Ryka Aoki

Good Omens meets The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet in Ryka Aoki's Light From Uncommon Stars, a defiantly joyful adventure set in California's San Gabriel Valley, with cursed violins, Faustian bargains, and queer alien courtship over fresh-made donuts. Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six. When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka's ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She's found her final candidate. But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn't have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan's kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul's worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline. As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found.

Light From Uncommon Stars

Sophia 

 "One usually learns to play a piece a section at a time. Within each section, the musician will memorize passages, phrases, movements, until the sections reach from beginning to end.”Lan nodded. That made sense. Of course you would break a large task into smaller ones.

 "And so many live the same way. One becomes a good plumber, or mother, or Christian, or Dodger fan, or teenager. One lives section by section, one stage to the next. But sometimes, sections change keys, tempos. They change moods. Timing...Some melodies don't resolve in an expected way. Some don't resolve at all. So people begin to fear playing beyond the sections they have played out of habit, out of fear." “And eventually one runs out of sections," said Lan.

"And there, in the dark, the sound develops. There, in the empty spaces, a violin's voice matures, gains complexity, power, depth…” Shizuka pointed at Katrina's heart. “Everything the audience hears, what we strive to create... what we live to convey... it comes from there. ln your hollows. In your nothingness.

 "There is where your music gains its life."

 Why be like someone else? Where was the vision? The genius? As an agent of damnation, Shizuka understood she would be dealing in the tedium of human weakness. But there had to be more.

People think selling one's soul for music is as simple as "Sign this contract and poof! - you’re a genius!" Were it that easy, the world would be awash in transcendent song. Obviously, this is not so. Souls are cheap. The trick is finding the right soul.

One might insist that no lives were saved. One might scoff that nothing was returned. But that is as it should be. The songs will change, but the music is never truly gone. A life ends. A life begins.

But as I played, they listened. And slowly, their music welcomed them home.

What did they find? Perhaps themselves. Perhaps each other– who am I to say?

All I know if that i was not playing alone.

Of course, the Endplague could not be avoided. Life could not be avoided. Death comes for everyone. But that did not mean one could not be healed.

That did not mean one could not be saved.

Like the family they had become, they talked into the evening.

SOBBING BECAUSE BARBER ADAGIO FOR STRINGS IS HURTING MY SOUL

Applause fell like waves of daybreak, like torrents of song. It continued unabated until the audience realised the music was coming from themselves, and it would be there tomorrow, and the sun would be high overhead.

Alexa, play Zapotato– I mean– Zapateado

Throughout the sonata, through each movement, the audience saw, felt, believed– who they were, what they valued, whose they loved.

. What is magic, anyway? If magic is more that illusions on a stage, if magic can actually change the world, then what is reality but a song that one imagines and sets free?

If yOu cAn pLaY iT slOwlY yOu cAn pLaY iT qUiCkLY ✨✨✨

At the fourth movement, some people thought, "The Flight of the Bumblebee!" Finally, a passage they could recognise! But this was no overplayed Rimsky-Korsakov insect– this was the frantic chaos of refugees escaping a war.

How do we mourn when we know that we, too, have been cruel to both the living and the dead?

For all the lifetimes of being mistreated, mistrusted, broken, lost. For all the lifetines of bullying, betraying, cowardice, and shame.

Yes, there is music as this. And yes, this music is you.

Because that's all that freaks like us get.

. For if this dogwood bow can force beauty upon you, then I shall shove every part of myself into that beauty. 

I shall make you feel all the joy, the terror in loving who you are.

Listening is vastly different from just hearing.

Katrina had wanted to say she had watched her all these years, watched her mother lose herself because her father demanded it– and that even if they never saw each other again, to please listen to her music, please listen, and hear.

"How can you play to an audience with passion and honesty, when the same audience thinks that you are unworthy of love?"

Lan said it would be the most beautiful spectacle ever.

Yet surely it would be even more beautiful reflected with Donut Lady's eyes.

