Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (2019), Edition: First Edition, 592 pages
Description
"This sweeping reimagining of Les Misérables tells the story of three teens from very different backgrounds who are thrown together amidst the looming threat of revolution on the French planet-colony of Laterre"--
User reviews
LibraryThing member acargile
his is the second Jessica Brody book I’ve read in a month and third overall. This novel was very different from the other two, which were realistic fiction. Jessica Brody went to a “retelling class.” Participants were told to put their favorite classic novels in the first column and an
This novel begins later in the story than the classic; Les Mis begins with Marius’s family and their relationship with Eponine’s family during the war and Jean Valjean where you learn his backstory and his relationship with Fantine. Here we begin with Eponine, Marius, and Cosette. In this story, Alouette has been raised below ground, much like you would imagine a convent in a place known as the Refuge. She practices reading, learning, quiet contemplation, slow, grateful eating, and isolation. Over time she will become a Sister as well and protect the knowledge from the First World. People on Laterre, the planet on which they live, cannot read. These Sisters guard the books and the knowledge for a future when such knowledge will free the people.
Chatine has been surviving in the frets, a place that easily leads to death. Laterre does not have access to the sun for many more years until the universe rotates and they’ll see true light. It’s dark gray, cloudy, wet, and cold. There isn’t enough food and the people are the lowest socioeconomic status--the Third Estate. They are expected to work. Basically, they are the ones who sacrifice so that the people of money and power can live a better life. Chatine’s parents lead the powerful gang and care nothing for their children beyond what they can do for them. Her sister believes everything the government tells the poor--if you work, earn points, and believe in the regime, you may be rewarded. Chatine just wants off the planet to go somewhere where there is actual sun and life isn’t so hard.
Marcellus is the grandson of General Bonnefacon, the most powerful military leader, making them members of the Second Estate. Marcellus’s father was a traitor and has been a prisoner, but he is now dead. Marcellus doesn’t have the General’s ruthlessness. He doesn’t see the Third Estate as filth; he sees people instead. When he goes to see his father’s body, he meets Theo (Chatine’s alter male ego). He is kind to “him,” but Chatine can’t trust him. She is intrigued and feels drawn to him. It’s during a riot after the Third Estate has been told that there will be no lottery to ascend to the Second Estate, which resides inside a dome with artificial light and clean living quarters where there is food, that Marcellus is injured. Alouette sees this injured man while looking at a screen from one of their cameras and rushes to help him. She’s never been above ground. Marcellus is amazes by this figment that appears--she’s clean and she can read. She reads the message his father left for him that he has with him.
What I’ve reveals is merely the beginning of the novel. As with Les Mis, there are secrets that affect all characters and they all have pasts that affect the present, which are revealed as the novel unfolds. It’s a dark novel of social injustice, evil, misunderstandings, peace, love, and the choices one makes to survive. It also doesn’t end--we do have to wait to see what happens in a future book. I think this novel is more high school, so I don’t know that I’ll be purchasing it for your age group.
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alternate setting in the second column. She made a list and then circled Les Miserables and “space” at the end of the class. When she learned Joanne’s favorite books was Les Miserables, Jessica asked her to work with her on the novel. Five years later the book has been published.This novel begins later in the story than the classic; Les Mis begins with Marius’s family and their relationship with Eponine’s family during the war and Jean Valjean where you learn his backstory and his relationship with Fantine. Here we begin with Eponine, Marius, and Cosette. In this story, Alouette has been raised below ground, much like you would imagine a convent in a place known as the Refuge. She practices reading, learning, quiet contemplation, slow, grateful eating, and isolation. Over time she will become a Sister as well and protect the knowledge from the First World. People on Laterre, the planet on which they live, cannot read. These Sisters guard the books and the knowledge for a future when such knowledge will free the people.
