Bright Star

by Nickie Anderson

It's bad enough that Sadira Pascal's father doesn't make it home to celebrate her fifteenth birthday. He might be a busy hovership engineer pulling overtime on a new design, but he's always been home for the important things. It's worse when she discovers her father decided to ride on the maiden voyage of his newest ship, the CAS Bright Star, without even telling her. But things really fall apart during Sadira's field trip with her class to observe the hovership launch. Instead of a successful flight, she watches the Bright Star fall out of the sky.

The Central government confirms her father's death, leaving Sadira to pick up the pieces of her former life. While she struggles with her loss, Private Baruj Haddad tries to convince her that her father and the rest of the Bright Star crew are still alive. At first, Sadira doesn't believe there's any hope. But then she stumbles across a message that makes her think maybe, just maybe, her father is still alive. As she digs deeper into the Bright Star's crash, Sadira uncovers secrets about her father's work, secrets that put her and everyone she loves in danger.

Genres: Dystopia, Science Fiction

248 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 9, 2012

Reviews

[Alisi ☆ wants to read too many books ☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given this book to read for an honest review.

My rating: 2.5 ~ 3 stars (I'm feeling generous)

So, this book starts off the day after Sadira's fifteenth birthday. Her Papa promised to come home for the birthday dinner but never showed up. Later, she and her class see that he's been working on the ship overnight. During the test flight, bad things happens and...

The story sort of ... walks off from there.

This book is a very good OUTLINE. It isn't a book. It shouldn't have been released. I would've given this one star if not for the promise I saw in the OUTLINE. The author jumped the gun in releasing this now. Here's why.

World Problems

This dystopia is half built but I found it interesting. Interesting enough that I was trying to think of ways to fix it myself.

I say it's half done because the author put it all in place but then left it here. Like the plot, she didn't bother with the consequences of what this world would mean. I mean, in what world are you okay with grinding sand in your teeth? Not happening -- and this is an actual health matter, as slight as it might sound. The shorter lifespans of Ancient Egyptians is given to their stone ground flour that went into their bread, that left enough dirt to wear down teeth and lower the life expectancy of the entire civilization. XD

The sand storm doesn't seem to actually do anything but block the sun, yet others still had gardens. Food was seemingly limited enough that there was food pills but there are insta-dish washers (and nothing better than cloth for faces?)

The world is wreaked enough that you die if you're not in a colony but there is cloth? Cotton is a HUGE problem in terms of the soil and animals eat a hellava lot and needs lots of open spaces.

Stuff like this.

Story Problems

This book consists almost entirely of dead events. The MC just moves from one to another to another. There is little to no actual reaction written in the MC. Reading this, I had the Arigato Mr. Roboto song stuck in my head. The MC was less emotion than you get in those youtube video's were robotic voices read a script.

I am of the opinion that the MC isn't fifteen. I think she's five. Maybe. I was debating it. She could be a smart four year old.

For example, the first scene we see Sadira has been stood up. She waited up ALL night and the author gives no emotional attachment to this. She's just like "sigh ..." But not a page later her best friend barges in and has to fandangle Sadira into eating a slice of birthday cake for breakfast. Here, we see her have a kind of a panic attack because "Papa" doesn't approve of cake for breakfast. Like, her friend has to talk her into it and then she compromises with her "Papa" in that she doesn't lick the plate.

This sort of bizarre lack of emotional reaction to any of the actually events in this book is just ... fucking weird. At one point, the MC says "I'm not a woman! I'm barely fifteen!" and I thought, "no, you're five."

I swear to God the first 20% of this book consists of "Papa" this and "Papa" that. The MC worries about what her "Papa" will think. She says "Papa" more times than a terrible step-father erotica short story. I'm so sick of hearing about this "Papa".

She loves her Papa so much that instead of trying to find where his ship when or even making the attempt (he dies or whatever in front of her), she turns and runs and hides in her Papa's room and later sort of float about thinking "Papa is alivealivealive!" until someone from the gov'n collects her about 17% of the way in and in another instance of the growing number of sociopaths inhabiting is equally yelled at and almost pitied when told her father is dead.

Oh, and my favorite part of was, when she's wailing, crumpled in a ball against the wall, the man who brought her asks if she's okay. Thank you Mr Observant. Sadira just generally crumples against walls to wail openly in gov'n buildings because it's FUN. I'm sure Sadira wouldn't want an open show of wailing (for the first time in the book) to thought of by anyone as grief...

I wasn't at all surprised that the man who picked her up had also lost a family member of his own (hello, no grief there either.) Of course, now we have (about 20% in) a new thread of the bad gov'n or something...

