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Fans of Divergent will love Diana Peterfreund’s take on Jane Austen’s Persuasion set in a post-apocalyptic world.
In the dystopian future of For Darkness Shows the Stars, a genetic experiment has devastated humanity. In the aftermath, a new class system placed anti-technology Luddites in absolute power over vast estates—and any survivors living there.
Elliot North is a dutiful Luddite and a dutiful daughter who runs her father’s estate. When the boy she loved, Kai, a servant, asked her to run away with him four years ago, she refused, although it broke her heart.
Now Kai is back. And while Elliot longs for a second chance with her first love, she knows it could mean betraying everything she’s been raised to believe is right.
For Darkness Shows the Stars is a breathtaking YA romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.
jessicaclairee
Posted July 25, 2012
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This book was amazing, and had me in awe, basking in its beauty throughout the whole story. The beginning was a bit slow, but instantly had me when Kai returned. I found myself falling in love with this fictional character, and falling in love with Elliot and Kai together as well. There were a lot of moments in which I cried, simply because it tore my heart. This book takes place post-apocalypse, which is my favorite kind of books. However, this one was refreshing and unique in its own way. I literally could not put the book down, and I found myself staying up late just to finish it. Even hours after I have read it, I am still having that 'book hangover', trying to grasp the fact that it is merely fictional, and I must return to reality. But I simply cannot, because I love the characters too much. I hope there will be a sequel! :)
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 9, 2012
4.5 Stars!
I was waiting for this book to come out on Amazon. I was salivating to read it as early as possible. I love Jane Austen’s books. When I heard that this book was inspired by Persuasion, I had to get it.
The story is about a world ruled by the Luddites, who opposed technology (genetic experimentation). The world is bended back to its old ways after the war. The people who are involved/experimented with genetics are now mentally disabled. Now, they are called the “Reduced”, people who now work under the Luddites. Then a new line is working its way up, the post. A person, who are born from a reduced parent but exhibits no mental disability, they are skilled inventers and mechanists that can possibly weave back the lost technology from the old world. Can technology be easily be embraced again by the Luddites? You have to read this amazing book to find out.
The world building is outstanding. The world, Diana had made is unique and intriguing. I was captured and absorbed in. Despite the fact that this book was inspired by Persuasion, I find this book unique. There is nothing like it. There are some terms used in the book that is new to me (eg. Luddites) The world is complex but easy to comprehend. That is what I like about this book; it was not perplexing. I also like the author’s ability to describe the scenes. I didn’t have a hard time picturing it in my head. It was flawlessly written, it was not confusing to me.
The characters are well developed. They had me captured. They are unforgettable and imprinted in my mind. Elliot is an impressive character. I love everything about her. She is dedicated to her responsibilities. I admire her kindness and generosity. As for Kai, is hard to like him at first. He is a confusing young man. How can he easily judge Elliot? Though, his drive to have his freedom awed me. The story also showed their letters from the past. I find it cute! You will get to see how their friendship blossoms and how it’s like growing up from a world shattered by war and division.
This book made my cry several times. I felt Elliot’s emotions deeply towards Kai and how heavy her responsibilities are. I find myself hating Kai, half of the book. His coldness towards Elliot actually gave spice to the story which in return made my blood boil in hatred. He redeems himself nearly at the ending. I thought Elliot had lost him. After all this time!!
As for the love angle, it is heartwarming. Omigosh! This book had shattered my heart into tiny pieces. It was a rollercoaster ride for Elliot. All this time, their quarrels had been a “Lover’s quarrels”.
Overall, this book is an excellent read. I wouldn’t mind reading it again and again. I recommend this book to dystopian and classic retelling lovers. This book is the one to read.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 5, 2012
From someone who reads A LOT...this book is not what you think and is unfortunately misrepresented in its overview. More than 3/4 of this book was about people and situations I cared nothing about. The relationship between the two main characters was rediculous and was poorly built throughout the entire story. If you are looking for love and romance amongst an adventure, THIS IS NOT IT. This is not even Jane Austen romance and intrigue. It is a far cry from it and ultimately dissapointing.