Chatine has been surviving in the frets, a place that easily leads to death. Laterre does not have access to the sun for many more years until the universe rotates and they’ll see true light. It’s dark gray, cloudy, wet, and cold. There isn’t enough food and the people are the lowest socioeconomic status--the Third Estate. They are expected to work. Basically, they are the ones who sacrifice so that the people of money and power can live a better life. Chatine’s parents lead the powerful gang and care nothing for their children beyond what they can do for them. Her sister believes everything the government tells the poor--if you work, earn points, and believe in the regime, you may be rewarded. Chatine just wants off the planet to go somewhere where there is actual sun and life isn’t so hard.
Marcellus is the grandson of General Bonnefacon, the most powerful military leader, making them members of the Second Estate. Marcellus’s father was a traitor and has been a prisoner, but he is now dead. Marcellus doesn’t have the General’s ruthlessness. He doesn’t see the Third Estate as filth; he sees people instead. When he goes to see his father’s body, he meets Theo (Chatine’s alter male ego). He is kind to “him,” but Chatine can’t trust him. She is intrigued and feels drawn to him. It’s during a riot after the Third Estate has been told that there will be no lottery to ascend to the Second Estate, which resides inside a dome with artificial light and clean living quarters where there is food, that Marcellus is injured. Alouette sees this injured man while looking at a screen from one of their cameras and rushes to help him. She’s never been above ground. Marcellus is amazes by this figment that appears--she’s clean and she can read. She reads the message his father left for him that he has with him.
What I’ve reveals is merely the beginning of the novel. As with Les Mis, there are secrets that affect all characters and they all have pasts that affect the present, which are revealed as the novel unfolds. It’s a dark novel of social injustice, evil, misunderstandings, peace, love, and the choices one makes to survive. It also doesn’t end--we do have to wait to see what happens in a future book. I think this novel is more high school, so I don’t know that I’ll be purchasing it for your age group.
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LibraryThing member roses7184
Settle in friends, because this is going to be a fairly long review. I was deeply excited for Sky Without Stars, since Les Miserables is one of my favorite stories of all time. While there were a lot of portions of this story that caught me up in their magic, there were also a fair amount of issues
First, let's talk setting. Laterre is an an absolutely fascinating setting for this story to talk place. Imagine the dregs of a world that was supposed to be a new start for the masses. A place that promises a fair chance for fair work, but in reality just enslaves over half of its population for the benefit of the wealthy. That on its own is already an amazing setting for a retelling of this nature, but add in the fact that there are science fiction elements galore and you have a space that truly amazed me. Les Miserables in space is a perfect description, and you're in for a treat when you visit Laterre.
In terms of the story line, it actually sticks fairly closely to the original subject matter that it is pulling from. Of course there are differences, since this is a YA book that is set in space, but I enjoyed the fact that Brody and Rendell honored the original story so well. You can see glimpses of Jean Valjean, Eponine, and Inspector Javert. I could see the story unfolding in a similar manner to the original story. A revolt. A rebellion. Unfolding love. Terrible tragedies.
So what made this a three star read? First off, the characters were rough to love. While I saw their counterparts firmly in my head, all of them but Chatine had no depth for me. Marcellus is frustratingly unsure of himself throughout this whole book. Alouette is just that lost little girl who needs people to save her over and over again. I found myself skimming their chapters because they were just so slow. If this whole book had revolved around Chatine (which yes, I know it wouldn't make any sense that way) I would have loved it. She was the fierce peasant, the wily street rat. In other words, my favorite kind of character. Her chapters are what helped me make it through this story.
Which leads to the fact that, yes, this story is lengthy. While the writing is well done, and not too flowery, there are definite portions that felt like they dragged well beyond what they needed to be. This is a tome, to be honest. I completely understand that the source material is also this long, having read both the book and watched the musical, but there's something that's a bit lost in translation in Sky Without Stars. It doesn't feel like the length adds to anything, but more tends to slowly pull the reader out of the story being laid out in front of them. I think if this book had been just a little shorter, focusing more on character development, I would have loved it that much more.
