The Stars and the Blackness Between Them

After some challenges with reading the dialect, I became so intrigued by this heart-wrenching story of two teenage girls, one Trinidadian and one African-American, who come together unexpectedly in cold Minneapolis. I loved learning about their cultures, and I loved how they grew close despite their differences and supported each other through the crises of lost family and childhood cancer.

The language and pace beguiled me as a reader. The girls' viewpoints of their past and present worlds were engaging. I felt the heroism in each of them, one facing death, one trying to reunite with her family.

This beautifully-written queer love story is set in Minneapolis, and centers on Mabel and Audre – two girls from very different backgrounds who find themselves falling in love. Audre has just moved from Trinidad, sent by her conservative mother to live with a father she barely knows, in an effort to "correct" her sexuality. Mabel is just beginning to understand the deep feelings she has for girls when she is struck with a mysterious illness. Published in 2019, The Stars and the Blackness Between Them won a Coretta Scott King Honor award, and once you sample its gorgeous language and… show more.

The Stars and the Blackness Between Them is truly a work of art. Junauda Petrus’s prose is stunning, and the story is crafted with a vivid beauty that makes both heroine’s voices come alive and breathe their words out of the pages. At its heart, this is the story of two young girls who try to find themselves and end up finding each other along the way. It’s also a gorgeous celebration of the cultures of Trinidad and Black America, as well as an exploration of grief and the way our physical health and that of the people we love… show more.