Oh, and talking stones ... *sigh*

I think this author has a lot of promise if she can wait long enough between finishing and publishing to pull herself out of the story. I understand this, as I write myself. You finish something and you want to be DONE. I hope this story gets rewritten at some point...

[Holly Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an *honest* review, as part of the Lovers of Paranormal group's Read2Review program.

So. I wanted to love this book from the moment I first read about it, and when it was offered as one of the R2R books, I jumped at the chance. I'm not upset that I read it, by any means, but I just didn't *love* it. It's hard for me to write this review in a way that will be helpful to others except by saying - if YOU are interested in reading it from the description, then you should DEFINITELY give it a try! Also, check out the other reviews written, because there are clearly others who liked it more than I did. Rest assured that the description given for the book is pretty spot-on and will give you the first indication of whether or not you will be interested in reading this (no deceptive advertising here!).

As I said, this is NOT a book that I feel sorry to have read, wish I had my time back, absolutely hated - NONE of those things. In fact, I thought the author's writing was very good, and I really appreciated the fact that the editing was pretty great, with only a few formatting/grammar errors here and there. However, the thing that I most like about any book I read, in any genre, is CHARACTERS. More than an abundance of action, a creative plot, very good writing, any of the things that make a book such fun to read, what I care about most is whether or not I connect with the characters in the book. And that is the main - perhaps the only - problem I had with this book: I did not care about the characters! I enjoyed the character of Dr. DeWitt the most, but even with him I wasn't eager to get back to my Kindle and find out what he was up to. As for Sadira, the main character - a young girl who has just turned fifteen - I just did NOT connect with her. I felt bad for her at the beginning, when the ship her father is on disappears and she is then told he's dead, but...beyond that? Not so much. Sadly, I found Mrs. Nagi to be annoying and, frankly, I thought Papa was mean. I mean, the main thing she remembers as his biggest lesson? "Crying doesn't solve anything. Action does." Um, she's just turned 15, and all her life he's told her she shouldn't cry?! Just didn't sit well with me.

Anyway... I urge you to give this book a try if you are interested from reading the description and other, more positive, reviews. I think it is a solid effort, and I have no doubt that Ms. Anderson is in the right profession. It was just that I did not personally connect with the characters or care too much what happened with them. I did like the plot and, I will say, I thought she did a very good job with revealing certain surprises and making me sit up and notice. Overall, however, I would give this book 3 stars - I liked it, I just didn't love it.

[Christina (Ensconced in Lit) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was asked by the author to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Bright Star by Nickie Anderson is about Sadira, who watches her genius father, take off in a spaceship that then loses control and crashes. He is presumed dead. Sadira meets another young soldier whose brother was lost in the crash, and together, they realize there is more going on than meets the eye. These two journey across desert sand and harrowing dangers to try to find their loved ones as well as piece together a mystery that just seems to get more confusing as they learn more and more.

I don't want to give away more than that, because finding out the book's secrets is part of the fun. I loved the world building-- I could taste the sand from the setting. Everything is so gritty and dry, and Anderson does a great job giving the prose that feel. Sadira is a great protagonist-- smart, resourceful, but yet scared-- a perfect combination of strong traits yet growth that needs to happen. My other favorite character has to be her nutty professor friend who helps her piece together the puzzle. The plot had plenty of twists and I was entertained from start to finish.

I do wish there were a bit more world building in the sense of I'm not sure why the society is the way it is-- perhaps more will be revealed in the next installment as Sadira learns more. Also, I felt that one particular character became rather two dimensional-- but again, maybe we will learn more in the second book.

Overall, a fast paced, imaginative dystopian with a winning protagonist. I'm eager to see what Anderson has up her sleeve!

[Tanja (Tanychy) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review also posted at Ja čitam, a ti?


First I should say that this is the debut novel by Nickie Anderson and I wish her all the luck with the publishing. I'm always happy to help the indie authors by posting reviews or promoting the book in any way. But regardless on that my reviews are always honest.

This is a story about Sadira. The girl who grew up with her father as she doesn't remember her mother. Her mother, as she was told, died when she was very young. Sadira now only has her father but when one day after he had disappeared she was left alone. I should now say that this is actually a dystopian book and that really took me by surprise. I didn't expect it. Soon enough she found out about the society and possibility that somewhere behind the walls her father could be alive. Baruj is also searching for his brother cause he also disappeared on the same ship. Both Sadira and Buruj feel that they're alive and so they decide to go and find them. Soon they travel far and discover all the things they couldn't dream of.