As it stands, I rate this a solid three star read. It wasn't my favorite book, but it does have potential. Since this is the first in a series, I'll probably pick up the next book to see how things evolve. Perhaps my characters will pick themselves up a bit, and things will move along at a quicker pace.
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I had that kept me from really loving story. Once again, I find myself with a book that has me sitting right on that proverbial fence. So bear with me while I sort it all out.First, let's talk setting. Laterre is an an absolutely fascinating setting for this story to talk place. Imagine the dregs of a world that was supposed to be a new start for the masses. A place that promises a fair chance for fair work, but in reality just enslaves over half of its population for the benefit of the wealthy. That on its own is already an amazing setting for a retelling of this nature, but add in the fact that there are science fiction elements galore and you have a space that truly amazed me. Les Miserables in space is a perfect description, and you're in for a treat when you visit Laterre.
In terms of the story line, it actually sticks fairly closely to the original subject matter that it is pulling from. Of course there are differences, since this is a YA book that is set in space, but I enjoyed the fact that Brody and Rendell honored the original story so well. You can see glimpses of Jean Valjean, Eponine, and Inspector Javert. I could see the story unfolding in a similar manner to the original story. A revolt. A rebellion. Unfolding love. Terrible tragedies.
So what made this a three star read? First off, the characters were rough to love. While I saw their counterparts firmly in my head, all of them but Chatine had no depth for me. Marcellus is frustratingly unsure of himself throughout this whole book. Alouette is just that lost little girl who needs people to save her over and over again. I found myself skimming their chapters because they were just so slow. If this whole book had revolved around Chatine (which yes, I know it wouldn't make any sense that way) I would have loved it. She was the fierce peasant, the wily street rat. In other words, my favorite kind of character. Her chapters are what helped me make it through this story.
Which leads to the fact that, yes, this story is lengthy. While the writing is well done, and not too flowery, there are definite portions that felt like they dragged well beyond what they needed to be. This is a tome, to be honest. I completely understand that the source material is also this long, having read both the book and watched the musical, but there's something that's a bit lost in translation in Sky Without Stars. It doesn't feel like the length adds to anything, but more tends to slowly pull the reader out of the story being laid out in front of them. I think if this book had been just a little shorter, focusing more on character development, I would have loved it that much more.
As it stands, I rate this a solid three star read. It wasn't my favorite book, but it does have potential. Since this is the first in a series, I'll probably pick up the next book to see how things evolve. Perhaps my characters will pick themselves up a bit, and things will move along at a quicker pace.
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LibraryThing member ReadingBifrost
“‘What good would it do to send you back there? You’ll only escape again. I’ve chased you across Laterre. Hunted you down for far too long. You’ve evaded me one too many times, LeGrand.’ Limier clicked his neck to the side, and Alouette could swear she heard metal parts grinding.
There are a lot of similarities between the Les Miserables and Sky Without Stars, but enough of a change so you don’t feel like you’re just reading the same book in a different setting, which is a big leap forward when compared without retellings. Where Les Miserables seems more centered around Jean ValJean (LeGrand) and Javert (Limier), Sky Without Starts is more centered around Chatine (Eponine), Alouette (Cosette), and Marcellus (Marius).
In this book, the revolution hasn’t really started. It sets up all the characters’ pasts, they reveal secrets about themselves, and like pieces on a chess board, they’re put in position for the revolution to begin.
Chatine is the character that really makes the story take flight. Much like the Les Mis version of Eponine, she’s hard and streetsmart. She definitely has a deep grey area when it comes to morals, but unlike her parents, she does seem to have a line that she won’t cross.
Marcellus is much like Marius in that I don’t care for him much. Maybe I have a thing against love-sick rich kids. I do have to give props to the authors for giving Marellus a deep back story with his father and grandfather.
I feel about Alouette much as I do Marcellus. She seems to have a stronger personality than I remember Cosette having in the book, and she’s more inquisitive instead of just accepting things as they are; but she also just has that love-sick personality that grates on my nerves.
