what a fascinating novel. initially, i thought the book slow and mediocre, uninspired and meandering in its narration — but i was proven wrong eventually.

the gradual unfurling of the plot served a purpose: we slowly get to know the characters' motivations, personalities, dynamics, etc., so that by the end of the book it felt like i knew the characters as well as i know my best friend. they were written so authentically; more character studies and less plot. halfway through the novel i wondered what the point of the book was and had doubts where it was going because nothing important was happening. we're shown Aurelle and Diana's dynamics and how they operate together in different social environments. we saw how they came together, how they grew together, and it was so interesting to follow their WASP life. i enjoyed reading how wealth, privilege, youth, addiction, and fame were depicted in their isolated campus and little cottage — it was so atmospheric (and the playlist that came with it helped a lot, too). i also enjoyed reading about the role of art in this novel — how art can affect and change a person's self-image and self-perception, how it can inspire and destroy people.

what i really love about this are the characters themselves, of course. their friendship and bond are the center of this novel. their loneliness was palpable in every page, even when they were together. i think i was so emotionally stricken by their bond and friendship because i miss going to actual college classes with friends beside me. the sense of belonging and contentment, knowing someone will always be beside you no matter what, is something i have missed very dearly. anyway, i liked reading about Diana's insecurity, envy, and obsession, and how it manifested it their friendship. Aurelle's weak attitude. dependence, and personality were also interesting to follow. i absolutely love how familial relationships played a role in their dynamic —Diana's insecurity, ambition, and strong personality stemmed from her relationship with her brother Keith, and Aurelle's dependence on Diana's favor and friendship were caused by her mother Marianne's upbringing. i am absolutely obsessed with how Aurelle's relationship with Marianne and her fame and art paralleled her attitude towards Diana's fame and art. Diana's ambition and insecurity struck me as much as Aurelle's loneliness and sadness did, and i (unfortunately) saw a part of myself in them.

anyway let me stop oversharing here. i'm glad i kept reading because this is now one of my favorites of the year. i recognize that not everyone will like this though, as they will find it uneventful and pointless, but if you enjoy a character-driven book set in college following compelling characters then maybe give this a try! and my only caution: WASPs.

This is a really difficult book to review because, on one hand I absolutely loved it. On the other, I’m deeply disappointed and unsure of what I’ve just read.

Petrou’s writing is really enjoyable – she paints a wonderful scene, and I genuinely believed in the deeply connected relationship between Aurelle and Diana. At about 60% through I said to my husband, “I’m reading this book and I’m liking it, but I don’t know what the point is. I’m still waiting for something to happen …”

Which, pretty much sums up how I ended up feeling about it.

Nothing really happens. I mean, it does, a bit, but it’s a bit over the top, doesn’t strike me as terribly believable given what came before and just fell a bit flat for me in the end. That said, I still enjoyed it because it was a good and easy read. Perhaps I’m still just trying to figure out what the point was.

Stargazer by Laurie Petrou is a tale of two girls living together in the 90s who begin to push the boundaries of their friendship as time slowly unravels the stability they had created for themselves. And it's done so well.

If you want a cute story, then this isn't the place to be finding it. It's not all sunshine and roses for our heroines and what Petrou does so brilliantly is to build up this atmosphere of fear and confusion that forebodes how dark the material of the book can get.

One thing I absolutely loved about this book is how it doesn't drag out unnecessary amounts of tension so it stops being unsettling and it just starts to be annoying. You can find in books a lot of the time, that the buildup just takes so much time to actually get anywhere that the impact of the conclusion just misses the mark. It's almost as if your time has been wasted and it can be emotionally exhausted - absolutely not the case with Stargazer.

Female friendships can be hard and what I absolutely adored is the ferocity and realism of what it can be like for two people to get so close to each other that it starts to fall apart. The raw emotion and anger and sadness that pours out of the pages really made me think of my own experiences having lived with other women and the boundaries that can be crossed, especially when it's an LGBTQ+ household. Many rounds of applause for capturing those moments so beautifully.

