The Stars at Oktober Bend by Glenda Millard - OPTIONAL

The Stars at Oktober Bend by Glenda Millard, 266 pages.  Candlewick Press, 2016 (U.S. edition 2018).  $17.  

Content: Language: PG-13 (22 swears); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: PG-13.  

BUYING ADVISORY: HS – OPTIONAL  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE  

Alice, has been the victim of a sexual assault and a brutal attack which leaves her without the words she wants to speak.  Through her writing and poetry, she can properly express her feelings and unknowingly connects with Manny, a young man who escaped Sierra Lione as a child soldier and is trying to move on in his own life.  Together they understand each other’s losses and find understanding. 

This touching novel is written in a stream of conscious way with poetry mixed in.  I loved the loyalty of Alice’s family and the honesty of her character.  The writing was unique and beautiful and has a message of hope, but it would take a good reader to have the patience with the writing style.  The chapters are sometimes written from Manny’s perspective as well.  The content includes crude comments, off-page sex, reference to rape and sexual assault and reference to a tongue being removed.  

Reviewer, C. Peterson