As I already said the best part for me ware those surprising parts. I really haven't expected some things to happen so it was really good. But unfortunately they were rare. The biggest problem I had with the books were characters and relationships between them. Characters weren't so developed so I couldn't feel them and because of that I couldn't feel their emotions. The story was interesting and good but only rear parts woke my emotions.

[Traci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bright Star

I had an opportunity to read "Bright Star" through Goodreads - Read 2 Review Program. I received a free e-book from the author in exchange for an honest review. I have not been compensated in any other manner for this review.

Young Adult, Dystopia, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Romance

Rating: 3 out of 5


Bright Star Review

The story of the 'Bright Star' is one of an adolescent girl whose world is literally and figuratively explodes around her. Sadira begins her fifteenth birthday full of excitement and anticipation of the possibilities at hand. She is full of youthful, carefree wishes and daydreams with the excitement of her birthday. She shares a piece of cake and laughing with her best friend and explores her feelings for another. Then her class attends the launch of a new airship, the CAS Bright Star, the ship her father had designed. She soon discovers her father will be monitoring the progress of the airship as a passenger. Moments after lift off something goes terribly wrong. Sadira finds herself entirely alone trying to understand what had happened. A young soldier of the Colony, Baruj, finds Sadira and shares his belief -- the two pilots and Mr. Pascal are alive and the government is lying to cover it up. Sadira and Baruj find themselves fleeing the Colony in a race for their lives, uncover truths and search for the CAS Bright Star.

Bright Star' is a good inspirational read by Nickie Anderson. Anderson does a terrific job illustrating the struggles of a naive young girl thrust into circumstances that push her to become a young woman. As the story begins, Sadira is a girl making wishes and daydreaming. Anderson beautifully portrays the difficulties a young girl must face when overcoming loss, her fears pushing herself while clinging to hope and her beliefs as she struggles to uncover the truth about her father's disappearance. Anderson's story. She depicts the harsh and brutal lessons of life as well as some of the most beautiful. This book is an emotional roller coaster of loss, faith, friendship, deception, cruelty, hope, and love.

Even though I enjoyed this book, I am giving it a 3 out of 5 star rating. I felt there were trivial segments and scenes of this story weighed down while the more crucial events zipped past.

[Kelsenator (formerly Kelsey's Cluttered Bookshelf) · Rating 3 out of 5]

For more reviews make sure to visit Kelsey's Cluttered Bookshelf!

I received this book from the author for an honest review, thank you!

The first thing I liked about this book were the futuristic machines! Not only did they have hover cars, but the technology seemed more advanced and it was really interesting. Sandira had so much drive and will to find her father and make sure he was alive, but I also felt sad for the loss she suffered as the book went on. The little journey that Sandira and Baruj embark upon later in the book was pretty cool, I liked the characters that they meet eventually, and although harsh at times they were strong survivors.

However there were a few things in this book that if they would have been different I probably would have liked it even more. First of all this book is short, which of course isn’t always a bad thing, but although the story was good I would have liked to see it expanded a bit more. The world building was one of the main things that was lacking. In my opinion if you’re reading a Dystopian book, you need to know how the society works, how it’s run and how it’s controlling the citizens and what happened to make it so. None of this was really answered in a way I would have liked, the Wall and government were just there, and while the corruptness of the society was hinted at I would have loved to know more about it because it did sound really interesting! A bit more back-story and a closer look into the characters would have been nice too, I felt like I didn’t get enough of them as I wanted.

The ending left it so that the story could continue on, and I would definitely like to see where it takes the reader next.

So while this book was good and I liked the story, I thought it could have been expanded and built upon much more, and I do hope that there will be another book to continue the story. Definitely give it a read, it was worth it!

[Liander (The Towering Pile) Lavoie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadira is sad when her father doesn't make it home for her birthday, but things get worse when her class goes to see a hovership launch, her father gets on the ship, and then the ship falls from the sky. The government tells her her father is dead, but a private named Baruj is sure that the crew is still alive, and wants to head out into the desert to find them.

I was expecting a bit more dystopia from this one. There was good set up for one; citizens are required to take a pill each day! So much potential! But nothing much comes of it. Eventually past events come to light that explain how this is a dystopia, though, which is a good subplot. I wish that were more of the story, instead of being sort of on the side.

The problem I had with the main plot of this story is the lack of motivation. Sadira goes in search of her father, which may seem like motivation enough, but her father is, to put it lightly, a huge jerk. She seems obsessed with him, yet in all her memories she describes of him along the way, he comes across as mean and uncaring. Who teaches a child not to cry, because crying doesn't solve problems? And I can understand still loving your father even if he's not very nice, but she acts like he's perfect, and seems somehow surprised when he acts like a jerk some more.

