fictionalkate's review
5.0
For the longest time it has always been Avicenna and her mother, Joanne. But when Joanne goes missing, Avicenna is lost. She may be eighteen but she doesn’t know what to do without her mum. Joanne is an astrologer and it seems her gift is connected with her disappearance. Her predictions are eerily precise and Avicenna is certain they hold the key to her mother’s whereabouts. If Avicenna is to find her mother and solve the mystery, she will have to use the gift she has always shunned.
The Astrologer’s Daughter is a novel which will stay with me for a long time. Rebecca Lim has one of the most beautiful writing styles I’ve read and I loved following Avicenna as she tried to solve the mystery of her mother. You don’t need to believe or even know a thing about astrology or that which you can not see to be enthralled by The Astrologer’s Daughter. The descriptions of the characters as seen though Avicenna’s eyes are incredible. They are full of Avicenna’s trademark snark and yet perfectly paint a vivid picture of those who she is talking about.
The characters within this book are well-rounded. They are brilliantly flawed with each character having their own baggage and this made them incredibly realistic. Avicenna is somewhat of an outsider with her past shown on her face. She’s not always the most comfortable character to be around but she’s real. Her anguish over her mother is palpable as is her fear of prediction. Avicenna has seen her mother work and knows just how dangerous knowing can be and yet she is willing to face that if it means she can help her mum. I loved their relationship. It’s a unique one considering Joanne is off-screen for most of this novel but she is still a force which is felt in much of what Avicenna does. I also loved that Avicenna was half-Asian. Her racial ancestry is part of who she is and also effected how she saw herself and how others saw her.
The mystery in this book was well crafted and I thought the flow of information was fantastic. As a reader you never quite know what is going to happen (or has happened) but I never felt lost. I was always there with Avicenna as she discovered clues to her past or became aware of what was happening in the present. The fortune-telling aspect of this book was fascinating. Avicenna isn’t what I normally think of when I think of astrology but her predictions don’t feel out of character. She’s methodical and her relationship with her craft is a complicated one.
The Astrologer’s Daughter has been one of my favourite reads of 2014. Beautifully written with a main character who is both snarky and sarcastic but also scared. The mystery was incorporated flawlessly into a coming of age story which I could not put down. If you only read one Australian young adult novel this year – I could not recommend any book higher than The Astrologer’s Daughter. Mystery, romance and a hint of the unknown. What could be better?
Thanks to Text Publishing for the review copy.
The Astrologer’s Daughter is a novel which will stay with me for a long time. Rebecca Lim has one of the most beautiful writing styles I’ve read and I loved following Avicenna as she tried to solve the mystery of her mother. You don’t need to believe or even know a thing about astrology or that which you can not see to be enthralled by The Astrologer’s Daughter. The descriptions of the characters as seen though Avicenna’s eyes are incredible. They are full of Avicenna’s trademark snark and yet perfectly paint a vivid picture of those who she is talking about.
The characters within this book are well-rounded. They are brilliantly flawed with each character having their own baggage and this made them incredibly realistic. Avicenna is somewhat of an outsider with her past shown on her face. She’s not always the most comfortable character to be around but she’s real. Her anguish over her mother is palpable as is her fear of prediction. Avicenna has seen her mother work and knows just how dangerous knowing can be and yet she is willing to face that if it means she can help her mum. I loved their relationship. It’s a unique one considering Joanne is off-screen for most of this novel but she is still a force which is felt in much of what Avicenna does. I also loved that Avicenna was half-Asian. Her racial ancestry is part of who she is and also effected how she saw herself and how others saw her.
The mystery in this book was well crafted and I thought the flow of information was fantastic. As a reader you never quite know what is going to happen (or has happened) but I never felt lost. I was always there with Avicenna as she discovered clues to her past or became aware of what was happening in the present. The fortune-telling aspect of this book was fascinating. Avicenna isn’t what I normally think of when I think of astrology but her predictions don’t feel out of character. She’s methodical and her relationship with her craft is a complicated one.
The Astrologer’s Daughter has been one of my favourite reads of 2014. Beautifully written with a main character who is both snarky and sarcastic but also scared. The mystery was incorporated flawlessly into a coming of age story which I could not put down. If you only read one Australian young adult novel this year – I could not recommend any book higher than The Astrologer’s Daughter. Mystery, romance and a hint of the unknown. What could be better?
Thanks to Text Publishing for the review copy.
ps_a22's review against another edition
5.0
Great book, absolutely loved reading this book on the train. I quite liked how soulful and lovely the astrological charts were. Really liked the lead romance guy (forgot his name soz) and the dynamics of the characters. I lost track of the plot at the end and didn't quite understand how everything ended (my stupidity not the book's fault) But nice ending in the end. Love two teenagers moving in together.
willac's review
5.0
I can't say enough good things about this book. I absolutely loved it!
