Spoiler-Free Review: These Broken Stars

Authors: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

The Icarus was the luxury spaceship on a fantastic voyage! The night started like any other. Lilac was dressed to the nines, and tired of spending daddy’s money. Tarver was still getting used to rubbing shoulders with the rich people and the weight of the war metal pinned to his chest.

Now, stranded on an alien planet, Lilac and Tarver are in a fight for their very lives. Can they work together? Is help coming? or is there really no hope out there among the broken stars?

I wonder what the sister ships of The Icarus are: The Orpheus, The Bermuda Triangle, The Flying Dutchman? At some point you are begging for your ship to crash!

Seriously though, I like the character. Both Lilac and Tarver need to work together to survive. Lilac is the heir to an electronics company, and Tarver is military. She can cobble together the broken equipment to send a message for help, and Tarver can keep them alive long enough for help to arrive. I like that no one is “the load.” They need each other. Everyone hates escort missions, and I don’t think I could handle it in book form.

Lilac and Tarver’s relationship is VERY predictable, but I thought it was earned. They do spend most of the book together. I do recommend this book for teens and young adults, but the scifi elements are a backdrop. It’s a fun survival story, but this is not a deep socially gripping scifi, nor does it pretend to be.