2 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 4, 2012
This is one book that definitely hasn't received nearly enough attention for how amazing it is- seriously underhyped! It's a fantastic retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion (which I actually have yet to read- but I know I will after loving this one so much) set in the future with a definite science fiction feel to it.
A story just bursting with creativity and a truly epic romance, this is one book that will definitely have widespread appeal and is a must read for 2012.
Reasons to Read:
1.Gorgeous writing:
I haven't read any of Diana Peterfreund other books, but I have to say that I feel like she was the ideal author to pen this particular book. The style of writing is perfectly suited to the story- it stands on its own, but is still reminiscent of classical stories but with its own futuristic slang subtley woven in.
2.Fantastic blend of diverse genres:
It's hard enough to write a new story inspired by a famous, classical one and somehow retain that same feel of the story while placing it in a new setting with new characters and somehow making it your own. Diana proves that Persuasion is a timeless tale, one that we can still identify with in our own ways, even if the world she imagines is vastly different from our own in many ways. Yet she instills her own thoughts and questions to it, to make the story even more applicable to contemporary times (and questions which will still be around for a while, because of the relevance of technology). I've only seen a handful of authors do this well, but For Darkness Shows the Stars proves that books including historical, "classic" themes along with science fiction actually can be combined and work WELL together.
3.Truly epic romance:
I hesitate to call this an epic romance, but it's the romantic plot that stays closest to the idea of Persuasion. Childhood best friends who've grown apart because of their class differences within society - not quite by choice, yet not entirely starcrossed either. You have to keep in mind that the plot really does centre around the romance a fair amount. And I loved that this one was different - no love at first sight here! It's a gradual build up of trust and friendship all over again for Kai and Elliot.
That being said, I still felt like the romance could have been set up a bit better- there was so much angst there (understandable) but it felt like it switched over too quickly so it felt a tad jarring. I think it really could have been milked for all its worth to make it far more effective- something that I find Jane Austen to be excellent at doing! And considering that the plot was very driven by the romance, I was expecting a bit more power from it at the end.
I also wasn't particularly pleased with some of the secondary characters, like Elliot's father and sister who felt far too flat for me. A little too simple, and not enough depth for my liking personally.
But other than those two small areas, this book is completely brilliant. It's tragic and moving and emotional, and completely nostalgic of some old favourites. But still shiny and new!
ARC received from HarperCollins Canada.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged. For Darkness Shows the Stars was a beautiful take on Persuasion by Jane Austen. Diana Peterfreund is an incredible writer and I am more then likely going to go and pick up a few more of her books that she has written seeing how wonderfully she put a spin on a classic. This book was epic if that can even describe it. After I was finished reading it I felt like there was something missing in my life for a good two to three days and even now when I think about it I just want to go pick it up and get lost in it all over again.
There was a lot of interesting things going on in the book. It's based in a post apocalyptic world. Genetic experiments were being conducted on humans which went very wrong and gave birth to the Reduction. There are the Reduced, they are people who are very simple minded. We are also introduced to the Luddites they are the ones who control the Reduced. Although now a few generations after the event every so often a Post child is born to a Reduced. Posts are just as intelligent and coherent as the Luddites and many of them are leaving the Luddite estates.
Even though the plot and the post apocalyptic world Peterfreund created was gripping and had me curious from the beginning that is not what kept me turning the pages. It was Kai and Elliot and their past and their present that had me staying up until three in the morning straining my eyes open just to finish this book. I only got about three and a half hours of sleep that night and it was well worth it. What really made their relationship stand out from other YA couples are the letters throughout the novel from their childhood. It really let us know the depth of their relationship and slowly bit by bit revealed who they are as an individual and a real understanding on why Kai has become the way he is in the present.
Another character who really stood out to me and a reason why I consider Peterfreund one hell of a talented writer is Ro. She was a reduced, barely able to speak a few words if even that and yet her character captured my heart.
