Review: We Are All Made of Stars by Rowan Coleman

We Are All Made of Stars by Rowan Coleman

Publisher: Ebury (21st May 2015)

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Received a proof copy from Ebury, thank you!

Blurb:

Do not miss me, because I will always be with you… I am the air, the moon, the stars. For we are all made of stars, my beloved... Wherever you look, I will be there.

Stella Carey exists in a world of night. Married to a soldier who has returned from Afghanistan injured in body and mind, she leaves the house every evening as Vincent locks himself away, along with the secrets he brought home from the war.

During her nursing shifts, Stella writes letters for her patients to their loved ones - some full of humour, love and practical advice, others steeped in regret or pain – and promises to post these messages after their deaths.

Until one night Stella writes the letter that could give her patient one last chance at redemption, if she delivers it in time…

Rowan Coleman has made such a strong impression on me after I’ve read her book, The Memory Book which was a powerful tale of mothers and daughters as well as cherishing moments that are so easily taken for granted. When I got the chance to read and review her latest book, We Are All Made of Stars, I’d be a complete tit to say no.

We Are All Made of Stars follows the story of Stella, a nurse at a hospice who writes the last letters of those who are too ill or weak to pen their thoughts into words as they are about to take their last breath. Her own husband, Vincent who has returned from Afghanistan, wounded and severely injured, physically and mentally, keeps to himself and the more she reaches out to him, the more he recoils and raises the walls between them.

On the other side of the story, there's Hope, a young lady whose life has been a bumpy road since she was a child as she battled through cystic fibrosis that has affected her entire life. I adored the love story between her and her best friend, Ben as it is the reminiscent of The Fault in Our Stars.

I am a sucker for a good tearjerker, even if I have a chilly layer of ice surrounding my heart, but there’s something really heartening about reading Rowan Coleman’s books. They remind me of embracing life, they reflect the things around us – things that we take little notice of – and I guess it’s the way they are so brilliantly written that makes them so good, so heartfelt and emotionally charged.

Call me old-fashioned but nothing beats the feeling of receiving letters and keeping them. Letters make thoughts real, especially when I have them in my hands, which can be cherished, reread and kept with us for a very long time. In We Are All Made of Stars, Rowan Coleman includes letters from Stella’s dying patients between chapters which are an eclectic mix of humour, nostalgia, fondness and tenderness.

This book centres on love, whether it’s basking in the golden, glorious feeling of being in love, or losing the love that once reverberated in your heart. It’s also about forgiveness and second chances. We Are All Made of Stars is beautifully written, with the perfect balance of humour and hearth. Evocative, tender and heartwarming, Rowan Coleman’s sparkling new novel, We Are All Made of Stars shines bright like the stars in the sky and it is truly magnificent.

Anne Hathaway as Stella and Anna Kendrick as Hope