This book is so beautiful what 😭😭😭

. These were vessels to be launched into time, beyond mere West and East, to bring myths and gods to the world to come.

Shizuka would guide her, let her feel human, no matter how she might doubt. Let her feel old and broken. Let her feel childish and naïve. There was mo need to be perfectly beautiful, nor immortal, nor untouchable.

After all, none of that was needed to write a poem or to sing a song.

Once, Shizuka had said, "For music to happen, every note must sing, then end."

And once, Shizuka had said, "Each fragment, passing eternity onward, hold on to that music forever."

All well and good. All beautiful and wise.

One can run away. One can hide. But that does not mean it is not there.

All this sacrifice, all this genius, and still there was so much hate.

This was more than technique or brilliance. This was more than resonance, more than memory.

Think of a piece of music. Is it not a miracle that each time the notes are played, the music is reborn? No scratches, no fading, no loss of fidelity.

a mind-blowing, life changing read and a perfect ending to the pride month. aside from its beautifully musical and immersive writing, sections named as seasons akin to a classical piece; this book is an accumulation of everything i love in literature: sapphic lovers, sci-fi elements, queer characters, found family, magical realism, mother-daughter relationships and strong women characters. katrina's journey of finding herself and discovering that her identity as a trans person makes her music so special was so moving; every single part was so perfectly constructed. teared up a lot of times. a book so special to me.

deniz

4.5 stars

i went into this book thinking it would be a quick and easy read. i was not expecting how much this book would move me. katrina's story started off so dark yet ended so bright. 

shizuka and lan's story was so interesting and i love where they ended up. the idea of the "endplague" and the treatment of it being music and connection was so lovely.

i was not expecting an undertale reference but i loved seeing it be recognized for how beautiful the soundtrack and message of the game is. 

what a hidden gem of a book, so glad i finally picked it up.

I think I would have appreciated this story more if I knew more about music. The writing itself was a bit erratic for my tastes, but it had beautiful moments. 

Madi Van Houten

weighed down by an absurd pov-swapping rate and way too much name-dropping of socal locations. like yes, we get it, you love the sgv. we're constantly being told things about characters and then whisked away before we can see it shown, and it makes for paper-thin characters and absolutely no way to connect to them as a reader (42/364)

rin 🐇

Beautiful, funny and timely. This book does an excellent job of showing the senselessness of hate while also clearly exhibiting the toll that it takes on the victims. Throughout the book you are consistently rewarded with the progression of each character's road to self acceptance and redemption. 

Dan H

Francesca Starecheski

Ryka Aoki does not write so much as reverberate, tell so much as trill. This book is a song, and though it ends its music remains in my step.

fatru tamzil

AMAZING

1. This is exquisite and beautiful
2. I love how this explore art, war, and life itself. 
3. Now I crave donuuuutssss

I have mixed opinions about this book. Overall I think it's very unique and well-written, centering on a topic that needs more exposure in literature. However, I am not pleased with the representation of all men/masculine characters in the story as evil, violent, or generally bad (with the exception of the child Edwin and the teenager Andrew). If there had been even one central male character with kind motives, this would have been a 4-star read for me.

Ashlyn

Wow. Just, wow. My review won’t do this book justice. I am blown away. This is the type of book where when you finish it, you have to take like 2 weeks off from reading just to process. 

I can't even begin to describe how privileged I feel to have read this story. Now time to blast Barber Adagio for Strings and cry in the corner.

Cloudface

The pacing of this book might not be for everyone, but I personally loved it. It felt like a piece of music itself and each character added something new to the melody. Every time I put the book down I was drawn back to it, not because I was desperate to know what happened next but just because I was enjoying the experience of reading it.

This book was so imaginative and handled difficult, heavy topics with such care and grace. I’m not usually much of an annotator, but I saved so many quotes from this novel. Aoki’s writing style is so descriptive and vivid, especially in her discussions of music and food. I really appreciate the level of care that went into the creation of this fantastic story, and Katrina is a character who will stay with me for a very long time. 