My only complaint and grievance with the book is the pacing on occasion. Whilst I understand why it was done that way once I had finished the book, there was nothing to indicate or negate these feelings when I felt like I was wading through. But then that is also part of the charm of the writing and it definitely made me keep reading as I became addicted to the outcome of our lead characters. The suspense of something happening on the next page makes you not want to put it down.

I did really adore this book. I am really excited to see what comes next from Petrou. Thank you to Netgalley and Verve Books for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review.

I love this book. The flow of the writing is compelling, immersive and atmospheric. The characters are so easy for you to fall in love with and you can't help but to root for both of them (even though one of them is questionably creepy). Will I get the hardcopy ? Ugh yes!

A little hard to get into but then it got addictive in spite of its predictable conclusion. If you liked the Blackswan, you will probably like this too! “I don’t know which of you is Frankenstein and which is the monster.”

*** I received an early complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

I read this in 2 sittings, as it was very compelling.

Diana and Aurelle have grown up living next door to one another in one of Toronto's wealthiest suburbs. Aurelle is the daughter of a famous designer, and their house is always abuzz with activity, friends, family and love. Diana's childhood is lonely, living under the shadow of her obnoxious older brother.

Diana and Aurelle strike up a friendship aged 17, and become extremely close very quickly, bonded by trauma. They decide to go to university together, and their relationship develops and changes as their lives become even more heavily intertwined. Will they always be as close?

Unfortunately I could not finish the book as it contained unexpected subject matters, however from what I read it was well written and had real promise.

I’ve just finished this stunning novel and my word, was it a beauty.

The exploration of friendship, family, fame and everything that goes with it was both heartwarming and heartbreaking. The two protagonists really took me on a journey through the beauty and growth of their relationship to the devastation and challenges whilst they each individually thrived and struggled with their steps into womanhood and their place in the world.

I could not put this novel down as it gripped me from the start, and the twist…that really got me (no spoilers!). I really felt Diana and Aurelle come alive in Petrou’s writing and could relate in some way to pressures and anxieties that women are faced with - in terms of relationships and family.

A fabulous novel that I can’t recommend enough and one which I can’t wait to purchase when it is released.

Diana Martin has lived her life in the shadow of her sadistic older brother. She quietly watches the family next door, enthralled by celebrity fashion designer Marianne Taylor and her feted daughter, Aurelle.
She wishes she were a 'Taylor girl'.
By the summer of 1995, the two girls are at university together, bonded by a mutual desire to escape their wealthy families and personal tragedies and forge new identities. A fabulous read…. Recommended this one’

Stargazer by Laurie Petrou is a story set in the 90’s examining the depths of friendship between two girls.

This is definitely not your usual fluffy female friendships story as Petrou brilliantly dives into some dark material and manages to create an ominous, almost frighteningly foreboding, atmosphere all the way through.

Petrou is an absolute expert at delivering dark themes at just the right moments with just the right amount of buildup. Often in books, the buildup is dragged out so long that the actual events themselves fall flat and have no effect on the reader - this was definitely not the case here.

I loved how the intensity of female friendships were shown here and it really did bring me back to past friendships I’ve had in my teenage years and in my early 20’s. Petrou’s ability to describe the two main characters emotions to such a visceral and affecting degree was astounding.

Whilst the beginning of the book can feel a tad slow, it is vital to the end of the book. I think it’s what makes this book so addictive - you know something is going to happen but you don’t know when which just forces you to read on.

Overall I loved this book to the point that I will be purchasing a physical copy when it comes out. I will also be automatically buying anything Laurie Petrou publishes in the future!

Big kiss to NetGalley, Laurie Petrou and Verve Books for advanced access to this book !

I really loved this book ! Like read it in a day loved it ! Stargazer is one of those books where about halfway through you know what happens, there's only really one way this book can go. But still you read because the ending already appearing does not ruin your want to read it at all; that's how good Petrou's writing is !

