LIES WE TELL ABOUT THE STARS

A young woman struggles mightily when her best friend disappears during a massive earthquake in this debut set in a near-future San Francisco.

Celeste has been best friends with brilliant, determined Nicky, who’s gay, since they were 3-year-olds; the friends, who are cued white, are now high school seniors. The inseparable pair were born on the same day and have long shared a fascination with space—they even planned to study at MIT and work at NASA together. As the dust settles from the quake and Nicky remains missing, his mother and Celeste’s family begin to lose hope, but Celeste remains convinced he’s alive. Chapters labeled “Before” punctuate the intense third-person narration, highlighting Celeste’s memories of the events leading up to the Big One. In the present day, a heartrending story unfurls in chapters that indicate the number of days that have elapsed since the earthquake, expanding into a tale that’s as much about grief-stricken Celeste’s search for herself as her quest to locate Nicky. Along the way she meets, falls hard for, and is helped by a kind boy named Meo, who’s Mexican American and whose Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration status forces him to live precariously. Celeste has Type 1 diabetes and her service dog, Ursa, a Newfoundland, is a vivid, endearing character. Celeste’s palpable anxiety and complex feelings about her future will be well understood by many teens.

A wise, gripping, and poignant tale of a teen finding her way.