Strange Star

The book arrived quickly and was packaged well.

I had the immense pleasure of getting my hands on an advanced copy of this book, (I am not a paid reviewer, however) and I am honored to be able to contribute my review here, and be the first to do so on Amazon! This is my first introduction to Emma Carroll's work, and I gulped this book down in one three-hour sitting. It is an intriguing young-adult novel, full of characters and settings which are at once familiar and yet not, and it has a fascinating premise rife with both science and superstition, much like the early 1800s in which it takes place.Strange Star begins on the stormy night of a rather unorthodox dinner party, thrown by the famous Lord Byron and attended by poet Percy Shelley, author Mary Shelley, and her stepsister Claire Clairmont. After dinner they gather in the parlor. Their charge? To each tell a ghost story that will "terrify the assembled company". Mary has none to add to the proceedings, but in a clap of lightning, a stranger appears on the doorstep with a perfectly terrifying story of her own, one that will change the fates of all in the room.Pros:Carroll's characters are fleshed out very effectively, no small feat considering the balance of real historical people and fictional ones in this book. The time period is well represented, not just in setting and culture but also in the pervading superstitions surrounding the action in the book. There were some truly creepy moments, some truly tragic moments, too. And without spoiling any of the good parts, I will say that I noticed and deeply appreciated all of the author's homages to other literature.Cons:My only complaint, and it is a personal bugbear, is I found myself occasionally wondering if certain things the characters said were true to the time period, certain idioms that struck me as odd and pulled me out of the story a little. Words like "heck", which I'm fairly certain weren't around in 1816, and things like that. But if those things don't bother you, then you will sail through that dialogue without a care, and you should...because generally speaking, the book is a thrill.As a fan of young adult fiction, gothic fiction, thrillers, historical fiction, and literature, this book was nearly perfect for me. And if you are a fan of these things, it should be nearly perfect for you, too. I couldn't put it down, and I will certainly be seeking out Emma Carroll's other works in future.Strange Star is strange, yes...but a story worth reading.

I really wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I'd heard good things about it so I bought it. It sat on one of my bookcases for a few weeks but after seeing someone on Twitter say it was great I decided to pick it up. And I'm very glad I did.Emma Carroll has managed to create two stories that fall in together perfectly. The book is so powerful that I read the majority of it in one sitting despite being super tired. All of the characters were super interesting, & I've fallen very much in love with Lizzie & her sister. There were also loads of plot twists & I never really knew what was going to happen next.The book made me smile so much, but also made me sad & angry too. Emma has somehow created a really charming book, that is also chilling & frightening as well, when you really think about what the plot is made up of. I'd love a sequel. I also think the end of this book has decided what book I am going to read next (I believe I have it on Kindle already). Honestly this book was so good, I'm so glad I decided to read it now - it provided me with a brilliant escape during a bad time.

Hi everybody, in my opinion I love this book because it inspires you to go on great adventures and become a hero! I think it's quite cool because it has got loads of ghost stories in and it is quite spooky. I recommend this book because Emma Carroll is a great writer. This book is about a 14 year old girl called Lizzie who goes on a mysterious expedition to lake Geneva to look for somebody close to her.I am nearly nine and I was looking for a book to read so my mum found this book for me so I read it and now I love it.Eva☺️

I find that students in my Year 7 (age 11 and 12) classes love Emma Carroll's books, and I probably buy more of her books than any other at the moment. The Girl Who Walked on Air, Frost Hollow Hall, and Letters From the Lighthouse have all been big hits with the children I teach.Strange Star appealed to me as well as the students because it's based on the life and work of Mary Shelley. It mirrors the structure of Frankenstein in that it starts with a framed story. The Shelleys gather with Lord Byron at Villa Diodati on Lake Geneva, only to find a girl knock at the door one night, frail, soaked to the skin and exhausted. She tells her story, which turns out to be the main narrative in the book. Lizzie Appleby comes across a character called Miss Stine (inspired by the character of Victor Frankenstein in Shelley's gothic novel) when her mother is killed by a lightning strike while trying to take the family's herd of cows to safety. Like Victor, Miss Stine is deeply ambitious and loses sight of scruples and compassion in her attempt to revivify the dead using the power of electricity.All this sounds quite serious for younger readers and indeed Carroll details the experiments on dead animals very carefully, with just the right balance to horrify young readers whilst never frightening them. Lizzie gets caught up in an experiment which is clearly terrifying to her but the narrative ensures that younger readers will be enthralled.The themes of this book include feminism (Mary Shelley is of course a great role model), death, loss, grief, science, racism, and most of all, prejudice against those who look different. In fact, all the same themes that you will find in Frankenstein. There are other echoes from Frankenstein, too; of a mother who dies and leaves her child alone, a blind character who doesn't judge by appearances, scientific advances, and the overwhelming wish to defeat death.Above all, though, this is a page turning and spell binding novel which younger readers will really enjoy. My class are proof of that. As soon as one of my students saw it on my desk, last week, she said, "Oh, Miss, can I borrow that please?" (And the covers of Emma Carroll's books are sheer beauty - Faber make the most gorgeous looking books.)Highly recommended.

I loved Emma Caroll's Strange Star. It's a wonderfully Gothic ghost story but it is so much more than that. It is full of heart and soul and pathos and wonderful characterisation. I was entranced by it and also terrified and read it in one sitting and then passed it on to my 12-year-old daughter who devoured it in two days. We both heartily recommend it.

My daughter thought Frost Hollow Hall was the best book she had ever read, until she read this one. She absolutely loved it, couldn't put it down. She became the quietest child ever during the period of reading this book. Finished it in days and raved at how good it was. Cant wait for the next Emma Carroll book to be out. Has really inspired her to read more and write her own stories too.