A Jigsaw of Fire and Stars

This book far exceeded all of my expectations. I started thinking it was going to be a fairly mundane young adult fantasy novel and by the end I was so invested in basically every character's storyline, especially our protagonist Sante who is phenomenal and amazing.

The fantasy elements of this book are somewhat confusing, in that there aren't clear rules set out in the beginning of the novel for how the magic mentioned works, but honestly this didn't bother me too much in this instance, mainly because Badoe's prose convinced me that it didn't matter. How magic works isn't what's important, what's important is the story she is telling and the fate of the characters she is weaving.

I'm not going to go on about how important it is to read books that are by people who are different from you and about characters who are different but in this case I do think it is worth mentioning. I am frequently guilty of reading a lot of books that are written by white people about white people (I could blame the lack of diversity in the publishing world for this but honestly if we're not supporting diverse authors and buying and promoting their books then we're equally at fault) and this was such a nice way to diversify my reading. If you're a fan of YA fantasy you should read this, regardless of who the author is, because it's an amazing read, but supporting amazing authors who might otherwise not be as supported is sooooo important.

Badoe goes one step further and writes in LGBTQIA+ characters which fills my soul with such amazing joy. Seriously I could froth for hours about how much I enjoyed this book but if I can leave you with one thing before you go off immediately and buy your copy (I mean it. Do it now.) its that this is one of the best pieces of storytelling I have read in a long while. So often we get caught up in the minutiae of fantasy settings that we lose what makes a story amazing.

My rating: 5/5 stars (was it going to be anything less?)

Publication date: 7 September 2017

By the way: I received a digital advanced review copy of A Jigsaw of Fire and Stars from the publisher (Zephyr) via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, all my opinions are my own and I wouldn’t recommend this if I didn’t think it was worth reading.

This story was as beautiful as the cover.

Sante doesn't remember her heritage, having been found in a treasure chest as the sole survivor of a shipwreck. After being adopted into a travelling circus, Sante discovers she has some kind of magical connection to 'the great beyond', and uses this on her journey to self discovery.

The writing of this was lovely, wth a lot of character development in under 300 pages. Sante never felt contrived, and I enjoyed the hint of magical realism and Ghanaian folklore laced throughout. It wasn't entirely clear at first what time period this was set in, so I went into the story thinking it would be more historical than it actually was, however this didn't really effect the story.

It also managed to handle the ongoing issues of human trafficking delicately, and in this current climate I do feel it's an important issue. I know I don't read enough stories relating to this, and I'm currently trying to educate myself about other cultures. I'd even go so far as to say it would be a book I'd recommend my son to read, who's seven.

In short, a great little story.

This book was a wonderful, quirky tale full of love, strength, friendship and magic. The story flowed really well and i really loved Sante as a character and the connection she had to others around her like Priss and Cobra. Also just need to add in here now delicious the cover is for this, absolutely stunning.

This story was just magical, beautiful and evocative but it also touched upon darker things like sex trafficking, especially underage children. It also brushed upon the topic of immigrants and how often people fleeing their own country for a better life are scammed by those who promise to take them to a better place, and they end up dying in the middle of a foreign ocean.

I just think this book and Yaba Badoe was able to blend the seriousness of a lot of the things Sante was facing up against with the beauty and freedom that was the subtle magic she possessed and the type that Cobra and Cat had as well. I really enjoyed it, and I also loved the glimpses into the circus life and the different acts they all performed.