Can’t Wait Wednesday – Spotlight on IN SIGHT OF STARS by Gae Polisner

 

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about.  It is a meme that I have  loved participating in for over a year now, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll just be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.

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My selection for this week is In Sight of Stars by Gae Polisner.  I read Polisner’s The Memory of Things a couple of years ago and fell in love with her writing style, so I was thrilled to learn that she has another book coming out next month, and that it is a coming of age story that focuses on mental illness.  That appealed to me right away, but then these early reviews sealed the deal.

  • “An intense, sometimes graphic, totally heartbreaking portrait of a character who will keep pages turning.” – Booklist, Starred Review
  • “An unapologetic and wry story about a teen finding his way out of a personal crisis.” – Kirkus Reviews
  • “An achingly fierce exploration of the way the world wounds us and heals us. If you love exquisitely written coming-of-age stories that will leave you breathless, In Sight of Stars is for you.” – Jeff Zentner, William C. Morris award-winning author of The Serpent King and Goodbye Days
  • “What a book. So human and kind and forgiving and real.” – Geoff Herbach, award-winning author of Stupid Fast and Hooper

 

IN SIGHT OF STARS by Gae Polisner

Publication Date:   March 13, 2018

 

 

From Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Klee’s father was the center of his life. He introduced Klee to the great museums of New York City and the important artists on their walls, he told him stories made of myths and magic. Until his death.

Now, forced to live in the suburbs with his mom, Klee can’t help but feel he’s lost all the identifying parts of himself—his beloved father, weekly trips to the MoMA, and the thrumming energy of New York City. That is until he meets wild and free Sarah in art class, with her quick smiles and jokes about his “brooding.” Suddenly it seems as if she’s the only thing that makes him happy. But when an act of betrayal sends him reeling, Klee lands in what is bitingly referred to as the “Ape Can,” a psychiatric hospital for teens in Northollow.

While there, he undergoes intensive therapy and goes back over the pieces of his life to find out what was real, what wasn’t, and whether he can stand on his own feet again. Told in alternating timelines, leading up to the event that gets him committed and working towards getting back out, Gae Polisner’s In Sight of Starsis a gorgeous novel told in minimalist strokes to maximal effect, about what makes us fall apart and how we can put ourselves back together again.

 

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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂

36 replies
  1. Verushka
    Verushka says:

    Oh my! This one is going to hurt, isn’t it? But in a good way, I think. Klee, I feel, could relate to him wonderfully you know?

  2. Sam@WLABB
    Sam@WLABB says:

    I am excited to read this one too. I love coming of age stories and especially love those with grief and loss. And, like, cover love. The weeping sunflowers there are preparing me for the feels.

  3. Bogdana
    Bogdana says:

    I just added this to my TBR a few days ago when I came across it. Hope we’ll both get to it soon and enjoy it. Thanks for sharing and Happy Reading!!

    My CWW

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      I agree and if it’s at all similar to the other Gae Polisner book I’ve read, it definitely won’t shy away. That one dealt with 9/11 and it was so gut-wrenching.

  4. Kay
    Kay says:

    This does sound like a great story. Books talking about mental illness are hard, but illuminating sometimes. Hope you’re able to read it soon!

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