Christmas Review – No Ordinary Star (Spoiler-Free)

Hey guys, I’ve missed you!!

All right, so first things first: you might have noticed I have been absent the entire month of November and I’m really sorry! Also, for not saying anything. It’s just been a crazy month and I decided to take some time off from blogging so I could get some stuff in order. Nothing to be worried about, though! I’m doing great and I hope you are too ^_^

With that said, I also thought it would be cool to continue my thematic reviews so for the entire month of December I’ll be posting some Christmas/winter book reviews! I’m really excited because I love Christmas and wintertime and I can’t wait to try some awesome new stories ❤

Anyway, expect to see me around more often, reading and commenting on all your posts (as much as possible)! And now, please enjoy this review 🙂

No Ordinary Star

A soldier is summoned to the North Pole, days before the year changes, told to fix the great Clock for a celebration. He has no idea what to do.
A girl, hunted for the crime of being born, almost dies out on the ice. She is rescued by the last polar bear left alive.

I was surprised to learn this was a Christmas-y book, especially considering it’s sci-fi. It’s inspired by Ray Bradbury’s short stories and he, of course, wrote Fahrenheit 451 (among others).

The beginning was a bit confusing, I must admit. There are all these futuristic concepts and lingo and characters being thrown around and I had no idea what was going on. However, it didn’t make me want to read it any less. Quite the opposite: it just made me even more intrigued!

I loved the whole winter-y feel and how much it alludes to Christmas. I loved, loved, loved the atmosphere the author created. This first installment is really short and doesn’t tell you all that much, just enough to make you super curious. There’s a lot of mystery surrounding this futuristic society and how this young man and girl fit into it. So I reached the end not really sure what to expect next.

The characters are also a bit of an enigma, with little bits and pieces being revealed along the way. Despite finding out where they were coming from and who they were, they still felt foreign and distant to me. This might be an issue for some people but personally, I felt instantly connected to them and really rooted for their happy ending. Plus, I’m a sucker for love/hate relationships with a lot of banter and bickering. And they were just adorable.

The world building was surprisingly vast for only 200 and so pages. It explains what the Earth’s condition is in the year 2524 and how exactly civilization has evolved. It feels really nostalgic to read about how Humankind has forsaken certain things and replaced them with these strange inventions and ideas that make perfect sense, yet carry that suspicious quality to them that we, twenty first century people, still feel very wary of.

Some sci-fi novels tend to focus too much on their present time and not pay the past any mind, which to me doesn’t feel as interesting. So I was glad for the reminiscing.

Overall, I was shocked by how much I loved this book! It was very well-paced, the writing was great, the short chapters and dual POV worked really nicely, and it never felt like a chore to read this. It was such an amazing journey! And very sweet.

I can’t wait to get my hands on the next installment to find out what’s going to happen and what it all means! It left me with so many questions and a deep hunger for answers. (A word of warning, though: this does contain some mature/triggering themes, if faintly).

Four and half candy canes!

Thank you so much for reading and until next time!

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I hope you liked my first Christmas Review! Are you planning on reading No Ordinary Star? Please let me know your thoughts below ｡^‿^ ｡