Overall I can't say enough how much you should go read this book. I can easily say this will be a book I will pick up often to read.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted June 20, 2012
Elliot is forced to make a heartbreaking decision. One that plagues her every day after. Has she made the right decision? When a lifeturning opportunity happens her heart breaks all over again. A story of true perserverence & deep abiding love for those she is responsible for as well as the one who has always held her heart. A fast paced page turner that you won't be able to put down!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Brought to you by OBS reviewer Valerie
Beware of Spoilers!
I’ve never read Persuasion, so I can’t compare this novel to it. However, I can say that I probably like this version better. Honestly, it has a beautiful romance, an amazing heroine and a great third-person writing style. Not only that, but the title is gorgeous. If you have to judge a book, judge it by its title. It’s so poetic and pretty and cool!
I hate science fiction in general. That kind of makes me feel like a hypocrite since I loved For Darkness Shows the Stars, but I really do dislike the genre. I’ve hated all the talk about the experiments and the genetic technology related stuff and the future. I really have no idea why I was okay with it reading this book. I guess the overall greatness got rid of my science fiction hatred. However, I will admit that this book has a little of a dystopian feel to it, so I guess that’s what made me feel better.
Elliot is honestly the most admirable teen heroine ever. She’s one of the girls that’s just naturally good. A lot of heroines have a certain fakeness to them when they do good deeds, but Elliot isn’t one of them. She is naturally a really caring person, even if it hurts her in the end. I sometimes wanted to shake her because she was so good. I wanted Elliot to be a little more selfish, but that never did happen. Elliot is just too good to do that.
As for the romance, one word to describe it is tense. Elliot’s too good of a girl to explain to Kai her reasons for staying behind, and Kai is still too hurt to ask. I was literally holding my breath through the whole story; that’s how tense it was. Some moments I was seething at Kai for being a total jerk to Elliot. Other moments I was egging on Elliot to explode at him. In other words, this romance is not boring! Elliot and Kai have such great chemistry. I can’t believe they didn’t chemically react! (That was just bad…)
I don’t know anything about the plot of Persuasion, so I can’t say anything about the plot. I will say that it probably is way techier, but that’s just a hunch…
I read For Darkness Shows the Stars in a day. Considering how long of a book it is, that’s saying something about how spectacular of a book it is! I love it to pieces! Honestly, I am not joking here. It is the best book out of all the books I read in October. Yes, I know it’s November now.
This review and more at openbooksociety dot com
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.A gripping dystopian novel that will break your heart to pieces as you share Elliot's heartbreak over her choice in duty over love.
From the first pages, Peterfreund had my heart gripped in her hand. The novel begins with Elliot worrying over affairs at the estate. The family is near financial ruin, yet her father insists on living in a luxury that he cannot afford. Elliot is the only sensible member of the family and powerless to stand before her father. Despite her cleverness and the respect the Posts and Reduced on the North estate have for her, she is timid and knows not how to stand up for herself. Her devotion towards the people on the estate is integral to Elliot's character and the duty that she feels to them plays an important part in the novel.
The novel is highly character driven. Elliot and Kai are childhood friends who fell in love, but they parted ways four years ago, Elliot with grave sorrow and Kai embittered. Both still remember the past with different mindsets, however, and misunderstandings and old arguments stand in the way of a happy reunion. There is little interaction in the ways of romance in this novel. Rather, it focuses on pride and self-interest. Neither Elliot nor Kai will concede to the other, fixated as they both are on their own interests. I was tormented as I wavered between viewing Kai as a jerk for refusing to admit that Elliot was right to stay behind, for not seeing the anguish she's suffered over her decision to let him go, and wanting to believe that Kai would turn out to be a good guy after all. Elliot is a strong, courageous girl, and she deserves happiness.
Social mannerisms are also significant to the novel. It impacts how the characters act around different people, and it causes Elliot grief, as she cares about the people working on the North estate whereas her father is willing to let them starve so that he can live in luxury. It is because Elliot is a Luddite that she believes herself responsible for caring for the North estate, not to mention her friendship with the Posts. Speaking of the Posts, the world building in this novel is extraordinary. The context of the novel is carefully woven into the story with such detail and precision that it swept me into the story.
