Bookish Thursday - Light From Uncommon Stars

Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki is the January read-along with Sword and Laser on Goodreads. I have been following them for years and love their podcast which is filled with all things sci-fi and fantasy. For 2022 I decided I would make a more dedicated effort to read the books they are reading. Last year I was introduced to Martha Wells and her Murderbot series, among other good books. 

 

I listened to this book and have it on my 'I MUST BUY THIS BOOK' list now. This is a definite 5-star book and I am recommending it to everyone.

Ok...

If I were to describe this book to you, it would make you cross your eyes and send you running. It's a book about violin playing and repairing, aliens running a donut shop, a mentor who is a demon and who needs another soul to send to hell, a Trans teenager - and that's the tip of the box of donuts!

Katrina is a transgender runaway with a YouTube channel where she plays gaming music on her violin. Escaping from an abusive home, she runs into Shikuza Satomi, a well-known violin mentor. Then Shikuza runs into Lan Tran, a retired captain running with her family to escape an interstellar war and is now operating a donut shop. 

While the premise seems a bit crazy, the book is really good. Your heart hurts for Katrina and what she has had to go through in her young life. You laugh at Lan and how she and her family are adapting to living on Earth. The descriptions of the food in this San Gabriel Valley, California setting will have you running and looking for something to eat. 

Reading this book, you laugh, you cry, you want to listen to violins playing while eating Asian food and/or hot donuts. Adopting Katrina as my own child was definitely on my mind. My heart hurt for her and other people going through transition. Such a hard path to work, much less dealing with every day life.

What happens to Katrina? Does Shikuza get the last soul she needs? Is the giant donut going to become the Stargate Lan envisions? Read the book and find out - you won't regret it!