The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon (2016)

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Natasha’s family is from Jamaica. Daniel’s family is from South Korea. Natasha wasn’t born in the United States. Daniel was. They both live in New York City, but don’t know each other. Natasha’s dad is a struggling actor. Daniel’s family owns a hair product store. Today, Daniel has an interview to get into a college he doesn’t want to go to. Daniel’s parents care about him going to college and getting a good job and marrying a nice South Korean girl. Natasha’s education is on the back burner, because today, her family is being deported. The government doesn’t care that Natasha has been there her whole life, or that she hasn’t done anything wrong. At 10pm tonight, she is to get on a plane back to Jamaica. This morning, she is in a record store, watching her ex kiss the girl he cheated on her with. Daniel is also there. This is the place they are going to meet each other, and after that, they will struggle to separate until time runs out.
I have been anticipating reading The Sun Is Also A Star ever since I read Nicola Yoon’s debut novel Everything, Everything. For a couple months now, it’s been getting mass praise from some really fantastic authors and review sources. So, I was thrilled when my librarian gave me an ARC of this book. I think I started reading it immediately, and following Nicola Yoon’s suit, it was absolutely beautiful, just like it’s cover. If you can find it, there’s actually a live action video of how the cover was made.
Nicola Yoon does a really big service to everyone by writing diverse characters- or basically having characters that aren’t just white. This is hugely important, because, well, the world doesn’t just consist of white people, and books should reflect this. From what I know, Nicola is from Jamaica and her husband is South Korean, which make their daughter both. Maddie, the main character in Everything, Everything, reflects their daughter’s heritage. Therefore, I assume that Daniel and Natasha’s relationship reflects her and her husband’s relationship. Still, she stated that she did a lot of research into South Korean culture to get Daniel’s character right, which I for one really appreciate. By doing so, she avoided running into cultural appropriation, but was also able to teach readers a lot about South Korean culture, just like she did with Jamaican culture.
As you could probably tell, Natasha is an undocumented immigrant. She came to the United States when she was eight on a vacation visa, and her family has never left. As far as she’s concerned, and as far as I’m convinced, she is an American. She’s been there so long that she even has an American accent. As a last ditch effort, she spends her last day in the U.S. contacting lawyers, trying to figure out a way for her family to stay there. Her journey raises a lot of important facts and questions to the reader, which I think is really important. One of them is as to why an immigrant has to prove over and over again that they are valuable to society, but a natural born citizen doesn’t. I think her story is especially important now that we have a president-elect that is trying to deport mass amounts of immigrants, both documented and undocumented. From what I hear, he is both dehumanizing and demonizing immigrants of all  kinds. But, Natasha really proves his statements wrong, and for that, I think this story needs to be shared all over.
I also really liked the way this story was told. There are two main perspectives: Daniel’s and Natasha’s. However, interwoven is the story of more minor characters, like their parents, and even security guards and subway drivers. There’s also little histories of certain themes in the books, which really added to the story. My favorite character by far was Daniel. First off, he was so cool. Like, I would love to be his friend. Second, he had a very interesting and unique take on how the world works. Plus, he showed so much emotion, which was awesome. We are finally breaking down barriers and realizing that boys can show emotion too, and I am loving it.
Can Nicola Yoon ever do wrong? I don’t think so. The Sun Is Also A Star is not just a book everyone wants, but one that everyone needs.
4 Stars

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