For Darkness Shows the Stars is a complex novel filled with a cast of complicated, very real characters. There are characters that I wanted to hate but ended up feeling grudging respect towards, and there are characters that I wanted to love... and, well, loved. No human is perfect, and this novel showcases the various sides to humanity from slothfulness to greediness to naïveness to the duty-bound. And Elliot is one of the duty-bound, a characteristic doubly engrained in her as she once chose duty over love. As much as I would love to gloat over the beautiful ending, I would have been just as contented had it turned out differently. Elliot once made a choice, and she has to make it once more at the end. I could easily see her choosing either way. I very much enjoyed this brilliant retelling of Persuasion as set in a dystopian world and will most definitely be recommending it.
Anonymous
Posted October 19, 2012
All i have to say is i loved it and this is how i wish wuthering heights had ended
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.CaptivatedRding
Posted August 9, 2012
Ohmygoodnessgracious!!!!!
This book. It SO wasn't what I was expecting! I don't WHAT I was expecting, but it wasn't this.
Okay, let me back up a little bit.
Hearing that this book is comparable to Jane Austen's Persuasion (which is one of my all-time favorites, by the way), I KNEW I had to pick it up. So, when I won it from the EXTREMELY fabulous folks over at Epic Reads, I knew it was meant to be that I read this.
How does Ms. Peterfreund get a book to be squeal-worthy when the main characters never even lay LIPS on each other?! I don't know...But, hot dang, she did it!
After refusing her love, Kai, four years ago, Elliot is surely shocked to see him show up with the group that is renting out her grandfather's land to build a ship. But, Kai isn't the same Kai that left Elliot four years ago.
Between Kai's romantic interest in Elliot's neighbor, a father and sister who continue to treat Elliot--as well as their workers--with continued disdain, and a love for boy who seems to have morphed into someone who both hates her and someone she doesn't recognize anymore, Elliot is sinking quickly into a life that's getting beyond her control.
Her only concern is keeping her workers safe and making life better for them, and everyone that she's in charge of...And maybe pining after Kai a little bit, as well.
The premise may be borrowed, in a way, from a brilliant author, but the background is as original as it gets.
Jane Austen in a dystopian-society? YES!!! Now, if Ms. Peterfreund would just make a sequel.
Lalalisa
Posted July 6, 2012
Loved! I adored this book! This is the kind of book that I can't put down, but I want to because I don't want it to end. Persuasion is quite possibly my favorite book (if such a thing is possible). So when I read that For Darkness Shows the Stars was a re-telling of my quite possibly favorite book, I was equal parts intrigued and apprehensive (or "half agony, half hope"). Any expectations I had were blown away. Yes, it is a re-imagining of Persuasion, but it stands so well on it's own. Aside from the similar names, it was less of same-story-different-setting and more like a sense of deja vu. The characters were well written; Elliot is a strong heroine. It was easy to cheer for her. I especially admired her devotion and caring towards those under her care. Normally, I enjoy a bit more world-building. I like to envision the settings, clothing, etc. This book had more emotional world-building than physical, and it worked. It really drew me in and made me actually care about what happened to the characters. This was a very emotional read for me! Just as I cry each time I read Wentworth's letter to Anne, I cried reading Kai's letter to Elliot. Evoking such emotion, I feel, is the mark of a great book.
If you're looking for a heated, steamy romance, this is not it. This is the swooning, deep, unbearably romantic romance that is the hallmark of a Jane Austen novel (in my opinion). I think she would have been proud.
This is a very good book. The world Peterfreund created was so futuristic that it had seemingly gone back in time. Elliot lives a simple life, almost Victorian in nature. There's a high society that employed a lower class of servants, each with their own rules and protocols to follow. Elliot (LOVE the boys name for a girl protagonist!) was a fabulous character. Head strong and wise beyond her years. I loved the letters with Kai that fell between chapters. The fact that they were out of chronological sequence made the rest of the story all that more intriguing. It was a brilliant way to divulge Elliot's past with Kai without getting too heavy on exposition. And though I didn't find myself falling in love with Kai as much as I had hoped I would, he was still a lovely gentleman to watch.
