Journal entry: Heading to school. I know what everyone will say. There goes the girl who tried to kill herself.

Addison is no stranger to feeling stressed, insecure, and sad. Her therapist recommended she keep a journal to help her understand those feelings better, which she really needs today. It’s her first day back to school, several weeks after she survived her suicide attempt. She knows there are rumors about why she did it: A lousy home life? Bullying? Heartbreak? None of them are true, but it doesn’t matter because Addison still feels like she’s drowning. She still holds secrets she’s not ready to share.

During the school day, Addison encounters four other students struggling with their own secrets:

Booker is anxious about seeing Addison. They were sort of a couple until he tried to kiss her. She fled and then tried to end her life. Those two things couldn’t be related, could they?

Celia feels trapped by her mother’s abusive boyfriend. She can guess why Addison did what she did.

Damion is TikTok-famous and thinks befriending Addison could boost his followers. But what no one knows is he needs the world to remember him since his sick mom doesn’t anymore.

Avery is considered a loner and doesn’t know Addison, but they have neighboring lockers. With Avery’s older brother in jail for dealing drugs, Avery is desperate for meaningful human connection.

Swimming in a Sea of Stars is a poignant and gripping novel about how we’re all interconnected, like the stars in the night sky that form constellations and map out the universe, and if even one star goes missing, the effect is profound.

Swimming in a Sea of Stars is a YA story told from various POVs and features five school students at Silver River High School, Massachusetts.

Set in a small town and over just one day, 7th December, the book features teenagers Addison who has returned to school after trying to kill herself. Booker, was/is Addison’s boyfriend and isn’t sure if he is to blame for her suicide attempt, plus his cousin and best friend is fighting cancer. Celia is being abused by her mum and her mother’s boyfriend. Damion’s a comedic YouTuber with a big following desperate to be noticed by his peers as he has a lonely home life. Lastly, Avery’s mother has passed away and her brother has just gone to jail for drug dealing.

These five students all have big issues in their lives and by chance, coincidence, and interactions they find themselves helping one another and realising that things can change, for the better.

Swimming in a Sea of Stars is an unusual story in that it all takes place within just one day. I wasn’t sure how this would work but it most certainly does. The build-up was slow and more of a who’s who but once you get past the initial few chapters the plot really comes into its own.

The book shows you the harsh reality that some people can be going through a mental health crisis and you might not even realise. It shows you the lengths that people go through just to get through a day and that mental health issues come in all shapes and sizes. It also shows you that kindness matters.

I loved the diary entries from our main character Addison who is filling in a diary on the say-so of her therapist. She is honest and brutal including letting you know she hates writing her thoughts down. She is also witty and sincere.

I adored this book. Given the subject matter, I was expecting the book to be a heavy read but I found it quite easy and a page-turner. I read it in just one day as I didn’t want to put it down. There is pure respect within the pages and it comes across strongly that the author did a lot of research to make everything, including the teenager’s voices, come across as genuine.

Julie Wright began writing her first book when she was fifteen years old. Since then, she has written twenty-six novels and her books have received several starred reviews and have been listed in the American Library Association’s top ten romances of the year. She is a mental health advocate and loves spending time with the youth of our world.

She’s a sucker for almost all things nerdy: Doctor Who, Disneyland, the Marvel Universe, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, fairy tales, and Jane Austen. She believes in second chances, getting up and trying again, and in the power and magic of love, forgiveness, generosity, and compassion. She loves writing, reading, traveling, snorkeling, hiking, playing with her family, and watching her husband make dinner.