Avicenna's mother has the gift of astrology. She has clients from all walks of life, and their apartment is filled with their offerings to the point of looking like a hoarder's home. Avicenna, or "Cenna," is scarred from a fire that took her father's life. She's a high school student and mostly tries to be invisible, but when her mother disappears she has to cast aside her tendency to fend for herself and ask for help.
Against her better judgment, she calls the police, and is lucky enough to meet a detective who has her best interests at heart and becomes something of a father figure to her. She also finds an unexpected ally in a student at her high school who she thought hated her. It turns out that he has a secret life as well, and they form an unlikely bond.
Cenna, while not considering herself an astrologer like her mother, has absorbed much of her mother's knowledge, and also has the gift, and when previous clients of her mother's show up at her apartment, she is forced to do readings for them as she tries to piece together the facts of her mother's life in an attempt to find her.
The protagonist was fascinating, as were most of the secondary characters, and I really hope that there is a sequel in the works!
I received a galley of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Avicenna's mother has the gift of astrology. She has clients from all walks of life, and their apartment is filled with their offerings to the point of looking like a hoarder's home. Avicenna, or "Cenna," is scarred from a fire that took her father's life. She's a high school student and mostly tries to be invisible, but when her mother disappears she has to cast aside her tendency to fend for herself and ask for help.
Against her better judgment, she calls the police, and is lucky enough to meet a detective who has her best interests at heart and becomes something of a father figure to her. She also finds an unexpected ally in a student at her high school who she thought hated her. It turns out that he has a secret life as well, and they form an unlikely bond.
Cenna, while not considering herself an astrologer like her mother, has absorbed much of her mother's knowledge, and also has the gift, and when previous clients of her mother's show up at her apartment, she is forced to do readings for them as she tries to piece together the facts of her mother's life in an attempt to find her.
The protagonist was fascinating, as were most of the secondary characters, and I really hope that there is a sequel in the works!
I received a galley of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
textpublishing's review
5.0
A round-up of some of the top reviews for The Astrologer’s Daughter, Rebecca Lim’s disarming, intriguing and wonderfully written novel:
‘Lim (The Astrologer’s Daughter) delivers satisfying action and romance throughout, continually raising the stakes on the way toward a chilling, violent ending.’
Publishers Weekly
‘The Astrologer’s Daughter is compulsively readable. Avicenna is a captivating hero—tough yet vulnerable. This gritty and mysterious love story will stay with me for a long time.’
Cath Crowley
‘Smart and original—a beautifully-written mash-up of mystery, thriller and love story.’
Vikki Wakefield
‘[Lim’s] taut, assured thriller weaves together astrology and mythology, poetry and poverty…Teen and adult readers who like their mysteries gritty and literary, with a touch of magic: seek this one out.’
STARRED Review, Kirkus
‘A compelling read, one that hooked me from the beginning, I was taken straight into the story and felt compelled to complete Avicenna’s story with her. Mesmerised by the way Rebecca Lim wrote the novel. I could not put the book down.’
ReadPlus
‘Lyrical writing and quirky characters, The Astrologer’s Daughter is one of the most moving a books I’ve read…It’s a beautiful story about identity, secrets and love…A uniquely magical and evocative book, one I recommend to everyone.’
Speculating on Spec Fic
Read an interview with The Wheeler Centre: www.wheelercentre.com/notes/16c7ff67cf4a/
Hear Rebecca’s take on diversity in young adult literature in the Bookseller: http://www.welovethisbook.com/features/why-diversity-matters-an-aussie-perspective
‘Lim (The Astrologer’s Daughter) delivers satisfying action and romance throughout, continually raising the stakes on the way toward a chilling, violent ending.’
Publishers Weekly
‘The Astrologer’s Daughter is compulsively readable. Avicenna is a captivating hero—tough yet vulnerable. This gritty and mysterious love story will stay with me for a long time.’
Cath Crowley
‘Smart and original—a beautifully-written mash-up of mystery, thriller and love story.’
Vikki Wakefield
‘[Lim’s] taut, assured thriller weaves together astrology and mythology, poetry and poverty…Teen and adult readers who like their mysteries gritty and literary, with a touch of magic: seek this one out.’
STARRED Review, Kirkus
‘A compelling read, one that hooked me from the beginning, I was taken straight into the story and felt compelled to complete Avicenna’s story with her. Mesmerised by the way Rebecca Lim wrote the novel. I could not put the book down.’