Angie Van Sprang

My expectations were way too high going into this. I've heard nothing but amazing things about this story, but it didn't work for me. There were too many plots going on at once, so it all felt jumbled together. I didn't feel like the narrative flowed well. The POVs were constantly changing every few paragraphs or sometimes even after just a few sentences. There was also way too much talk about food. I didn't mind the first few times, but it got too repetitive. I did like the representation and how Aoki didn't shy away from shining a light on the brutal realities members of the trans community face every day. However, I found the book as a whole a little disappointing.

Heather Harrington

Gillian Rose

4.25

An extremely interesting mishmash of genres that left me feeling hopeful and sad at the same time. I was captivated by these characters and wished I could hear the music being played, taste all the food described, and see the stars.

Exceptional. If you think the premise sounds more chaotic than intriguing, you probably won’t like it. But it’s only January and I already know this will be one of the best books I read this year.

Madi

lisa roeling 

if you are into violins, this book is really cool
i probably should have dnf'd this but i was already at 60%

Good Omens meets The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet in Ryka Aoki's Light From Uncommon Stars, a defiantly joyful adventure set in California's San Gabriel Valley, with cursed violins, Faustian bargains, and queer alien courtship over fresh-made donuts. Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six. When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka's ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She's found her final candidate. But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn't have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan's kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul's worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline. As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Amanda

This story took me for a wild and wonderful ride. I didn't know much about it going in, so with the introduction of each new character everything I thought I figured out about the book got up ended.

Trans teenager escapes an abusive home clutching her violin.... Oh, this is one of those stories. I wasn't in the mood to be depressed, but okay. 

Violin teacher who gathers souls for Hell... Ohhhh, were doing THAT kind of story, OKAY!

Alien buys a donut store with her family and tries to blend in to the California suburbs... What the hell am I reading?!?

But it all works. It all comes together in a surprising and wonderful way. I loved all the characters and the nuance the author gave to each of them. Highly recommend.

A good, fun light read, with some very diverse characters and delightful story moments, from music to donuts. I had some problems with the direction the book took towards the end. Not the most original book, either. But an enjoyable read nonetheless.

Naomi J.

Janice Hopper

I have to say that I was pretty dubious when I read the description of this book. A violin? A deal with a demon for souls? Donuts? A transgender runaway? A family of refugee space aliens???? I just couldn't figure out how all that could make a coherent story that I would like. So I put off reading it.

And that was a mistake, because otherwise I could have read this lovely book SOONER and gotten the enjoyment I got from it EARLIER.

It's just a lovely book. These crazy disparate elements actually work together. This book made me want to go out and taste some of the exotic (exotic TO ME, a child of the mundane US south) dishes and drinks described. I wanted some of those damn donuts and the bread that makes you think of home. I even want to pull out my long-neglected violin and fiddle around (heh). Not with Bartok though.

It's a story about found family, acceptance, and sharing your truths. It's about redemption and not giving up, even though the ultimate end of everything will be coming for us all eventually. Be who you are, play your music, tell your story.

It's good, and it's lovely, and it made me happy.

Didi Chanoch

You will hear and read a lot about how this book is wonderful and hopeful. And that is true. You may also hear about it being difficult and dealing with extremely heavy topics. And that is also true. You will hear about it being science fiction, and you will hear about it being fantasy. Both of those are true.

This novel is a balancing act. A delicate, lovely, difficult, painful, and healing balancing act of love. It is harrowingly real and delightfully fanciful. 

At a time when some in the media would like you to believe that being trans is easy now, this books is a stark reminder - without ever saying it - that the suicide attempt rates among trans teens who are not supported by their family and friends are unfathomably high, while the same rates among trans teens who ARE supported by their family and friends are the same of those of the rest of the population. 

