Under the Same Stars is a "tragically romantic" and "romantically tragic" reminder of how people relentlessly "manage to come together and fight toward justice" no matter the era or odds against them. Printz Award-winning author Libba Bray (Going Bovine) masterfully develops a multilayered mystery with lush prose and evocative detail across three timelines.
In 1940s Germany, best friends Sophie, a bookish dreamer, and Hanna, dubbed "The Barbarian" for her pragmatism, work as secret resistance fighters. That they ultimately spared more than 1,000 people from concentration camps is overshadowed by the confusion around the girls' unsolved disappearance. In 1980s West Berlin, picture-perfect American teenager Jenny rebels against parental and political oppression when she meets Lena, her punk-rocker first love, and Frau Hermann, a woman harboring 40 years' worth of secrets. And in 2020, Miles and Chloe, estranged friends reconnecting virtually during the Covid-19 pandemic, are activated by the Black Lives Matter protests at the same time they discover unexpected connections in a puzzling package from Chloe's grandmother.
Bray is no stranger to complex magic systems, developing here a magic that lies in the power of storytelling itself. Varying iterations of "The Tale of the Hare and the Deer," a fable of the author's invention, strategically hide poignant truths until relevant to the plot. Quixotic Sophie finds solace in stories; Hermann believes stories are the "code for survival," an essential tool to process trauma and seek atonement; and Miles and Chloe decode the myth's true meaning, learning how to support and cherish one another while fostering hope for a better future. --Cristina Iannarino, children's book buyer, Books on the Square, Providence, R.I.