Book Review | The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Title: The Sun is Also a Star
Author: Nicola Yoon
Publication: November 1st 2016 by Delacorte Press
Series: Standalone
Pages: 348
Genre: Fantasy
Copy: Hardcover; Bought
Summary: Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.
Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.
The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

What I Expected:  A cute contemporary romance.

What I Got: So much more.

As someone who is not a big fan of instalove, I was a little skeptical of the concept of two characters falling in love over the course of one day.  Really, the only reason why I gave this book a chance was because I loved Everything, Everything so much.  But Nicola took my suspicions and slapped me across the face with them.  Seriously, the way the romance was done in this book absolutely blew my mind.  I was rooting for two characters who had just met only hours before.  How is that even possible??  

Not only was the romance amazing; literally everything else about the book was.  The POVs switch between Natasha and Daniel, as well as many other minor characters throughout the book.  Another thing that I thought I wouldn't like, but it turned out to be my favorite part of the novel.  Getting a glimpse into characters' lives that you otherwise wouldn't think twice about was such a cool experience, and these chapters even tied into the ending of the book.  The whole set-up of this novel is extremely clever and well-done.

Yet another aspect of this novel that I enjoyed was the diversity.  Getting to experience new cultures and live from the POV of someone facing deportation was truly amazing.  It made me wish that more books addressed topics like this.

Overall, this is probably the best contemporary I've ever read.  This is one of those books I know I'll read over and over again and never get tired of it.  100% recommend this book to everyone!!