Thank you so much to Hodder & Stoughton for sending me an early copy of this book and allowing me to take part in the tour! Make sure to check out everyone else on the tour! (ad-gifted).
Goodreads Synopsis
Celeste Morton has eagerly awaited her passage into adulthood. Like every woman, she holds a map of the future in her skin, every mole and freckle a clue to unlocking what will come to pass. With puberty comes the changeling period - when her final marks will appear, those that will solidify her fate - and that of those around her. The possibilities are tantalising enough to outweigh her worry that the future she dreams of won't be the one she's fated to have - or the fact the changeling period is the most dangerous in a woman's life. A time when abduction is rife.
For some, glimpses are not enough. There are men who wish to possess these futures for themselves. Whose only way to take control of the future is to take control of the women who hold the script. Abducted changelings return shunned from society with their futures stolen.
Celeste's life, and her marks, have always been closely entwined with her brother, Miles. Celeste's skin holds a future only he, as a gifted interpreter, can read and he has always considered Celeste his practice ground. But when Celeste changes she learns a secret about her brother, Miles, that she will do anything to keep to herself - and Miles is keeping a secret too. When the lies of brother and sister collide, Celeste determines to create a future that is truly her own.
Review
Before I start this review I want to make it clear that this book does have trigger warnings, especially about rape, drug use and sexual assault.
This was a incredibly heavy but thought-provoking book that I found impossible to put down. The idea that females are gifted with their future on their skin is such a unique and intriguing one. I found myself questioning whether I would like the idea of having my future laid out for me, knowing what my fate has in store for me. Would I like to know how many children I'm going to have? How many relationships I may have or what type of career I'm going to have?
However, I didn't realise how much more there was to this story. Body of Stars is about the lack of agency women have over their bodies, rape culture and victim blaming.
In Body of Stars we follow Celeste in this book as she comes up to her changling period, where her final marks will take place right before she becomes a woman and honestly this period terrified me. During this period young women are seen as more alluring and if alone are often abducted for weeks. These girls are then returned with no memory of what happened and are shunned in society, losing all standing they have in society and losing any successful career path they might have had. Instead of being seen as a victim they are treated as if they brought it upon themselves.
As I said before, this was a heavy story that whilst set in a dystopian world held a lot of truth to current day, where women are still fearful of becoming a victim and when they are they are seen as having deliberately putting themselves in a situation for it to happen. Body of Stars is a deep, provoking story of survival and one I will forever think about.
I really do recommend reading this as Walter has done an amazing job at tackling societal topics, especially for a debut novel. However I don't recommend it for those who are faint-hearted!
Rating: 4/5 stars
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