Title: Fading Stars
Author: Marisa Kazawey
Number of Pages: 428
Publishing Date: 20 August 2024
Genre: Mental Health, Young-Adult
TW: scenes of heavy Bullying, mmc deals with depression and suicidal thoughts, S.A, self-harm, school shooting
Synopsis:
Stars hold the power to rewrite a destiny.
Neveah lives for them, counting down the days until the awe-inspiring return of Halley's Comet. At 16, she dreams of becoming an astrophysicist, her passion ignited by her grandmother who had passed away.
Yohan, on the other hand, is a shadow of his former self. Once a good kid, he became withdrawn and distant after a tragic event. Yohan grapples with guilt and a deep-seated desire for redemption, even contemplating ending his own life.
Their worlds collide when Neveah forms a club. Under the watchful eye of the returning comet, an unlikely connection blossoms between them. Together, Neveah and Yohan embark on a healing journey, discovering that sometimes, the light of one star can illuminate the darkest of paths.
But what do you do when the stars start to fade.
Review:
Fading Stars is a poignant and powerful novel that delves into the complexities of human relationships, physical and mental health, and the resilience of the human spirit.
I have read books about mental health and school clubs multiple times before, book clubs? yes, seen that been there. Poetry Club? that too. Sports Club? Even read about Creative Writing Club that was actually a cult.... But never would I have ever imagined coming across a book about a girl trying her utmost best to form an astronomy club with her friends by her side, even though for her the stars are slowly but gradually fading away.
Through Neveah's passion for stars and astrophysics, and Yohan's journey towards redemption, Marisa masterfully explores the themes of hope, healing, and the interconnectedness of our lives. The characters are multidimensional and relatable, making it easy to become invested in their stories.
The writing is evocative and engaging, with vivid descriptions of the night sky and the symbolism of the stars. Marisa tackles heavy topics such as bullying, depression, and suicidal thoughts with sensitivity and care, providing a thoughtful and realistic portrayal of these issues.
One of the strengths of this book is its ability to balance light and darkness, offering a message of hope and resilience without shying away from the complexities of life. The connection between Neveah and Yohan is authentic and heartwarming, and their journey together is a testament to the power of human connection.
The family and parents in this book play a big role in the formation of Neveah and Yohan's personalities. From Yohan going back into the spiral of depression to Neveah slowly but surely getting crushed under the burden of always trying to be the bright light of everyone's life. The expectations and hopes of the family are quite significant and are shown in a beautiful way.
Overall, Fading Stars is a beautiful and impactful novel that will resonate with readers of all ages. If you're looking for a story that will touch your heart and inspire you to look up at the stars, this is the book for you.
Q&A with Marisa
Q1. How did you create the world of “Fading Stars” and what inspired the setting and atmosphere of the book?
Marisa: Ok, so this is how it went down. I was like I want to write one of those sad books like a really sad book, I want ideas. But I don’t want to watch a ton of movies to strike an idea. So, I went on internet, went on Wattpad looked up bunch of blurbs. I felt like if I’d find a blurb that is inspiring enough, maybe, I will have an idea instead of watching movies. I had a blurb, and the blurb was about this girl she’s an astronomer and she’s been studying this certain event for all of her life, but she died of cancer and was not able to see the event that she studied all her life. She meets a homeless painter, and she would buy a painting out of him and then she'll take him under her wing. They fall in love and everything. And before she dies, he will describe to her the event that she’s been studying her entire life. And I was like, Oh ohh…. And when it comes to the vibes of the book, I wanted it to be very dreamy, like every bit of fantasy, the stars and everything. I wanted it to be like those anime movies, like Your Name, Suzume, and Weathering With You. I really wanted my book to give those vibes. I kind of nailed it. It’s not really fantasy, it’s weird but there like magic like specially, in the end with the red strings that connects to one and other. Say to have connections with stars, and I really wanted to have this poetry kind of vibe as well, like with the lines I kept prettying from time to time and the big paragraphs that I would use differently.
Q2. How did you develop the supporting characters in the book, like Fred and Sol?
Marisa: Basically, I read this book called story genius, I forgot who wrote it. I have this very complex character sheet, that I have to complete for my characters. The main characters have their own, but the side characters have them too. Basically, before diving into the story, I need to come up with the back story, how do I deal with the way they are, their families. Their MBTI, their misbeliefs as well and what’s their own agenda. The characters in my book are not like here, to serve the main characters. They are just like us, like if I was the main character of my story. I don’t expect my friends to benefit me, they’re just there to do what they want to do, and it might, benefit me. This is how I wrote them, I just created their backstories first, to determine their entire personality. It might or might not benefit the purpose of the main character but that’s how I got it to be a bit realistic as you know they are not always in the favor, as they are their own beings.
Q3. How did you approach writing the scenes that deal with heavy topics like bullying, depression, and suicidal thoughts? What considerations did you keep in mind?
Marisa: When I was writing my series of heavy topics, you have to know that a lot of research have been made. I was on YouTube, on Quora, on Reddit. I wanted to make it as realistic as possible, whenever I was writing any scene, in my mind I was like, I don’t want it to be too much, I don’t want it to be too little and I want it to be as relatable as possible. And for that to happen I just had to make a bunch of research. Like everything that happens to Elliot, happened to someone in real life. I went to Quora and Reddit and asked there, what was the worst thing that a bully did to them and just copied and pasted what they told me, so whatever Elliot went through, all of it is something that someone went through in real life. That’s why it looked as realistic as it could be, as I just took people’s experiences and put it into Elliot’s life. Because I didn’t really want to make up anything, because I never experienced it myself. I was kind of depressed too. There was a lot of depressing stuff out there, it was crazy. *laughs* So, yeah this is how I did it, by putting real people’s real experience in there. When it comes to Yohan’s state of mind, that was really difficult. Yohan was the hardest character to write, it was really complex. I really hope that I managed to convey right emotions through him.
