#Giveaway Review Interview STARWORLD by Audrey Coulthurst and Paula Garner @audwrites @paulajgarner @Candlewick ‏Ends 5.5

You can purchase Starworld at the following Retailers:

Review

I feel like I know Sam Jones, she just wants to be invisible, get through school and finds joy with an online game with her friend. Zoe Miller is almost the exact opposite, popular and with a boyfriend, she has the support of many friends.  She also finds refuge from her family life with a disabled brother but when a text message between the two sparks something else, it turns into something more than either intended.

The story explores several deep issues like sexual identity, mental illness, disability and adoption.  All of these themes are handled with grace and sensitivity.  I liked the two main characters and how the interactions by text were placed in the story with such ease.  It all felt natural and believable.  Although I didn’t quite get the ending I was looking for, it all works out.  Both Sam and Zoe are distinct and not cookie cutter high school girls but have a purpose and I bet you knew someone just like them too.

Photo Credit for Audrey: Evrim Icoz Photography

Paula Garner spends most of her time writing, reading, or making good things to eat and drink. She is the author of YA contemporary novels Starworld, Relative Strangers, and Phantom Limbs, which was a 2017 Illinois Reads selection for grades 9-12. Follow her on Twitter at @paulajgarner.

Audrey Coulthurst writes YA books that tend to involve magic, horses, and kissing the wrong people. When she’s not dreaming up new stories, she can usually be found painting, singing, or on the back of a horse.

Audrey has a Master’s in Writing from Portland State University and studied with Malinda Lo as a 2013 Lambda Literary Foundation Fellow. She lives in Santa Monica, California.

1. What is on your nightstand?

(Paula): Mostly books and glasses and reading lights.

(Audrey): A light shaped like a fat kitty, a white noise machine, discarded hair ties, and my phone.

1. What author would you totally fan?

(Paula): Hmm, the first that comes to mind is Sarah Perry—she’s amazing. The Essex Serpent SLAYED me.

(Audrey): Helen Humphreys. She’s a novelist who used to be a poet and it shows. I wish I could write with her eloquence.

1. What makes you cringe?

(Paula): Gum-smacking. Dirty/ungroomed fingernails. Crumbs left on counters. Music or TV on too loud. People who talk too loud. Anything too loud. Too much perfume. Bland food. Omg this question is too easy—I could go on all day.

(Audrey): It occurs to me that maybe Paula and I are friends because we cringe at so many of the same things…

1. Do you obsessively plot out each point or just go with the flow?

(Paula): As Audrey can tell you, not only am I rubbish at plotting, but I am also patently incapable of following an agreed-upon plan for the very next chapter.

(Audrey): I am a former pantser converted to the ways of plotting, probably because of my many attempts to wrangle Paula. Spoiler: it never worked.

1. Is there a word you love to use?

(Paula): I tend to fall in love with a new (to me) word and overuse it either to try to cement or just to entertain myself. Looking at you, Ouroboros.

(Audrey): Words get stuck in my head the same way songs get stuck in other people’s—it’s not necessarily a good thing. Plecostomus and triumvirate are evergreen favorites of my brain.

Audrey’s adorable dog and cat

Paula’s very smart cat