ReadPlus
‘Lyrical writing and quirky characters, The Astrologer’s Daughter is one of the most moving a books I’ve read…It’s a beautiful story about identity, secrets and love…A uniquely magical and evocative book, one I recommend to everyone.’
Speculating on Spec Fic
Read an interview with The Wheeler Centre: www.wheelercentre.com/notes/16c7ff67cf4a/
Hear Rebecca’s take on diversity in young adult literature in the Bookseller: http://www.welovethisbook.com/features/why-diversity-matters-an-aussie-perspective
kpg1124's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This booked shocked me! They say you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, but I do and this one pleasantly surprised me! A well written murder mystery that has you turning pages to see what comes next and surprised until the very end! Great book to read if you want a gripping story and a bit of thrill mixed in with some good old astrology readings.
Content Warnings
Minor: Murder and Rape
klherring's review against another edition
3.0
Thanks to NetGalley for sharing this novel!
This novel is about Avicenna, the teenage daughter of a missing astrologer. Avicenna is disfigured due to a house fire that claimed the life of her father when she was young. This, coupled with the fact that she and her mother must frequently move to the stalker-like behavior of her mother's clients, makes a normal life for Avicenna quite difficult.
Most of the novel revolved around Avicenna's quest to find her mother after a suspicious and unforeseen (or was it?) disappearance. Along the way, Avicenna must confront her mother's gift for astrology and decide whether or not it is the right path for her. She also faces some real life mysteries surrounding her mother's clients as well as people in her own life.
I really enjoyed the plot of this novel. I found the mysteries to be quite unique and interesting and the characters had engaging personalities and back-stories. I could absolutely see a series developing out out of this novel and would enjoy reading it. I also really enjoyed the facts about astrology that added a genuineness and authority to the work.
My only complaint in this work was with the consistency of the writing. There were several word choices that seemed off and typos that were distracting. I also found the use of "teen speak" and cursing to be a big distraction. I'm not opposed to either, but Avicenna is portrayed as a teen-genius who has lived life in a fairly introverted state due to the way others have treated her because of her disfigurement. As such, her ditzy teen lingo seemed out of sorts with the character I believed her to be. Further, with a photographic memory, surely she would have a wider, more sophisticated range of vocabulary to choose from than is showcased in this work.
Despite the issues I had with Lim's writing choices in regards to tone and diction, I did enjoy the book and would recommend it to other lover's of YA lit. I look forward to more from this author!
This novel is about Avicenna, the teenage daughter of a missing astrologer. Avicenna is disfigured due to a house fire that claimed the life of her father when she was young. This, coupled with the fact that she and her mother must frequently move to the stalker-like behavior of her mother's clients, makes a normal life for Avicenna quite difficult.
Most of the novel revolved around Avicenna's quest to find her mother after a suspicious and unforeseen (or was it?) disappearance. Along the way, Avicenna must confront her mother's gift for astrology and decide whether or not it is the right path for her. She also faces some real life mysteries surrounding her mother's clients as well as people in her own life.
I really enjoyed the plot of this novel. I found the mysteries to be quite unique and interesting and the characters had engaging personalities and back-stories. I could absolutely see a series developing out out of this novel and would enjoy reading it. I also really enjoyed the facts about astrology that added a genuineness and authority to the work.
My only complaint in this work was with the consistency of the writing. There were several word choices that seemed off and typos that were distracting. I also found the use of "teen speak" and cursing to be a big distraction. I'm not opposed to either, but Avicenna is portrayed as a teen-genius who has lived life in a fairly introverted state due to the way others have treated her because of her disfigurement. As such, her ditzy teen lingo seemed out of sorts with the character I believed her to be. Further, with a photographic memory, surely she would have a wider, more sophisticated range of vocabulary to choose from than is showcased in this work.
Despite the issues I had with Lim's writing choices in regards to tone and diction, I did enjoy the book and would recommend it to other lover's of YA lit. I look forward to more from this author!
lucyknitsandreads's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 *
As a non-native speaker, I really enjoyed being able to get a glimpse of a country and its slang that I usually don't have much contact with. I also loved both Joanne and Avicenna, mother and daughter, two strong female characters bound by love and relying on each other. I'm glad I found this book!
As a non-native speaker, I really enjoyed being able to get a glimpse of a country and its slang that I usually don't have much contact with. I also loved both Joanne and Avicenna, mother and daughter, two strong female characters bound by love and relying on each other. I'm glad I found this book!
rainbow_reader's review against another edition
3.5
While reading this, I did actually have a pretty good time. Objectively, however, it did have some issues with pacing and the main character having the most absurd responses to situations. Plotwise, it all came together in the end but in the middle I was very confused as to the how the information we were getting had anything to do with anything. Overall, the first third was great, the second third was not so great, and then it picked back up in the end.