The world building in this book is amazing! Laterre the planet where the story takes place. It’s widely influenced by French culture, but spun so there’s no doubt you’re in a sci-fi setting. There are three suns in the sky that no one has seen for years due to thick grey clouds, making the setting even more dark and dismal.
There are three estates (and classes); the first estate consists of the monarchs, the second is the government, and the third is the workers. Most of this book takes place in the third estate where the conditions are deplorable. Luckily for them, once a year The Ascension allows one worker to move up in class. Workers accumulate points for going to their jobs. The more points, the more chances they have in being chosen at The Ascension. Hard workers, like Chatine’s sister, strive to be that one lucky person, while Chatine herself sees it as a fantasy.
The second estate governs and policies the third; police being composed of large robots with tasers, and beings such as Inspector Limier, who is some sort of cyborg. I loved this addition because it gives Limier a stoic personality, but it also hints that the character may not have human feelings and was designed that way to better do his job.
For those that only watched the Les Mis musical, there are a few easter-eggs that you won’t quite understand that the book-readers will drool over. In Hugo’s book, Eponine has three brothers one being Gavroche, the little boy of the barricades, and a sister, Azelma. The musical tends to skip that information, but Sky Without Stars gives Eponine (or at least her dopple in this book) her sister and at least one brother back.
Though most of the readers are probably going to be picking up Sky Without Stars because of their interest in Les Mis, you don’t have to be a fan in order to enjoy this story. Overall, I can’t wait to get the next book not only to see the differences in the story compared to Hugo’s original work but to also keep following this space opera on its own.
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‘I’m done chasing you. This is where the hunt ends.’”There are a lot of similarities between the Les Miserables and Sky Without Stars, but enough of a change so you don’t feel like you’re just reading the same book in a different setting, which is a big leap forward when compared without retellings. Where Les Miserables seems more centered around Jean ValJean (LeGrand) and Javert (Limier), Sky Without Starts is more centered around Chatine (Eponine), Alouette (Cosette), and Marcellus (Marius).
In this book, the revolution hasn’t really started. It sets up all the characters’ pasts, they reveal secrets about themselves, and like pieces on a chess board, they’re put in position for the revolution to begin.
Chatine is the character that really makes the story take flight. Much like the Les Mis version of Eponine, she’s hard and streetsmart. She definitely has a deep grey area when it comes to morals, but unlike her parents, she does seem to have a line that she won’t cross.
Marcellus is much like Marius in that I don’t care for him much. Maybe I have a thing against love-sick rich kids. I do have to give props to the authors for giving Marellus a deep back story with his father and grandfather.
I feel about Alouette much as I do Marcellus. She seems to have a stronger personality than I remember Cosette having in the book, and she’s more inquisitive instead of just accepting things as they are; but she also just has that love-sick personality that grates on my nerves.
The world building in this book is amazing! Laterre the planet where the story takes place. It’s widely influenced by French culture, but spun so there’s no doubt you’re in a sci-fi setting. There are three suns in the sky that no one has seen for years due to thick grey clouds, making the setting even more dark and dismal.
There are three estates (and classes); the first estate consists of the monarchs, the second is the government, and the third is the workers. Most of this book takes place in the third estate where the conditions are deplorable. Luckily for them, once a year The Ascension allows one worker to move up in class. Workers accumulate points for going to their jobs. The more points, the more chances they have in being chosen at The Ascension. Hard workers, like Chatine’s sister, strive to be that one lucky person, while Chatine herself sees it as a fantasy.
The second estate governs and policies the third; police being composed of large robots with tasers, and beings such as Inspector Limier, who is some sort of cyborg. I loved this addition because it gives Limier a stoic personality, but it also hints that the character may not have human feelings and was designed that way to better do his job.
For those that only watched the Les Mis musical, there are a few easter-eggs that you won’t quite understand that the book-readers will drool over. In Hugo’s book, Eponine has three brothers one being Gavroche, the little boy of the barricades, and a sister, Azelma. The musical tends to skip that information, but Sky Without Stars gives Eponine (or at least her dopple in this book) her sister and at least one brother back.
