Book Review #40: If I Could See the Stars by Naomi Kenyon

Hello Dear Reader!

I’ve got an indie book for you written by Naomi Kenyon, otherwise known as @naomikenyonauthor on Instagram, so if you end up liking my review and falling in love with the premise of her book by the end of it, definitely check her out! She’s super sweet, and her content is amazing.

Anyway, I had the opportunity to read her book If I Could See the Stars, and it was a refreshing little gem after reading books so full of adrenaline and action.

But before I get into that, here’s the back-cover summary: (from Goodreads)

The only life 18-year-old Rick knows is the institution. He and his best friend, Tyrone, have been human lab rats since they were toddlers. Every day has been the same. All Rick wants is to be able to see a sky full of stars—not just from the windows.

But then a girl shows up and disrupts everything. She fights against the institution. Rick has never seen rebellion, but he's drawn to it—to her. Realizing the institution is a lot more sinister than they thought, Rick and Tyrone join her determination to escape.

As they race against the clock for a deadly new trial, Rick learns that the truth isn’t always what it looks like. If the trio can’t outsmart the institution, more people will fall victim to the cycle. Keeping silent isn’t Rick’s option anymore.

That’s the end of this back-cover summary, which reminds me! I have to really start getting in the habit of reading them. They explain a lot sometimes.

Rick is the first-person narrator of this story, and at the very beginning of the book, he’s a pretty mellow guy just going through the motions of each and every day, not really thinking much of anything. A little bit of a downer, Rick thinks pretty pessimistically, and the only light of his life up until the appearance of Abby is his best friend Tyrone, also known simply as Ty. Ty is the exact opposite of Rick. He’s outgoing, talkative, and flirty. He’s also got a bit of an obsession with Big Macs and is always trying to look for some way to consume sugar. Finally, we have the final part of our teenaged trio, Abby. She’s a newcomer to the mysterious institution known as the I.A.S. She’s a headstrong girl who’s also really short, which I personally love because I’m also really short. She doesn’t hesitate to stand up for what she believes in, and backing down isn’t part of her vocabulary. Also, she totally dissed Twilight in this book, and I kinda love her for it.

Surrounding this lovable trio are a cast of minor characters that you either love or hate. They include the grandfatherly Dr. Simon, the motherly Dr. Jairah, the messed up in the head Casper Puano, the even more messed up in the head Max Welder, and the adorable five-year-old Ava. You’ve also got the nurses working in I.A.S. who range from grouchy and uncaring to sweet and tolerable.

Throughout this book, I got to learn more about each character and their backstory through Rick’s eyes, and Naomi does a really good job of building up their characters as the story progressed. In fact, I’d say the character development is the best part of this book, especially Rick’s. Seeing him grow from someone who thinks conversations are pointless to someone who enjoys having conversations was amazing. I can also say the same thing about Abby’s character development, only it didn’t really grow in a positive way. Seeing her mental fortitude break down throughout the book was heartbreaking, but realistic. With the horrors of what happened in the I.A.S., I’d think anyone would start to lose their will to fight back constantly.

The setting of If I Could See the Stars is rather depressing and also very sketchy. Without spoiling anything major, the I.A.S. is a science institution whose goal is to find cures for major sicknesses. While their goal is rather noble, their ways of going about it are very questionable. They’re so questionable that they go to great lengths to hide what they’re doing. I know this because the one time Rick was able to contact the outside world, the woman on the phone stated that the I.A.S. is a conspiracy theory. I believe that alone explains a lot.

This book also covers topics that some people may find triggering. For example, the kids held in the I.A.S. are put on super strict diets and aren’t allowed any sugar. Rick has nightmares that depicts him dying in different ways nearly every single night, and a few of them are quite terrifying. If you hate needles like I do, then you won’t like reading every single mention of them because there are plenty! There is also light violence that involves punching these young teenagers and even pointing a gun at them. This book also very lightly touches on some aspects of Christianity, so if that’s something you’re also not into, it’s definitely something to keep in mind if you do want to read it.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading If I Could See the Stars, and there really wasn’t anything I disliked about it outside of the handful of errors scattered here and there. If there is one thing I’d comment on, it’s the pretty abrupt ending, and even then, that’s more of a personal preference. This is also another thing of my personal preference, but I didn’t feel that emotional whenever I reached an emotional scene, and I feel really guilty about it because I really fell in love with the characters. Despite this, I was hooked onto every word until the end.

So, If I Could See the Stars rating:

4.75/5 and highly recommend! This book does a really great job of developing its characters, so if you’re looking for more characters to fall in love with or hate, this book is definitely for you!  

Thanks for reading!