Review: Bright+Star By Nickie Anderson

Synopsis:

It's bad enough that Sadira Pascal's father doesn't make it home to celebrate her fifteenth birthday. He might be a busy hovership engineer pulling overtime on a new design, but he's always been home for the important things. It's worse when she discovers her father decided to ride on the maiden voyage of his newest ship, the CAS Bright Star, without even telling her. But things really fall apart during Sadira's field trip with her class to observe the hovership launch. Instead of a successful flight, she watches the Bright Star fall out of the sky. 

The Central government confirms her father's death, leaving Sadira to pick up the pieces of her former life. While she struggles with her loss, Private Baruj Haddad tries to convince her that her father and the rest of the Bright Star crew are still alive. At first, Sadira doesn't believe there's any hope. But then she stumbles across a message that makes her think maybe, just maybe, her father is still alive. As she digs deeper into the Bright Star's crash, Sadira uncovers secrets about her father's work, secrets that put her and everyone she loves in danger.

My View:

Pair Anderson's cool, smooth, ultra fluid writing style with crescendoing action against a futuristic, dystopian background, and you have the pitch perfect novel that is Bright+Star. Anderson never succumbs to manipulating the readers with flashy characters or abrasive dialogue. She simply delivers good, concise  writing that drives steadily toward the climax. Our protagonist, Sadira is both gentle and steadfast. She's a believable and likable heroine. Sadira isn't a stunt woman or a weapons specialist, doing back flips and spraying everyone with machine gun fire. Badassery isn't her style. She's just a loyal and brave girl that keeps struggling against obstacles with determination to find her missing father. A character with character. In fact, all the characters opposing their corrupt government are good and uncomplicated people in a dark and complicated world. The stripped down realness and warmth of the characters in juxtaposition  to the unraveling society makes Bright+Star one of the most crisp, fresh and enjoyable dystopian novels I have ever read.

4.5 stars for this beautifully written tale of perseverance and devotion.

The book was provided to me by the author for the purpose of review. All opinions expressed are 100% honest and my own.


Where to find the book:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Bright-Star-ebook/dp/B00A4LH8TG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352508379&sr=8-1&keywords=bright+star+nickie+anderson
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bright-star-nickie-anderson/1113774877?ean=2940015832143
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/253304
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16090963-bright-star