Big for anyone who has ever had an intense female friendship/ had family problems or ever wanted to be more successful than they are. These characters are not likeable; they are all pretty messed up people and you kind of hate them all by the end but... you do still feel sympathy for them, you understand them and pity them. Petrou is very good at making you understand all sides of the tale and how everyone became the way that they are. A commentary on how adults can mess up their children's life and the trauma that young adults carry.

In conclusion I am obsessed with this book and cannot wait to see what Petrou does next !

The best book I’ve read all year. I didn’t think she could improve on Sister of Mine. But she can. She has. And in style! Absolutely adores this. It has beautiful prose whilst building up a slow kind of inevitable dread. I look forward to her next book (and I’ve just bought her Youth Fiction book). A real talent.

Stargazer by Laurie Petrou

It is the summer of 1995 at Rocky Barrens University, hidden amidst the pine trees and starry skies of Northern Ontario. Aurelle Taylor, daughter of a world-famous fashion designer becomes the closest friend of burgeoning painter Diana Martin; they have bonded over a mutual desire to escape their wealthy families and personal tragedies and begin new lives as students at RBU. They are closer than lovers, they are like one thing, intoxicated by their own bond, falling into the hedonistic seduction of the woods and the water at a university that is more summer camp than campus. Diana, who has lived her life under the shadow of her sadistic older brother, rockets to fame with a series of scandalous portraits of Aurelle - whose response is to tumble further into a drug-fuelled escapism. Diana must choose whether to rescue her kindred spirit from destruction, or abandon Aurelle for the fame she has forever thirsted after.

There is much to love about this novel. The claustrophobic friendships formed in late teenage into university years are well observed and the yearning for the life of another is keenly drawn at first. . I enjoyed the early parts of the book and was interested to see how Aurelle and Diana navigated their friendship into young adulthood. However, the latter parts of the novel didn't bring me any satisfactory resolution. Diana slipped into Single White Female territory and the events that occurred were utterly unbelievable. Maybe it's because I'm far older than these young women but the rave culture described and the absurd level of Diana's desire for revenge just didn't bring me any enjoyment. I cannot see why anyone would want the unpleasant manipulative Diana as a friend nor why the mother of Aurelle didn't take her away when she suspected the abuse that was taking place. It was a shame as the novel held much promise and the writing was in parts beautiful. This won't put me off future novels by this relatively new author.

Set in the ‘90s, Laurie Petrou’s Stargazer follows Aurelle and Diana who become inseparable after Diana’s bullying brother drowns, choosing to study at the university attended by Aurelle’s famous mother where they set up house together. Diana is happy to dip into student life but remains largely aloof, while Aurelle relishes her apparent anonymity. As the year wears on, Diana proves herself to be a prodigious artistic talent at a terrible cost to Aurelle who throws herself into partying.

Petrou’s narrative straddles two timelines before and after Diana and Aurelle become friends, shifting perspectives between the two while fleshing out their characters. There’s lots of foreshadowing so we know something will go wrong but what interested me was the exploration of art, fame, sibling relationships and friendship which give the novel its heft while keeping up a page-turning pace.

Haunting and everything I wanted it to be, Stargazer is fantastic and I will be reading more from Laurie Petrou. I was and will be thinking about this book for a while

I absolutely loved this! What a fantastic plot, beautifully written, intertwining the relationships between the characters in such an ingenious and realistic way.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Easy five stars for me! With this book you feel so entangled in Aurelle & Diana’s friendship that you begin to feel like you’re not just reading a book but that you’re living it. It’s devilishly dark and cunning, absolute highlight of the year already for me!

Simply gorgeous.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Gripping, had me on the edge of the seat, unputdownable and have stayed up reading this. The story blew my mind and I enjoyed reading this very much so. Thank you to Netgalley and publishers for the arc!

I found stargazer to truly understand the bonds between women and the experience of being a young woman navigating her life. I did find the pacing to be a little off at some parts, but the narrative kept me interested and I look forward to the next novel by Laurie Petrou.