A Star for …Stars

Some of you know I have a little mental list of things I’d love to happen in my career that are out of my control. All I really control is my work — writing what I do and making it as good as it can be. Everything else: covers, marketing, appearances, sales, reviews — those are all almost completely out of my hands, though it doesn’t stop me (or almost every other author) from taking a lot of interest in it. I’d love to see a movie made from my books. I’d love my books to sell in territories and languages where they are not yet available. But, sadly I have very little say in that.

Earlier this year, I got to see one of the milestones on my list come to pass, when my name appeared (along with William Sleator, Jeanne DuPrau, and my pal Carrie Ryan) on the cover of the anthology Brave New Love.

And now I’ve seen another: For Darkness Shows the Stars has received a starred review from the School Library Journal.

I don’t think I can paste the whole thing, but here’s a taste:

“Told partially through secret letters between forbidden childhood friends, this novel is a postapocalyptic retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion that will be a hit with fans of sci-fi romances such as Nancy Farmer’s The House of the Scorpion and Catherine Fisher’s Incarceron.” – School Library Journal, starred review

And, just because I’m in a squeeful mood, a few other reviews gathered from about the web:

“THIS BOOK BROKE MY HEART. I can’t remember the last time I read a book where I was just ACHING inside from start to finish. There’s so much pain and regret and sorrow in these pages. It just SLAYS me. But, don’t get me wrong, it’s not like…a weepfest. There’s also so much beauty and hope and possibility and friendship and CAN YOU TELL I LOVED IT?!” – AnnaReads

“Compelling and poignant, For Darkness Shows the Stars is an intimate portrayal of a relationship tested to its very extremes–a war between belief, knowledge, desire, prejudice and need waged as Elliot and Kai are brought face to face after a separation that changed them both irrevocably… Our hearts bleed, scream, and beg for mercy before we reach the final pages, and we can’t help but revel in a story so emotionally charged.” –Supernatural Snark

“I’m still reeling from the emotional turmoil that For Darkness Shows the Stars put me through. Peterfreund had me laughing, crying, and screaming over the course of 400 pages. Despite my lack of familiarity with Persuasion, I don’t think that having read it would have influenced me to enjoy it more, I just would have been able to make the connections between both books. Even if you have never picked up a Jane Austen novel, you don’t need to in order to fall in love with the story that Peterfreund creates. For Darkness Shows the Stars broke my heart and put it back together repeatedly, only revealing Kai and Elliot’s destiny at the very last moment. Fans of romance, minor sci fi as well as dystopian elements, and Jane Austen will devour this one!” – Literary Exploration

Fourteen more days…