This is a powerful read!
While this one will make you cry, it is a very enlightening read! The author does a splendid job of mixing the different timelines and showing how all the times connect. I loved that aspect!
We start with the timeline in 2020, when the pandemic was at its peak with tension in the air and everyone on edge. It has the characters figuring out how to talk to one another and stand up for their beliefs when they are so confused and unsure how to go about it. I liked that part. Then you have Jenny's story in the 1980s where she was trying to figure out her life and her first love and how that all went up in flames after she changed so much of herself to try to show her love interest, Lena that she was all in. When everything came to a head Lena chose to risk everything including Jenny and Lena's friends' lives, to save her brother and at that point, she decided that she needed to pick herself. Then we had two friends in Germany in the middle of World War II. The pressure to be "good German girls," and the existing circumstances weighed heavily upon them. People expected women of that era to be good wives, and that defined the extent of their roles in society—a truly sad state of affairs. But the two friends, Hannah and Sophie, worked hard to make a difference, and they achieved so much!
This book exemplifies the connection between history and the present, highlighting how the challenges faced by young adults in the past are similar to those faced today.
I received the audiobook to listen to and review and it was great! The narrators did an amazing job bringing the stories to life! The narrators help bring the emotional roller coaster to life with the mysterious enchantment of the tree, the ambitious behaviors of the different characters and the captivating stories and how they intertwined! Thank you, Macmillan Audio and Netgalley, for the spectacular adventure!

Audio review: there are 3 timelines and a different narrator for each timeline. I loved that. All of the narrators were excellent and really brought the characters to life. The production quality was also great!

Book review: This book differs from others by Libba Bray because its is straight up historical fiction, without any real magical element. There is a fairytale vibe at points, but that's it.

My favorite timeline was Jenny in 1980's West Germany. This was the stand-out for me, everything about it was captivating and kept me wanting to read. The 1940's timeline was fine. The one I struggled the most with (and I'm sure I won't be the only one) was the 2020 Covid-era timeline. It was honestly hard to read just under 5 years later, and made me want to quit the whole book at times.

Overall, the book is so well written. I loved how everything tied together, and there is excellent social commentary throughout.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

I started with the eARC and just couldn't get hooked, but the audio version is fantastic. The narrators are wonderful, and I really liked the parts that sounded like a recording. I might not have stuck with this book if the audio hadn't been so good!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this eaudiobook, Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray.

I have to admit that I was skeptical at first for a young adult title with multiple time periods, but the author did a great job weaving them all together. This title also offers a historical aspect and mystery.

There’s Sophie/Hannah in the 1940s, Jenny/Lena in the 1980s, and Miles/Chloe in 2020.

CW: events of 2020 (pandemic, zoom school, murder of George Floyd), atrocities of WWII, murder, homophobia of 1980s.

I tend to shy away from multiple timeline historical fiction books, but I love Libba Bray and wanted to see how she tackled the complicated eras of 1940 Germany, 1980 West Berlin, and 2020 New York City. The content warnings on this book are steep, but it's YA so they are handled with skill and care, and a lens to process them.

In 1940 Germany, Sophie and Hannah have been best friends forever, but seem to be growing apart with the rise of the Third Reich and their parents' political allegiances. In 1980 West Berlin, Jenny is distraught to be missing her friends from Dallas, but she opens her eyes to a world of punk music and resistance. In 2020 NYC, Miles is a senior completely isolated from his family with one mom in healthcare and the other stranded in Europe, and he and his best friend connect Chloe over a mystery of the Bridegroom's Oak and a cold case about two missing girls who vanished 80 years before.

While I don't love the multi-generational-let's-solve-mysteries-in-multiple-timelines typically, it works really well for me here. Each era has its own intensity, and I found it really helpful to move from one to another to break that up. The book is on the longer side, but you get a really good sense of all the characters in each timeline, and it's worth its page count. There are some moments that as an adult reader I found a little cheesy, but overall this is such a strong book about resistance and love and being united when everything feels dark. In a sense, the perfect book to read on January 19, 2025, looking bleakly into the future. Every timeline has a message to bear for us today, and this book delivers it in a firm and gentle manner: be present in the moment and show up to defend justice.

The audiobook is narrated by January LaVoy, Jeremy Carlisle Parker, and Major Curda, and is an excellent listen.

A tree in Germany, referred to as the bridegrooms oak, plays an important part in the lives of young adults in the 1940s, the 1980s, and the early days of Covid. The two teenagers drawn to the tree in 2020 find themselves caught up in the mystery of two young adults who disappeared from the tree in the days ofWorld War II. This is a beautiful, moving story that will appeal to lovers of All the Light We Cannot See