The Prettiest Star

Genre: Historical / Contemporary

Book Type: Audio

Author: Carter Sickels

Narrator: Tiffany Morgan / Charlie Thurston

Pages / Length: 288 pages / 10 hours and 21 minutes

Publisher: Hub City Press (May 19, 2020) / Tantor Audio

Book Description:

The story of Brian’s return to small-town Ohio is told in a chorus of voices: Brian’s mother Sharon; his fourteen-year-old sister, Jess, as she grapples with her brother’s mysterious return; and the video diaries Brian makes to document his final summer. Written in prose that seeks “to answer without flinching away from ugliness and without demonizing the ignorant” (Salon), The Prettiest Star offers an urgent portrait of a family in the center of a national crisis, in order to tell a unique story about the politics and fragility of the body, and to explore the bounds of family and redemption.

Thoughts:

Sometimes you read a book and, although it is historical fiction, the overall message and feeling you are left with is prevalent in the modern day. This was an exceptionally raw story about Brian’s return home in small town Ohio with AIDS during the 1980s.

This story was heartbreaking, real, emotional and so damn frustrating. While I understand fear can show the negative sides of humanity, this book captures the injustices of stereotypes and the effects those had on gay men in the ‘80s.

This story is told in multiple point of views alternating between Brian, his mom (Sharon) and his sister (Jess). Jess struggles with why her brother has returned home looking different from his years living in NYC. Sharon struggles with knowing her son is gay and dying, yet not being able to help him, while also dealing with the stigmas that surround him having AIDS and the judgements that are thrown at their family. She is also dealing with a husband who is in denial. And then there is Brian, who reflects on his time in NYC where he was able to embrace who he was, and the realization that he is now suffering from AIDS and the fear of not wanting to die alone. He returns home where his family is forced to come to terms with who he is and the harshness that comes with being gay in a small town where it is “unacceptable” and causes a lot of backlash and hate towards his family. Additionally, he lacks medical attention, as there was a lot of fear around treating AIDS and how it was spread, which led to many patients dying alone.

Oh, how this book broke my heart and had me yelling in frustration. The judgement that is thrown his family’s way made me so angry. There is so much fear in what isn’t understood, and in this small town, it was easier to throw blame and shame his way, than to accept him as he was and try to help him as he slowly dies.

Sharon expresses this when she thinks, “But what is a little pain compared to what he suffers? I look awful. My hair hangs dismally around my face, puffy eyes, lines around my mouth. I haven’t worn make up in weeks. I’m ugly, but it’s ok. I want to look ugly. I want people to look at me and feel guilty about how they’ve treated my son. I want them to see how I wear my own guilt.”

This was an extremely well-written historical piece and I highly recommend this book.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#Contemporary #historicalfiction #lgbtq