Book Review of The Star Child (The Star Child Series Book 1) by Stephanie Keyes

Book Title: The Star Child (The Star Child Series Book 1)

Genre: YA Science Fiction/Fantasy

Pages: 310

Author: Stephanie Keyes

Date Published: 21 September 2012

Synopsis:

The world is about to be cloaked in darkness. Only one can stop the night. Kellen St. James has spent his entire life being overlooked as an unwanted, ordinary, slightly geeky kid. That is until a beautiful girl, one who has haunted his dreams for the past eleven years of his life, shows up spinning tales of a prophecy. Not just any old prophecy either, but one in which Kellen plays a key role. Suddenly, Kellen finds himself on the run through a Celtic underworld of faeries and demons, angels and gods, not to mention a really ticked off pack of hellhounds, all in order to save the world from darkness. But will they make it in time?

Review:

The Star Child by Stephanie Keyes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the first book in The Star Child Series. I really enjoyed it!

Kellen St. James is a wonderful character. I liked him a lot. He is kind, considerate and pretty cool. Unfortunately, I struggled to connect with this character on an emotional level.

I heard about this book on a blog I was following at the time, it sounded interesting so I bought a copy. Unfortunately, this book has been sitting on my bookshelf since it was first published way back in 2012. However, due to my large reading list, I've only now been able to get to reading it. Since I first purchased the book, it has been re-edited and re-released in 2014. Therefore, I can only review what I've read.

This story is told through the eyes of Kellen and takes the reader on an amazing journey from America to the wild shores of the Irish coast. I don't often read books from a male point of view, so it made a nice change to read Kellen's story. There are several unusual characters in this book, but Calienta is one that has been constant through Kellen's life. She has visited his dreams for years, but when they finally meet in person, she tells him of the prophecy and the part he plays in it.

This book has everything one could wish for in a fantasy novel, faeries, demons, angels and gods. However, there was one long, large scene in faerie that confused me. I felt I was in a scene from the '90's television series "Twin Peaks". Nothing made sense and I struggled with wanting to put the book down, or continue reading in the hopes that there would be light at the end of the tunnel. I decided to keep reading. The scene still made no sense in the end but, I persevered and managed to finish the book with no regrets. The tale is intricately woven with legends of Celtic origin. I love the world building in this story. I did find the prophecy that Kellen was supposed to help bring about to be a little flimsy. Being as this book has been re-edited, the confusing scene may have changed as well as the flimsy prophecy, so I cannot comment further. I reached the end of the book with a sense of deep foreboding and a shiver down my spine, so am now looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Stephanie Keyes has written an imaginative tale that kept me entertained for a few hours. I love her writing style, which is not as fast paced as some YA novels I have read. However, it was fast enough to keep me turning the pages. The flow was wonderful too.

I recommend this book to young readers aged 16 and above, and to adults who love to read YA Science Fiction, or books with Celtic faeries, demons, angels and gods. - Lynn Worton

View all my reviews

             

About The Author:

Taken from Amazon:

Stephanie Keyes grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and spent years traveling and working as a Corporate Trainer before she made the decision to pen her first novel. As a teen, her family always accused her of having an "overactive imagination." Now, she's encouraged to keep her head in the clouds and share her world with readers.

Still a resident of the 'Burgh, Steph is now Mom to two little boys who constantly keep her on her toes. In addition, she's best friend to her incredible rockstar of a husband. She is an active member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), as well as a featured author for Love a Happy Ending Lifestyle e-magazine.

Keyes is the author of the YA Fantasy series, The Star Child, which currently includes The Star Child, After Faerie, The Fallen Stars, and The Star Catcher, all from by Inkspell Publishing. Steph writes YA novels because she's a hopeless romantic who lives to believe that Magick truly does exist. She is hard at work on a new YA novel.

Contact Stephanie
Website: www.stephaniekeyes.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Stephanie-Keyes-Author-150860604966160/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/StephanieKeyes

Photo: Kristina Serafini Photography