrate that it's been written as well as the individual's who survive and thrive, despite the obstacles.

At it's heart it's a love story and it's well told and relevant and for that, it's a 3* Good Read.

Thanks to Quercus books and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview.

This has got to be one of the most powerful reads ever, it is so thought provoking, relevant and current. I can highly recommend

My goodness, this made me sob and I don’t cry easily at books. This was so desperately sad and made me so angry and disappointed and frustrated, but at the same time hopeful. Love will win, it has to. I have to believe there are more people like Rachid, Sylvie and Jodie. This was such an emotional read that it will stay with me for a long time, it’s easily the best book I’ve read this year. I don’t have the words to do this justice really, I’m wrung out after finishing it!

A very moving and beautifully written story about young love
in the midst of Brexit and racism.
Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to
read it.

This book is everything and more than I wanted to read, after reading so many soppy romances in a row, I needed that extra aspect in a romance. Very much so a romeo and juliet retelling but with stricter sides. We meet our two main characters Jodie and Rachid, where one comes from a very racist, rude and disgusting family who are vile to anyone who isnt white english, whereas Rachid comes from a family who dont feel that the UK is their home anymore even after working extremely hard for the country they should be able to call home. Rachids family plan to move back to france to feel more supported and to be with Sylivies mother. The unlikely two come together and form a beautiful hidden relationship. I absolutely love a rachid and jodie together, both characters are loving, funny and such a powerful pair. I laughed, i cried, and i smiled throughout the whole book and found the ending whilst sad but extremely heartwarming. I would say everyone needs to read this as soon as it comes out! I can't wait for the release date to get a physical copy.

This is destined to be a bestseller!. One I thoroughly recommend you request and read!
In Little Stars tells the thought provoking and emotional story of Rachid and Jodie. It considers the complexities of families, racism, religion, love and hate.

Thank you to NetGalley, Quercus books and Linda Green for this amazing ARC.

I’d describe this book as realistic fiction. The author has done an amazing job at creating imaginary characters and situations that depict the world and society. The characters focus on themes of growing, self-discovery and confronting personal and social problems. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Thank you to Quercus books and Linda Green for gifting me this book!

This book affected me an emotional level, it was truly eye opening, it was incredible!

I loved the fact that this book was set out like a modern day Romeo and Juliet story, I loved how it contained British humour that I could personally relate too, balancing out with the tougher subject matters that can sometimes be hard to address but are very real problems our society faces today.

Although I am a teenager an am not the books target audience, I still loved it regardless! I 100% recommend this book to anybody!

In Little Stars is another exceptional book by the very talented author, Linda Green. It is her tenth book, and (together with One Moment) my favourite.
It tells the story of Rachid and Jodie and their relationship. But it is so much more than a story of young love, it is a reflection of what is happening in today’s Britain, and the decline of what has been happening since the vote on whether to leave the European Union was announced. It accurately reflects the dreadful divide that occurs within families and communities and so sensitivity portrays this, as Lynda always does so very well, via such realistic characters and emotional situations. Rachid, Jodie, their families and their stories will stay with you long after reading this book.
In Little Stars deserves to be a bestseller. I cannot praise it highly enough. Two of Linda’s books (this and One Moment) now take up two spots in my top twenty favourite reads of all time!
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have to be honest and say that I nearly gave up on this book several times, the reason being the wholly unconvincing rendering of Yorkshire speech. This relied largely on the omission of the definite article and a sprinkling of words such as owt, nowt and summat. I lived for 30 years in various parts of Yorkshire and, hard as I tried, I could not hear the Yorkshire accent at all in this novel and it really grated.

However, I persevered and after being fairly irritated for much of the novel by the behaviour of the characters, especially the adults, the book suddenly became gripping with the incident on the train which was truly shocking.

The author deals with powerful themes of religious intolerance, racism, hate, failure of families to communicate, young love, and her note at the end explaining the inspiration for the novel put everything into context. I just wish I'd been drawn more fully into the world she describes.