Though most of the readers are probably going to be picking up Sky Without Stars because of their interest in Les Mis, you don’t have to be a fan in order to enjoy this story. Overall, I can’t wait to get the next book not only to see the differences in the story compared to Hugo’s original work but to also keep following this space opera on its own.
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LibraryThing member jmchshannon
Yes, Sky Without Stars is a retelling of Les Misérables set in space. Yes, it has your Jean Valjean, your Javert, your Marius, your Cosette, and your Eponine characters. Yes, it has an infamous criminal hiding from the police, a clueless adopted daughter, a member of the upper class questioning
What it becomes is a reminder of the power of the printed word. It is a call to remember history as accurately as possible because when you forget the past, you allow those who have not to gain control over you. It is the ease with which the monied exploit the poor and the many ways those in the middle ignore the exploitation. It is another example of how often history repeats itself without proper education and diligence.
It is a story about resources – people, money, food, and natural – and the dangers of having too much or too little. It is the lengths people will go to survive when desperate. It is the relationships that bind us to one another, whether we want them to do so or not. It is about secrets and political machinations that run deeper than anyone knows and the dangers of uncovering such plots.
Lastly, it is a space opera. Set in a different universe, on a plant that never sees the light of a sun, the permanent darkness plays a significant role in the mood of the people and the tone of the novel. Survival on a planet with limited resources is an aspect of the story that did not exist in the original. Nor did space travel, computer systems, embedded technology, androids, and other space elements. These add their own twist to the novel that makes it even larger and more spectacular than Hugo’s masterpiece.
Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell do an excellent job taking Hugo’s story and making it their own. I like that they focus on the three younger characters rather than on the dynamic between hunter and hunted. I particularly like how they flesh out each of those characters, making them less insipid, more complex, more morally ambiguous, more human. I also enjoy how they downplayed the love story to focus on the political interplay. Best of all, by the time the novel ends, the story is heading in directions Hugo never went, making it original and providing enough unanswered questions to make anyone anticipate the sequel.
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everything he knows about class, and a female street urchin caught up among all their stories. But what starts as a retelling becomes so much more.What it becomes is a reminder of the power of the printed word. It is a call to remember history as accurately as possible because when you forget the past, you allow those who have not to gain control over you. It is the ease with which the monied exploit the poor and the many ways those in the middle ignore the exploitation. It is another example of how often history repeats itself without proper education and diligence.
It is a story about resources – people, money, food, and natural – and the dangers of having too much or too little. It is the lengths people will go to survive when desperate. It is the relationships that bind us to one another, whether we want them to do so or not. It is about secrets and political machinations that run deeper than anyone knows and the dangers of uncovering such plots.
Lastly, it is a space opera. Set in a different universe, on a plant that never sees the light of a sun, the permanent darkness plays a significant role in the mood of the people and the tone of the novel. Survival on a planet with limited resources is an aspect of the story that did not exist in the original. Nor did space travel, computer systems, embedded technology, androids, and other space elements. These add their own twist to the novel that makes it even larger and more spectacular than Hugo’s masterpiece.
Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell do an excellent job taking Hugo’s story and making it their own. I like that they focus on the three younger characters rather than on the dynamic between hunter and hunted. I particularly like how they flesh out each of those characters, making them less insipid, more complex, more morally ambiguous, more human. I also enjoy how they downplayed the love story to focus on the political interplay. Best of all, by the time the novel ends, the story is heading in directions Hugo never went, making it original and providing enough unanswered questions to make anyone anticipate the sequel.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Shahnareads
I loved this.
It's a billon pages long and I want more.
ugh.
gimmeeeeeee
Chatine is my fav I think. Sassypants and a shit disturber. My kinda girl.
It's a billon pages long and I want more.
ugh.
gimmeeeeeee
Chatine is my fav I think. Sassypants and a shit disturber. My kinda girl.
Awards
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2019-03-26
Physical description
592 p.; 9 inches
ISBN
1534410635 / 9781534410633