Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu
Genre: Thriller; Contemporary
Reviewed by Julia W., 10th Grade
Rating: 9/10
Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu follows Sydney Cossette, a spy for a covert operations company called Panacea Group. Her job is to deal with anything the CIA isn’t able to due to their government restrictions. When Niall O’Sullivan and Sauda Nazari, Sydney‘s bosses, inform her that they want to ask a pop star for help, she isn’t super keen on the idea. She just doesn’t see how a pop star is going to help with a high intensity mission. Likewise, the pop star himself, Winter Young, isn’t exactly psyched to join the mission. He's on the same page as Sydney in thinking he isn't exactly qualified to be a spy. He knows how to sing and dance to songs that have already been written and choreographed, not think on his feet in unpredictable situations. However, with a push (plus an incentive from Niall and Sauda), he ultimately agrees.
For this mission, Sydney and Winter will be going into Eli Morrison’s home. Eli has been targeted by the CIA four times in an attempt to put him behind bars for drug dealing, but every attempt has been unsuccessful. Now, he’s throwing a birthday party for his daughter, Penelope, that will have ten thousand high profile guests in attendance along with extravagant entertainment. Panacea Group knows that with all of these important people in one place, something big must be going down behind the scenes, and they want evidence of it. Sydney will go in undercover, posing as Winter’s personal bodyguard, while Winter will just be himself as he was actually invited to perform at the party. He is free to just hide in plain sight. The mission is a whirlwind of ups and downs. Dangerous events mixed with love, friendship, and family secrets will keep readers engaged the whole way through.
I chose to give this book a try when I saw it on the shelf by chance. I can’t even express how glad I am that I found it because it was an excellent read. I was always surprised by at least one thing every chapter. It was like I was on this mission with Winter and Sydney as I experienced every emotion they had with them.
My personal favorite aspect of the novel is how characters go from strangers, to partners, to friends. It’s hard for me to elaborate on this without giving spoilers, but what I can say is that it is super heartwarming to see this friendship go from nothing to everything in a very short time span. Although the whole plot of the novel only spans for about a week or two, so much happens and one gets the sense that they are looking in on a crucial part of two people’s lives. This is an excellent read and I would recommend it to any teen who is looking for a one of a kind adventure.