LIGHT FROM UNCOMMON STARS by Ryka Aoki

AGENDA:

1. Short introductions (name, pronouns, one thing you liked about the book)
2. Discussion of LIGHT FROM UNCOMMON STARS
3. Deciding on December title*

Ryka Aoki won a Ray Bradbury Prize and was nominated for a Hugo Award for LIGHT FROM UNCOMMON STARS in 2021.

"An adventure set in California's San Gabriel Valley, with cursed violins, Faustian bargains, and queer alien courtship over fresh-made donuts.

Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six.

When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka's ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She's found her final candidate.

But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn't have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan's kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul's worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline.

As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found."

LIGHT FROM UNCOMMON STARS is available for purchase through WritersBlockBookstore.com as a physical book (USPS ship-to-home or in-store pickup), as an audiobook through Libro.fm, or as an e-book through My Must Reads. It is also available to borrow from the Orange County Public Library System as a physical book (via grab-and-go or home delivery) or as an e-book through the OverDrive and Libby apps. If you have questions about how to obtain the book through any of these means, please DM host Shelby Bouck.

*Feel free to suggest a book from any genre for December! It should be published for an adult or young adult audience and be one continuous work, i.e. not a collection of short stories, essays, or poems.