Review: Tin Star

Tin Star by Cecil Castellucci
Release Date ~ February 25, 2014
Roaring Brook Press ~ Macmillan
ISBN13: 9781596439146
ARC received from Macmillan Kids for review

Goodreads Synopsis:
On their way to start a new life, Tula and her family travel on the Prairie Rose, a colony ship headed to a planet in the outer reaches of the galaxy. All is going well until the ship makes a stop at a remote space station, the Yertina Feray, and the colonist's leader, Brother Blue, beats Tula within an inch of her life. An alien, Heckleck, saves her and teaches her the ways of life on the space station.

When three humans crash land onto the station, Tula's desire for escape becomes irresistible, and her desire for companionship becomes unavoidable. But just as Tula begins to concoct a plan to get off the space station and kill Brother Blue, everything goes awry, and suddenly romance is the farthest thing from her mind.

Cecil Castellucci has this remarkable talent for storytelling - her stories are thought-provoking and raw. I was swept away by the story told in the first book I read by her, First Day on Earth. Tin Star delivered, although it left less of an impression on me than I had hoped.

1. Breathtaking storytelling:
   
   Cecil's writing is stunning, it's the kind that stops a reader in their tracks. It is filled with atmosphere and every word is brought to life! And the story is so carefully woven, it's like this intricate web being spun. This book is relatively short compared to other recent YA releases, but it's packed with more story than most.
   
2. A story about passion:
   
   The kind of passion that spurs people into action. Tula is motivated by an immense betrayal which happens to her in the very first chapter. She meets others who are motivated by love - the familial kind and the romantic kind. In a dreary world, it seems to be passion that keeps the characters going through awful circumstances. 

This futuristic world filled with aliens is truly unique, as well. And I wish that I could have spent more time immersing myself in all of the fine details but the book is simply too short for that. 

And as moving as the relationships were, in one sense I felt like they were forced upon me as a reader - there wasn't quite enough development for them to feel very real to me. They were beautiful and touching, yes. But in a world that comes across as cold and sterile, it felt a bit out of place to have so much longing and deep connections by the very end. 

Mostly, it didn't feel finished to me at the end. I'm not sure what I expected, but I still feel a sense of longing for something more from this book. It ended, and there aren't really any loose ends left... but it still felt unfinished somehow? 

Overall, this is an imaginative story unlike any other stories out there. Perfect for readers who want a taste of something different or who are looking for a story that will leave an impression on them.