New York Times best-selling author Nicola Yoon is a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic who believes that you can fall in love in an instant and that it can last forever, according to the back cover of her newest young adult novel, The Sun is Also a Star (Penguin Random House, $18.99).
The novel follows the stories of Natasha and Daniel, two young adults in New York City who lead very different lives. Natasha believes only in things measured and proved by science. Daniel is a poet who believes proof is completely overrated. Natasha is from Jamaica. Daniel is Korean American. The entire plot of the book takes place in one day, yet it changes their lives forever.
One of the things I learned by exploring both of their personalities is that the world is best looked at through both lenses," Yoon said in an email to the Deseret News. "Art and science both have the same goal the search for truth about our world and the human condition. They just approach the search differently."
The prologue of the book includes a quote by American astronomer Carl Sagan: If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe. Yoon said the quote emphasizes that everything is connected, even things that seem completely dissimilar.
Yoon writes with a unique style that switches the perspective between not only Natasha and Daniel but also between minor characters that appear in the plot for only a moment.
I wanted to show how the main characters Daniel and Natasha are formed by not only their histories, but the histories of their families and friends and even strangers," Yoon said. "There are also short chapters that talk about big-picture factors that influence the characters the science behind falling in love, the history of black hair-care salons, etc."
Each character has a story of their own, and each historic factor is important to the plot. The histories and stories intertwine to prove that fate does indeed play a role in love.
The book is Yoons second novel. Her debut novel, Everything, Everything, was published in 2015.
The Sun Is Also a Star includes mentions of suicidal thoughts, infidelity and sexual intimacy. The book also contains swearing, foul language, mild violence such as fistfighting and sexual innuendos.
The novel follows the stories of Natasha and Daniel, two young adults in New York City who lead very different lives. Natasha believes only in things measured and proved by science. Daniel is a poet who believes proof is completely overrated. Natasha is from Jamaica. Daniel is Korean American. The entire plot of the book takes place in one day, yet it changes their lives forever.
One of the things I learned by exploring both of their personalities is that the world is best looked at through both lenses," Yoon said in an email to the Deseret News. "Art and science both have the same goal the search for truth about our world and the human condition. They just approach the search differently."
The prologue of the book includes a quote by American astronomer Carl Sagan: If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe. Yoon said the quote emphasizes that everything is connected, even things that seem completely dissimilar.
Yoon writes with a unique style that switches the perspective between not only Natasha and Daniel but also between minor characters that appear in the plot for only a moment.
I wanted to show how the main characters Daniel and Natasha are formed by not only their histories, but the histories of their families and friends and even strangers," Yoon said. "There are also short chapters that talk about big-picture factors that influence the characters the science behind falling in love, the history of black hair-care salons, etc."
Each character has a story of their own, and each historic factor is important to the plot. The histories and stories intertwine to prove that fate does indeed play a role in love.
The book is Yoons second novel. Her debut novel, Everything, Everything, was published in 2015.
The Sun Is Also a Star includes mentions of suicidal thoughts, infidelity and sexual intimacy. The book also contains swearing, foul language, mild violence such as fistfighting and sexual innuendos.
