Reviews

Astra: A Novel by Cedar Bowers

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bcgg's review against another edition

4.0

I did not look up anything about this book before reading it, trusting that it must be good if a nominee for the Giller in 2021. I was not disappointed. I highly recommend it.

madgeme's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

hlogan's review against another edition

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5.0

What a beautiful character study, and such a unique way of revealing someone's story. I am in awe of Cedar Bowers' talent and look forward to reading her future work.

reallyintoreading's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

the_laibararian's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Wish there were more chapters and perspectives. The time jumps between chapters made it feel like you were playing catch-up with Astra, with her having changed a lot each time and not really seeing the process of the change, just that it happened with retroactive assumptions of why. I suppose that might be the point, but the time skips got bigger in the later chapters as she got older, and I lost my sense of her character. The last two chapters especially.
Still, the story was good and the different perspectives was an interesting format. The characters themselves were intriguing and I liked most of the writing as a whole, but I don't think their character voices were that distinct. In the audiobook, all the narration is delivered mostly the same for each chapter, beyond voices for the dialogue, so that might be why I have that impression.