IN SIGHT OF STARS is an emotional and touching young adult
novel about mental illness written by Gae Polisner. A story
that is told from alternating timelines to help you piece
together Klee's life. It's a raw and heart felt look at what
it is
truly like to live with a mental illness that at times can
overtake your life. When the revelations and truth surface, you
will be stunned.
Polisner has written a novel that starts with a shocking truth
that shares different happenings in Klee's life. When different
aspects are revealed, it helps to unlock a piece of the puzzle
that will help to solve or explain the issues of an illness
that is hard to comprehend. While reading, you will go through
an emotional roller coaster of a ride that will have you in
tears one moment and understanding the next. Polisner uses
descriptive writing to express the pain and suffering that Klee
faces each and every day.
IN THE SIGHT OF STARS as a unique list of characters, all of
which are well developed. Some characters are easier to relate
to than others. A few are more complex and flawed. Together,
they help to mesh with the plot and help to tell an amazing
story that is full of love, hope, heartbreak, and loss.
Polisner pens a lovely and beautiful story with every sentence
and every paragraph to help make the story flow at a steady
pace. The overall sense of the story and characters are more
intense and grown up. This helps to make the topic seem even
more real than it already is. IN SIGHT OF STARS is an emotional
read that is sure to stay with you!
Seventeen-year-old Klee’s father was the center of his life. He introduced Klee to the great museums of New York City and the important artists on their walls, he told him stories made of myths and magic. Until his death. Now, forced to live in the suburbs with his mom, Klee can’t help but feel he’s lost all the identifying parts of himself—his beloved father, weekly trips to the MoMA, and the thrumming energy of New York City. That is until he meets wild and free Sarah in art class, with her quick smiles and jokes about his “brooding.” Suddenly it seems as if she’s the only thing that makes him happy. But when an act of betrayal sends him reeling, Klee lands in what is bitingly referred to as the “Ape Can,” a psychiatric hospital for teens in Northhollow. While there, he undergoes intensive therapy and goes back over the pieces of his life to find out what was real, what wasn’t, and whether he can stand on his own feet again. Told in alternating timelines, leading up to the event that gets him committed and working towards getting back out, Gae Polisner’s In Sight of Stars is a gorgeous novel told in minimalist strokes to maximal effect, about what makes us fall apart and how we can put ourselves back together again.