I was nervous that the cast system plot points would come off as preachy, but they didn't at all. I also noticed that the descriptions lacked in color. Nothing to describe clothes that were worn or the way a room looked. There were only a few small places where Peterfreund chose to describe something (like Ro's scarf) and I think the story suffered a little from the absence of colors.
As a last tidbit to note, I felt that the story had a very specific momentum and pacing to it. The kind where if I left the book for too long, I would lose interest. Luckily, I was able to read right through with minimal interruptions, which I think factored heavily into how much I liked this book. I've read Peterfreund's Rampant and Ascendant, both of which I also enjoyed, so I was very much looking forward to this sci-fi-with-a-twist novel. This is an author who has cemented her way into my list of authors that I will read everything they write.
Anonymous
Posted June 15, 2012
It was pretty good. Not a lot of romance because they are fight most the time. I would read it again.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Candacemom2two
Posted June 14, 2012
For Darkness Shows the Stars was a book that evoked strong emotions in me. While that's a good thing that it brought that out, it was also frustrating for me as I felt so much anger and frustration it bled into my real life and that wasn't so good. However, this book was definitely a great read!
It started out slow for me and I didn't have a strong urge to pick it up and read. Then all of a sudden I found I couldn't seem to put it down and I'm not sure when it occurred. Once it did I just wanted to devour it. However, it still wasn't a real fast paced book, but something held onto me and had me reading like a mad woman. Maybe it was because I was super anxious for the romance to happen.
This was inspired by Persuasion by Jane Austen and I definitely felt that with the romance. And it was frustrating! Not in a bad way, though it's not really my favorite thing, waiting forever and just wishing so hard that they would figure things out much sooner, but it was nice to really feel that urge and need for more. I wanted to scream and holler at them to TALK, figure it out, and just plan your future!
The world was really interesting. It took a few chapters to understand how it worked, but once I understood I thought it was pretty creative and it was easy for me to imagine something like that happening. Our technology back firing and creating the Reduced.
Overall this was a great read that most definitely had me thinking. As I saw how the world became this way, and how Elliot has to suffer through so much with a father as difficult and demanding as she has and with a romance that has torn her heart apart, I really fell for this story and only wished for the best for everyone. While it's not super fast paced, and the romance wasn't my favorite style, I still found myself really enjoying the book. So if it sounds like your thing I suggest you give it a try!
Yes I thought the story was good. Yes I thought that the writing was in fact very good and not unstated as many books tend to be now. (In a sense in a lazy writing style) HOWEVER, things were beaten around the bush so much that at times I could actually skip a few pages of dialogue and still get the basic concept of what was happening. Too much of an understory was going on so that I could never completely enjoy the main story line of what truly was happening.
There is no heated romance, so if that is what you are looking for this is not the book for you. the main character and the "Love interest" spend most of their time fighting one another and truth be told the concept of why they are still angry with each other is too simplistic and childish.
But here is the biggest thing that bothered me. the girl on the cover is white, (NOTE: I am no racist!) but they way they describe the main character is dark skinned "Brown skin" is what the writer keeps saying in the book. Not fair skinned or pale. So my image of her is an african american….so why is the girl on the cover white?
This really isn't a fantasy novel, there are some fictional ideas and concepts in it, but it is more like a very water down version of steampunk, a VERY waterdown version.
This really isn't a book that I would really recommend to someone who is looking for a "star crossed lovers" story line. It truly isn't and yes I am one of the readers that is disappointed in that notion.
The story line did keep me engaged but not enough to really let me get lost in the book which is something that I am always looking for.
0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 8, 2012
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Overview
Fans of Divergent will love Diana Peterfreund’s take on Jane Austen’s Persuasion set in a post-apocalyptic world.
In the dystopian future of For Darkness Shows the Stars, a genetic experiment has devastated humanity. In the aftermath, a new class system placed anti-technology Luddites in absolute power over vast estates—and any survivors living there.
Elliot ...