ABOUT THE BOOK
Journal entry: Heading to school. I know what everyone will say. There goes the girl who tried to kill herself.Addison is no stranger to feeling stressed, insecure, and sad. Her therapist recommended she keep a journal to help her understand those feelings better, which she really needs today. It’s her first day back to school, several weeks after she survived her suicide attempt. She knows there are rumors about why she did it: A lousy home life? Bullying? Heartbreak? None of them are true, but it doesn’t matter because Addison still feels like she’s drowning. She still holds secrets she’s not ready to share.
During the school day, Addison encounters four other students struggling with their own secrets:
Booker is anxious about seeing Addison. They were sort of a couple until he tried to kiss her. She fled and then tried to end her life. Those two things couldn’t be related, could they?
Celia feels trapped by her mother’s abusive boyfriend. She can guess why Addison did what she did.
Damion is TikTok-famous and thinks befriending Addison could boost his followers. But what no one knows is he needs the world to remember him since his sick mom doesn’t anymore.
Avery is considered a loner and doesn’t know Addison, but they have neighboring lockers. With Avery’s older brother in jail for dealing drugs, Avery is desperate for meaningful human connection.
Swimming in a Sea of Stars is a poignant and gripping novel about how we’re all interconnected, like the stars in the night sky that form constellations and map out the universe, and if even one star goes missing, the effect is profound.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julie Wright (1972-still breathing) was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. She's lived in LA, Boston, and the literal middle of nowhere (don't ask). She wrote her first book when she was fifteen. Since then, she's written twenty-three novels and coauthored three. Julie is a two-time winner of the Whitney award for best romance with her books "Cross My Heart" and "Lies Jane Austen Told Me." The America Library Association listed “Glass Slippers, Ever After, and Me” in their 2020 top ten best romances and "A Captain for Caroline Gray" in their 2021 top ten best romances. Her book "Death Thieves" was a Whitney finalist.
She has one husband, five kids, two grandbabies, one dog, and a varying amount of houseplants (depending on attrition).
She loves writing, reading, traveling, hiking, playing with her kids, and watching her husband make dinner.
She used to speak fluent Swedish, but now speaks only well enough to cuss out her children in public.
She hates mayonnaise.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Life Is What It's Called - How do you find writing for a YA audience different from an adult romance?
Julie Wright - Oddly enough, I have written for both of those audiences pretty much from the beginning. My first book was YA. My second was an adult romance. I find that the primary difference between these as I go back and forth between them are the priorities and motivations of the characters. In a YA, there is more self-discovery, less worry about career advancement, more first love versus committed relationship—not that those things don’t crossover from one age to the other but that they are more prevalent in one over the other. I enjoy both immensely. I write and read in both.
Life Is What It's Called-Why did you decide the topic for this book on suicide, self-harm, and abuse?
Julie Wright - This particular book actually began as a flippant suggestion made by my son. He told me to write a book that takes place all in one day where nothing happens. I answered that something happens every day, that every day matters. The longer I thought about it, the more I realized it was true. I have chronic depression and anxiety and have worked to overcome a lot of my personal struggles (to be clear, however, I have never been abused). I also work with youth and have found that suicidal ideation and self-harm are far more prevalent than they should be. Our youth are filled with potential, ability, and capacity for good. I wanted to celebrate those things to remind them of the reasons they have to stay—even when things are bad.
Life Is What It's Called-What do you think readers will learn from this book?
Julie Wright - I’m hoping they see their own value, that they see hope in their own futures. I’m hoping they will be gentle with themselves and with others.
Life Is What It's Called-Why is the messaging in this book relevant for today's YA readers?
Julie Wright-We live in an incredibly noisy world, filled with the diminished self-worth that come with social media and the soul-crushing news reports. With the significant increase in deaths by suicide, never has hope been more necessary.
Life Is What It's Called-What do you think your fans will think of this book?
Julie Wright - I hope my fans will love it. I feel like the themes of healing, belonging, and friendship are universal. That said, it is a heavy topic, which is definitely a deviation from my usual writing but that weight is infused with hope and strength.
Life Is What It's Called-What was the hardest part about writing this book?
Julie Wright - Oh, wow. This is a tough question because it was all hard. There were so many stops and starts with this particular story. I did a lot of research and pulled from several people’s real and heartbreaking stories.
Life Is What It's Called-What was the best part about writing this book?
Julie Wright - The best part was definitely as I was writing the last chapter and feeling like the characters were going to be all right. It was relief.
Life Is What It's Called-Do you relate to any of the characters? If so, how?
Julie Wright - I relate to all of them in some way or another. My father-in-law with Alzheimer’s lived with us for three years. I have depression. I’ve lost loved ones to both illness and suicide. I’ve felt isolated. These experiences and emotions are universal to the human condition.
Life Is What It's Called-Will you venture back into Regency Romance or modern-day twists on classics in the future? or more YA books?
Julie Wright - Absolutely! On all of the above. I have another regency (Windsong Manor) coming out in November of this year. And I have a regency releasing next year.
Life Is What It's Called-What writing projects are you working on next?
Julie Wright - I have another contemporary young adult novel that I am currently working on. I am loving the story so far!
Life Is What It's Called-Even though this book is a different genre from your other books, how is it similar to your other books? How is it different?