The balancing of tone this book does is incredibly hard, and I am sure it will not work for everyone. It absolutely did for me. I think this may be my favorite read of 2021 so far.

How is it possible that, in the same universe, both Hell and Aliens can exist? After reading this book, you still won't know. Throughout the novel, Alien technology is dealt with in a very hand-wavey sort of way, and is never really explained. Along with that, there are some editing issues. 

It's evident that this is not a flawless book. However...

I found myself time and time again drawn into the story. I fell in love with the characters, the situation, and the universe. I related to Katrina in a very personal way. 

Sure, things weren't explained, but they didn't need to be. It doesn't make the world any less enjoyable.

Skyler Blue

How is it possible that, in the same universe, both Hell and Aliens can exist? After reading this book, you still won't know. Throughout the novel, Alien technology is dealt with in a very hand-wavey sort of way, and is never really explained. Along with that, there are some editing issues. 

It's evident that this is not a flawless book. However...

I found myself time and time again drawn into the story. I fell in love with the characters, the situation, and the universe. I related to Katrina in a very personal way. 

Sure, things weren't explained, but they didn't need to be. It doesn't make the world any less enjoyable.

Stephanie Ridiculous

2.5 rounded up.
The pro's: Unique, quirky, unexpected mashing of genre's
The con's: Entirely too many POV's that rotate chaotically, enough sub plots that the main plot kind of gets lost, bit of a mcguffin ending

Aditi

This type of writing style where you're jumping povs almost every other paragraph is usually not for me but it worked for this story. The characters felt fully realised and I found them easy to connect to and root for. 

The plot was pretty simple and worked for the story. The world building was messy at times and I didn't really care for the chapters solely focused on Lan Tran. The sci fi elements were underdeveloped, just there as a backdrop to this almost contemporary story. 

It was a quick read and I enjoyed the audiobook but this won't be one that sticks with me for a long time.

Ava Noreen

4.5 stars

Aoki spins a unique and hopeful story about courage, queerness, existential dread, and the transformative power of music. I loved the prominence of music in this book, and I think anyone who has ever played an instrument will appreciate it as well. The character development throughout the book was also well done. The writing style was smooth and polished, although the unannounced switching of narrative perspective occasionally felt a little disorienting (hard to decide if that added or detracted from the fun of reading!) I also felt that family and parent-child relationships (whether found or blood) was a big theme in this book. 

This book also spoke a lot about the grief one feels for a life and a world that doesn't behave as it should. The main character, Katrina, grapples with grief for what her family and adolescence could have been if her parents had accepted her transgender identity (or, it sometimes seems, if she could have been someone her parents accepted). Meanwhile, the esteemed violin teacher Miss Satomi grieves for her music, but we comprehend that this grief goes deeper as we learn Miss Satomi's vision for how her music could have communicated to the world. Captain Lan Tran, donut shop owner, attempts to bulldoze onwards without fully confronting the reality of her new predicament. We sense the trappings of grief seeping from the tragedies of war as well as the fear of the character of existence itself. 

But don't be misled, this book was not onerously heavy. In parts, it was poetically light hearted. After all, another big theme in this book was donuts (which was similar to the "power of music" theme since both emphasized the power of the individual to communicate and commune with the human experience in a way which transcends language). Which brings me to:

My biggest problem with this book was... the meat imagery. Okay, I know the author is often trying the emphasize the importance of food in culture and the power of food to heal at the emotional level. As a lifelong vegetarian, it was just a bit hard to "get into" scenes with characters relishing in the meaty-ness of their foods in a way that felt like a rebellion against the very principle of plant-based eating. Given the abominable behavior of the vegans we meet at the beginning of the book, it feels like the author had a bad encounter with some hypocritical vegans and I almost want to write a plea that we are not all like that! And don't even get me started on the ducks. 

But, feelings on food aside, this was a unique and charming story that hits much deeper than I expected from the synopsis.

Light From Uncommon Stars

Reviews

Highlights