Q4. What do you hope readers take away from Neveah’s passion for astrophysics and her dreams of becoming an astrophysicist?
Marisa: I want my readers to know, that your passion can become your everything, it’s just beautiful to see somebody who loves something so so much and I just wanted to share it with people, I think that people should share their hobbies. Because they never know that who they will save or who they will inspire. This woman inspires so many people and she is so happy, specially with her grandmother. I just think it’s very important how you can inspire so many people and your passion can be a reason behind it.
Q5. How did you balance the lighter moments in the book with the heavier themes and scenes?
Marisa: I literally was like, when I was writing, there were many balancing moments, like okay this one chapter was really sad and now there should be one chapter happy, there was like a lot of balance that I tried to maintain and than there was Kayla, and I thought that when Kayla is here, we should be happy. And for Yohan’s chapters he was always really gloomy, especially when there was Neveah around as she was very bright and hopeful. Kayla will be there with Nevaeh. Yohan is like a sad sad sad character and Nevaeh and Yohan balance each other out.
But after things with Atlas, things become dark for Nevaeh, and Yohan is there to help her cope. There weren’t many sad sad moments until the very end of the book. I made sure that the book felt bittersweet, we had good we had bad, in every chapter. Or we had extremely bad and then we had extremely good moments.
Besides that I tried to outline all of my chapters way ahead of writing, so that I will have balanced out the happy and soul crushing things. But still I think that there was more and more soul crushing scenes compared to the happy parts.
I also used the happy parts to kind of disguise the sad, like when there was something sad that made me think that this can be suspicious to the readers, I added something happy next.
Q6. What do you think sets “Fading Stars” apart from other books in the same genre?
Marisa: I think what really sets Fading Stars apart from other books in the same genre, is that it’s something that you will not get to read everyday. I think that my book is kind of unique, like it’s not the average bad boy falling for the bad girl kind of book and I think that it’s also different because it’s realistic.
I don’t sell fantasy and I don’t sell your regular romance story. I am out here writing things that are real to you guys, that people actually go through. And I know that there a not many authors that will do that. I don’t use the really typical things, people getting cancer and all. The sadness doesn’t come from, external events. Like, oh someone lost someone or someone lost some part of themselves.
It's all about the emotions, the emotions of my characters. I don’t sell tropes, or events happening in the book, it's the emotions and what my characters are felling all the time. That’s what makes the readers feel the same emotions and relate to the characters. Through out the book I really paid most of my attention towards conveying the correct emotions.
Emotion, principles, but not the tropes, I didn’t really think about tropes until I was done writing it. I really just wrote for the book based on the emotions, and how much characters feel about it and what should I do about it. So yeah, It’s really emotion driven and action driven.
Q7. The unlikely connection between Neveah and Yohan is a central aspect of the story. What do you hope readers take away from their relationship and the power of human connection?
Marisa: I believe that human connection is everything, which is one of the messages that I tried to put down in the book. I don’t really know, it’s quite difficult to explain but, I think that people need somebody to in their lives, by their sides. They should really allow others to be their support, let people in, to let them heal you.
Q8. What message or hope do you want readers to take away from “Fading Stars”, particularly those who may be struggling with similar issues as Yohan or Neveah?
Marisa: They have a very complex relationship. One of the very first things I kept in mind while writing the dynamics, was that “the sunshine always saves the grumpy" was not something that I wanted to be there. The sunshine can help the other character in many other ways and not just through bringing them joy and light. Yohan’s past is really dark, for other people it might not be as dark. They might need someone like Neveah, somebody to enter their lives and change it. Lonely people need someone who’ll be there for them and show them the light.
Q9. How do you balance writing about heavy topics with the need to create a hopeful and uplifting narrative?
Marisa: I feel like there’s heavy topics and then a lot of other stuff. The topic is heavy but the way you address it doesn’t have to be heavy. I manage it through the conversations, the way Yohan tells his story to Neveah, the way that Naveah has while addressing it, how he’s going to talk about it. So, while writing the conversations, I try to use words that are not to heavy. They way that the characters bring thing up, the way they talk about it, sometimes they are hurtful words, heart breaking sentences but sometimes they are uplifting because the change of the perspectives could be different.
Q10. What’s next for you in terms of writing projects or upcoming books, any plans for a sequel or continuation of Fading Stars?
Marisa: Fading Stars is stand-alone. But currently I’m writing a series of 2 to 3 books, I don’t really know what I can say in the 3rd book, but it could be very nice. Not really sure about the third book but the first 2 books are done, like the first drafts of both books. It’s about – should I really say what’s it about – I will just tell the dedications for now, the principal idea of book 1 is that the scars of the past shouldn’t keep you from falling completely and utterly in love with someone, book 2 will be for the people whose hearts hurts so much they couldn’t breathe, it's a happy story it's very beautiful.
(bonus question)
Who did you invision while writing these characters, who are your fan-casts?
Marisa: When it comes to the fan cast I really have no idea…. But I think Navia Robinson as Naveah, Tristan Pravong as Yohan, Armani Jackson as Fred, Isabel Merced as Sol, Alex Sampson as Atlas, Theo James as Mr. Callahan (Atlas’s dad) and Daniel Henney as Mr. Young (Yohan’s dad) will be a perfect fan cast.
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