Julie Wright - I’ve mentioned how I believe certain conditions to be universal. I believe love, fear, hope, and the need to be connected are universal. The primary differences between my novels are motivations, perspectives, and priorities.
Life Is What It's Called-What do you want readers to know about you as an author?
Julie Wright - This was a surprisingly hard question as well. I would have to say that I want them to know that even though I'm not always the best version of myself, I believe in second chances and getting up and trying again. And I really believe in the power and magic of love, forgiveness, generosity, and compassion.
Julie Wright - Oddly enough, I have written for both of those audiences pretty much from the beginning. My first book was YA. My second was an adult romance. I find that the primary difference between these as I go back and forth between them are the priorities and motivations of the characters. In a YA, there is more self-discovery, less worry about career advancement, more first love versus committed relationship—not that those things don’t crossover from one age to the other but that they are more prevalent in one over the other. I enjoy both immensely. I write and read in both.
Life Is What It's Called-Why did you decide the topic for this book on suicide, self-harm, and abuse?
Julie Wright - This particular book actually began as a flippant suggestion made by my son. He told me to write a book that takes place all in one day where nothing happens. I answered that something happens every day, that every day matters. The longer I thought about it, the more I realized it was true. I have chronic depression and anxiety and have worked to overcome a lot of my personal struggles (to be clear, however, I have never been abused). I also work with youth and have found that suicidal ideation and self-harm are far more prevalent than they should be. Our youth are filled with potential, ability, and capacity for good. I wanted to celebrate those things to remind them of the reasons they have to stay—even when things are bad.
Life Is What It's Called-What do you think readers will learn from this book?
Julie Wright - I’m hoping they see their own value, that they see hope in their own futures. I’m hoping they will be gentle with themselves and with others.
Life Is What It's Called-Why is the messaging in this book relevant for today's YA readers?
Julie Wright-We live in an incredibly noisy world, filled with the diminished self-worth that come with social media and the soul-crushing news reports. With the significant increase in deaths by suicide, never has hope been more necessary.
Life Is What It's Called-What do you think your fans will think of this book?
Julie Wright - I hope my fans will love it. I feel like the themes of healing, belonging, and friendship are universal. That said, it is a heavy topic, which is definitely a deviation from my usual writing but that weight is infused with hope and strength.
Life Is What It's Called-What was the hardest part about writing this book?
Julie Wright - Oh, wow. This is a tough question because it was all hard. There were so many stops and starts with this particular story. I did a lot of research and pulled from several people’s real and heartbreaking stories.
Life Is What It's Called-What was the best part about writing this book?
Julie Wright - The best part was definitely as I was writing the last chapter and feeling like the characters were going to be all right. It was relief.
Life Is What It's Called-Do you relate to any of the characters? If so, how?
Julie Wright - I relate to all of them in some way or another. My father-in-law with Alzheimer’s lived with us for three years. I have depression. I’ve lost loved ones to both illness and suicide. I’ve felt isolated. These experiences and emotions are universal to the human condition.
Life Is What It's Called-Will you venture back into Regency Romance or modern-day twists on classics in the future? or more YA books?
Julie Wright - Absolutely! On all of the above. I have another regency (Windsong Manor) coming out in November of this year. And I have a regency releasing next year.
Life Is What It's Called-What writing projects are you working on next?
Julie Wright - I have another contemporary young adult novel that I am currently working on. I am loving the story so far!
Life Is What It's Called-Even though this book is a different genre from your other books, how is it similar to your other books? How is it different?
Julie Wright - I’ve mentioned how I believe certain conditions to be universal. I believe love, fear, hope, and the need to be connected are universal. The primary differences between my novels are motivations, perspectives, and priorities.
Life Is What It's Called-What do you want readers to know about you as an author?
Julie Wright - This was a surprisingly hard question as well. I would have to say that I want them to know that even though I'm not always the best version of myself, I believe in second chances and getting up and trying again. And I really believe in the power and magic of love, forgiveness, generosity, and compassion.
REVIEW
Swimming in a Sea of Stars shares the lives of five teens and how their lives intersect and connect. The story talks about a range of things from suicide, depression, self-harm and terminal illness to help address concerns that teens may have. When I first signed up to review this book, I just saw the author's name and knew that I wanted to add the book to my TBR pile. I've enjoyed Julie Wright's books in the past. When the book actually came and I read the back cover, I was taken back because the topic in this book was a lot heavier than Wright's other books. I decided to read one page and was instantly hooked. I ended up reading it in a day. I wanted to see what happened to the characters and where the author was leading me. The character's stories are intriguing, and their worlds differ and are similar in some ways. The author not only tells the story beautifully but writes it beautifully and artistically. The author's skill really comes out in this book, and I loved the craftmanship that went into this book. I was really impressed with the writing and although her other works are fun reads, I felt like this was a step above them and even above most of the YA books in the market. This book had a lot of meat to it, and I liked the metaphor that we're all interconnected like the stars in the night sky. The metaphor was wonderful poignant. Overall, I would highly recommend this book. It's rare to read a book where the craftmanship is as beautiful as the story. It would be an excellent book for teens to adults to read and even discuss in a classroom setting. This is one of my top recommendations to read for this year. To learn more, click here.
Please note that I received a free book to review, but this is my honest opinion. This post contains affiliate links that help support this blog.
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