So, I definitely liked the premise of this story, and the dystopian elements, but I had trouble connecting to the characters, which can really throw off a book for me.

3 stars.

Full disclosure: Free ebook copy received from the author.


This review is copied from my blog, The Towering Pile. It was originally published here.

[Soma Rostam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dived into this book not knowing what it was about, it has been a while since I have read any dystopian books, ever since The Hunger Games. So, this book was a pleasant surprise.
Sadira should have gotten used to her father's constant engineering work by now. But when he doesn't come home on the eve of her fifteenth birthday, it's a too much. What's more? He is on the crew of the spaceship he designed but while in the air, the ship crashes and the authorities tell her that her father is dead. But Sadira knows it's not true, and that the truth is not always better than the lie.
Nickie Anderson definitely took the dystopian to a new level. I loved the world she created, the earpieces everyone put on and the deserted world outside the Wall. It was believable, at times creepy, but a wonderful experience, altogether Her characters are normal and typical. Nothing too exceptional or deep. Sadira is the typical fifteen-year-old so it was easy to relate to her. But her braveness and courage are out of this world. The secondary characters are superb, and the pacing is perfect. Though it dragged a bit at the beginning, it picked up toward the middle.
So why didn't I give this book five stars? Well, because it is a typical YA dystopian read. The author did bring some new stuff to the field but nothing too fancy or far-fetched. I wanted something new, and I didn't get it. But I am still glad that I read this, and I cannot wait for all the potential of the greatness of the second book :D!

[Henry Circle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pair Anderson's cool, smooth, ultra fluid writing style with crescendoing action against a futuristic, dystopian background, and you have the pitch perfect novel that is Bright+Star. Anderson never succumbs to manipulating the readers with flashy characters or abrasive dialogue. She simply delivers good, concise writing that drives steadily toward the climax. Our protagonist, Sadira is both gentle and steadfast. She's a believable and likable heroine. Sadira isn't a stunt woman or a weapons specialist, doing back flips and spraying everyone with machine gun fire. Badassery isn't her style. She's just a loyal and brave girl that keeps struggling against obstacles with determination to find her missing father. A character with character. In fact, all the characters opposing their corrupt government are good and uncomplicated people in a dark and complicated world. The stripped down realness and warmth of the characters in juxtaposition to the unraveling society makes Bright+Star one of the most crisp, fresh and enjoyable dystopian novels I have ever read.

4.5 stars for this beautifully written tale of perseverance and devotion.

The book was provided to me by the author for the purpose of review. All opinions expressed are 100% honest and my own.

[Kimberly Schaaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love books set in the future. Absolutely love them. So, when I was asked to review this book, I was all ready to go!!

My heart truly goes out to Sadira Pascal, our main character. She's a 15 year old girl, living with her father who is a busy scientist of sorts that doesn't seem to have much time for her at all. It was easy to see early on in this book that Sadira's father is a bit strict, almost appearing harsh.

When a tragic and epic event happens to Sadira early on in the book - I thought I was going to cry. And honestly, the response of the adults around her that should have realistically been there as support was horrible!! I can't imagine being that young and having to handle things essentially on my own.

I loved watching Sadira's feelings for her "friend" Timothy come alive throughout the story. The journey that keeps them apart essentially brings them together. It will be really interesting to see where things go with these two...

I will definitely be picking up the next book in this series whenever it's available. The characters were all very easy to relate to and the story flowed very easily. There are so many places that I can see this series going....it will be awesome to see where it goes!!

[Vilmarys · Rating 3 out of 5]

***3.5***

Sadira is a young girl who goes in search of her papa after his ship has crashed and was told that her father was still alive. Joining her is Baruj, a soldier whose brother was the pilot on the same ship as her father. As Sadira gets closer, she starts to question everything she has ever known including her father.

Although this book was short it was rather enjoyable. The beginning was a bit slow but once Sadira left Samalut, it picked up. The world building was good and terrifying all at once. Even though Sadira is young, she has a strength in her that I haven't seen in older protagonists. This book definitely had some surprises. I figured the mom would still be alive but I didn't imagine her being so cold at first. I hoped Sadira would eventually find her father but I didn't think he would be so cold that he would allow Sadira to almost be killed so he wouldn't be captured. It will be interesting to see where Sadira ends up and if she will fight along the badlanders and her father or if she will ever see Timothy, Dr. DeWitt, Amina, and the Nagis again.

A huge thank you to Nickie Anderson for gifting Bright Star in exchange for my honest review.

[Rhomy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

Overall this is a very entertaining and fast paced book.
The writing is nice.

