Synopsis: Sam Jones and Zoe Miller have one thing in common: they both want an escape from reality.
Loner Sam flies under the radar at school and walks on eggshells at home to manage her mom’s obsessive-compulsive disorder, wondering how she can ever leave to pursue her dream of studying aerospace engineering.
Popular, people-pleasing Zoe puts up walls so no one can see her true self: the girl who was abandoned as an infant, whose adoptive mother has cancer, and whose disabled brother is being sent away to live in a facility.
When an unexpected encounter results in the girls’ exchanging phone numbers, they forge a connection through text messages that expands into a private universe they call Starworld.
In Starworld, they find hilarious adventures, kindness and understanding, and the magic of being seen for who they really are.
But when Sam’s feelings for Zoe turn into something more, will the universe they’ve built survive the inevitable explosion?
Loner Sam flies under the radar at school and walks on eggshells at home to manage her mom’s obsessive-compulsive disorder, wondering how she can ever leave to pursue her dream of studying aerospace engineering.
Popular, people-pleasing Zoe puts up walls so no one can see her true self: the girl who was abandoned as an infant, whose adoptive mother has cancer, and whose disabled brother is being sent away to live in a facility.
When an unexpected encounter results in the girls’ exchanging phone numbers, they forge a connection through text messages that expands into a private universe they call Starworld.
In Starworld, they find hilarious adventures, kindness and understanding, and the magic of being seen for who they really are.
But when Sam’s feelings for Zoe turn into something more, will the universe they’ve built survive the inevitable explosion?
About the Authors:
Paula Garner spends most of her time writing, reading, or making good things to eat and drink. She is the author of YA contemporary novels Starworld, Relative Strangers, and Phantom Limbs, which was a 2017 Illinois Reads selection for grades 9-12. Follow her on Twitter at @paulajgarner.
INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | WEBSITE | GOODREADS
Audrey Coulthurst writes YA books that tend to involve magic, horses, and kissing the wrong people. When she’s not dreaming up new stories, she can usually be found painting, singing, or on the back of a horse.
Audrey has a Master’s in Writing from Portland State University and studied with Malinda Lo as a 2013 Lambda Literary Foundation Fellow. She lives in Santa Monica, California.
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | WEBSITE | GOODREADS
Audrey Coulthurst writes YA books that tend to involve magic, horses, and kissing the wrong people. When she’s not dreaming up new stories, she can usually be found painting, singing, or on the back of a horse.
Audrey has a Master’s in Writing from Portland State University and studied with Malinda Lo as a 2013 Lambda Literary Foundation Fellow. She lives in Santa Monica, California.
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | WEBSITE | GOODREADS
PHOTO CREDIT FOR EVRIM ICOZ PHOTOGRAPHY
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
My Review: This book kind of reminded me of Terabithia. Where two characters come together and create a new world where they can soar to new hights and find themselves. I really loved all the family dynamics in this story. It made it unlike others where the parents of the story are just not there. That was a nice chance from the norm. The other thing I really enjoyed about this one was Sam and Zoe they were going through so much drama and issues and they seemed very relatable to the world today. Them looking to each other to get through things were great. Friends in this world are so hard to find. And finding a true friend is harder still.
I think the authors did great with the issues that these girls were dealing with. The authors did a great job with dealing with mental illness, Cancer, and more.
The one issue I had was that the world of Starworld with all the in book role play was a little much. I think that the way it was presented was a little weird. I think that if this would have been a movie or tv show that those sections were be perfect on screen. But for the book it kind of slowed it down and those parts were just a little cheesy. But after you get over that. The rest of the book really makes up for it.
As for the romance I wished that this one would have worked out a little differently. I do like that the ending was realistic but in todays world I think that it could have ended a little better than it did. That being said though I still did love this story so much. Theres just so much in this story about family and friendship and I could not put it down.
Go Into This One Knowing: Two POVs, OCD, Adoption, Cancer, Not true LGBT
An unlikely friendship blossoms between two high school seniors...in the deft hands of co-authors Coulthurst (Inkmistress, 2018, etc.) and Garner (Relative Strangers, 2018, etc.), the well-realized main characters and deeply insightful descriptions of complex emotions combine into an unusually thoughtful novel...Readers seeking characters facing challenges with honesty, bravery, and kindness will appreciate this book with its reminder that our outward lives often don't reflect who we really are.
—Kirkus Reviews
Sensitively attentive to the walls teens erect between their family life and their school personae, as well as to the misunderstandings that emerge when people have different approaches to and understandings of emotional expression, this portrayal of two very different girls finding common ground will resonate with people of various identities, cliques, and fandoms.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
The story offers plenty of growth for both as the girls come to a new understanding of the challenges in their lives, and a realistic open ending without a neat tie-up adds greatly...a well-wrought story about the pitfalls and rewards of friendship.
—School Library Journal
—Kirkus Reviews
Sensitively attentive to the walls teens erect between their family life and their school personae, as well as to the misunderstandings that emerge when people have different approaches to and understandings of emotional expression, this portrayal of two very different girls finding common ground will resonate with people of various identities, cliques, and fandoms.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
The story offers plenty of growth for both as the girls come to a new understanding of the challenges in their lives, and a realistic open ending without a neat tie-up adds greatly...a well-wrought story about the pitfalls and rewards of friendship.
—School Library Journal
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FTC Guidelines: In accordance with FTC guidelines regarding endorsements and testimonials for bloggers, I would like my readers to know that many of the books I review are provided to me for free by the publisher or author of the book in exchange for an honest review. If am compensated for any reviews on this site I will state that post has been sponsored.
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