This was a great book. At first, some of the events made me think it was turning into horror. It is not horror however, but does end up being a powerful story about the interconnectedness of time, love, and the challenge of grieving. ( )

I'm not going to claim that this review is unbiased because it isn't. I've admired Erika on the internet in various mediums for a long time. I've been an immense fan of her writing for as long as I've known her- whether it be essays or the Book of Speculation or just notes about her bunny and applying coffee to any given situation Erika's words are ardent and honest and they hit me in a place that I forget about often until she comes along and pokes at it. It often aches in a way I can't describe and makes me long for a certain type of kinship I can't quite put my finger on.

The Book of Speculation broke me out of a years long reading slump and reignited a passion within me. It reminded me of my love of mythology and mystery and family and fear and desire. Light from Other Stars ignited a new passion within me that, truthfully, I was doubtful I was capable of when I first saw scribblings of this novel floating around. I was worried I wouldn't be able to appreciate this for its broader scope- I'm a relatively young woman, I've been taught all my life to hate science and go towards the arts. I've never read a science fiction book in my life- would I love this as much as I wanted to? Would I be able to relate to a young girl who loved space and her father in a way I had never been able to? Of course I did. Because the love and fear and passion that Erika pours into her every word shows and kicks me in the chest.

I'm not going to lie and say this wasn't a difficult book. I tried to understand the science and I managed as well as someone in the arts can I think. The emotions underlying this novel were also difficult. The family dynamics, the friendship with Denny, Nedda's obsession with NASA. It was hard to read at times. I was fearful of everything breaking apart- and sometimes it did but it all stitched back together. Which is maybe the biggest takeaway from this story. You have to do the scary thing anyway. And it will hurt, but it won't be forever.

There was a little bit of magic in this book and I am so grateful to be allowed in its orbit. ( )

I really enjoyed this book and surprisingly not for the sci-fi elements. While this book had sci-fi elements, in my opinion it was in no way the focus of the book. The book (in my opinion) was more about family relationships (particularly between parents and children), sacrifice, and the processing of grief. ( )

I went into this with no expectations, having heard nothing about this book. I was pleasantly surprised by the combination of speculative fiction, family drama, and good story telling. ( )

Classified as science fiction, this is really just fiction that relies on science to move the story forward. Not your typical robot and doomed mankind or space war science fiction, but a well executed plot moving a young space-fanatical girl through time to discover herself, her mother, her father, and her childhood best friend. The science can be tough to follow but appropriately so. The language about space and the language of math and science was poetic. ( )