There was one thing that bothered me a lot and was Sadira calling his dad "Papa", I mean who does that? Well, maybe in the year 2260 it's common but...

On the other hand, I loved all the advices he gave her, some were pretty useful!

Sadira and Baruj are our main characters.
Baruj is brave, protective and strong.
Sadira is too smart for a 15 years old girl but at the same time she is childish and innocent for some things.

Like going to Simon's house after she was told she was under surveillance...
I found her to be super brave and she kept going against all odds. The part where she crawled is an example of that.

There were some parts though, that I found gross. For example the dog scene. It was very violent.

But those things aside I believe it's a good book.

One more thing, I hated the end! Please tell me there will be a sequel because I can't believe this is how it ends!

Please Nicky! I want a sequel!!!

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

**5 Stars**
I received a copy of this book for an honest review.

MY OVERVIEW: This book has gotten my elusive 5 star rating! What an exciting read. At first, as with most dystopians, you are thinking that the society is actually pretty nice. But then what dystopian society is actually utopian? None.

PROS: I really liked Dr. Dewitt. All I could picture was Doc Brown from Back to the Future. :) I enjoyed that this was not a book that you could tell what was going to happen next. It really had you guessing, and it wasn’t one of those books where everything went right all the time.

CONS: I really didn’t have too many complaints. I think the one I do have is Papa. He was really annoying and not at all what I expected at the end of the book. I just wish he was a little different.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: I really didn’t want this book to end. I hope that there is going to be another one, and soon! I highly recommend this book, especially for dystopian fans.

[Dani C. (Polly's Place) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The synopsis for Bright Star was so intriguing that I just knew I had to read the book and find out more about this YA Dystopian world. I am so thrilled that I did! This is such an emotional adventure and one you need to read for yourself!

Ms. Anderson has a wonderful, descriptive way with words. I had no problem seeing her world and her characters don’t act like I think they would. Sadira is strong for someone so young and she goes through so much in such a short period of time.

I do not want to give anything away but I really do not like Sadira’s papa. If I dig down deep inside myself, maybe I could understand why he did what he did. But as a parent I just do not see myself making the same decisions as he did.

Over all, this is a great plot that is a little slow in the beginning but as soon as it picks up you don’t want to set it down. I cannot wait for the next book because I am so curious as to what happens next!

[Siva Kumar S A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bright star” is story of Sadira a fifteen year old girl on a quest to find her father. The story begings on Sadira’s 15th birthday when there is a strange accident on the ship her father is demonstrating. Though everyone say that her father is dead she finds clues that he might be alive. As she tries to get more information her father she runs into trouble with the government and stumbles into secrets kept hidden.
Though the story is told by Sadira in first person she doesn’t explicitly describe the world to the reader we understand the world only as the story progresses and there is so much sadira herself doesn’t know that the world keeps evolving throughout the book.
The book is interesting, engaging and at places heart touching. The Sadira feels real and holds the book together.
The ending is really sad and, it comes totally unexpected . The ending look like there might be a sequel.

[Danielle (Dannie) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading Bright Star and really liked the story of the book. If you like dystopian fantasy you will definitely like this book! I was pulled into the story and before I knew it, it was at the end of the book. I am looking forward to reading the next installment to see what happens next. Bright Star shows, that even if you are one person, no matter your age, no matter who you are, there are things you can do to help change the world just by tackling one passionate issue at a time. There are
a few spelling and grammar issues that need to be addressed but they were not often enough to cause a problem, I was able to read through them. The characters could be expanded a little more in some areas - either by more background or by making them more relatable.

DISCLAIMER: This book was gifted to me by the author (through the Goodreads) website in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own, and no money or other compensation was provided for this review.

[Brandy Corona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bright Star captured my interest from the first page and kept me enthralled all the way to the stunning ending. Nickie Anderson paints a wonderfully unique sci fi dystopian suspense novel that is fast paced and exciting!

The characters from Sadira to Baruj to Mr. Pascal are in depth and real. We see a remarkable young woman who is brave but also still very much a child in some ways in Sadira. She is a wonderful leading lady and does quite a bit of growing in the book.

I liked that Bright Star took place in the setting that it did. It was also neat to have all these futuristic gadgets and ships. It all makes this story more unique and interesting to where the reader wants more. Nickie keeps things simple in an elegant way and I look forward to more of her works!

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it from the first page to the last!! Nickie Anderson gave an amazing brave herione!! and a world that was just as great! In this dystopian world it was fast past and exciting. Nickie Anderson did an amazing job describing everything from gadgets and ships.

All in all a great fast paced book! with a stunning ending.. Would recomment this book to anyone that loves Dystopian books!!