Began reading: 30.4.2017
Completed reading: 1.5.2017
Overall rating: 4 stars
“I can’t ever be the blazing star that Iris was. I’m still just a cold, dark satellite orbiting a star that went super nova.”
Andria’s twin sister, Iris, had adoring friends, a cool boyfriend, a wicked car, and a shelf full of soccer trophies. She had everything, in fact – including a drug problem. Six months after Iris’s death, Andria is trying to keep her grades, her friends, and her family from falling apart. But stargazing and books aren’t enough to ward off her guilt that she – the freak with the scary illness and all-black wardrobe – is still here when Iris isn’t. And then there’s Alex Hammond. The boy Andria blames for Iris’s death. The boy she’s unwittingly started swapping lines of poetry and secrets with, even as she tries to keep hating him.
Trigger warning: this book contains suicide, substance abuse and sexual assault/paedophilia.
Dreaming of Antigone by Robin Bridges is a contemporary young adult novel that contains romance. Judging by the cover of the book, you would think that it would be a sweet read. You’d be wrong – it has some dark themes, which really surprised me (in a good way!). Overall, I found this book to be a really good read, especially because it accurately portrayed what it would be like to lose a twin. I don’t know how it feels personally, but the book did answer some questions about the loss of a twin.
Following Iris’s death, Andria and her family are unsure of what caused Iris to commit suicide. Iris had everything – popularity, beauty, love and talent. Andria, on the other hand, is the complete opposite – introverted, academic and lives with epilepsy. Looking for someone to blame for Iris’s death, Andria holds Iris’s boyfriend Alex responsible. Little does she know that the poetry she trades with a mysterious poem-loving student is Alex. When Andria is asked to work with Alex on cataloguing poetry books for extra credit, they get to know each other and discover that they have more in common than first thought. Andria shares her interest in stargazing with Alex, and together they try to understand and accept Iris’s death. The question is, will they be able to push past their grief and everyone’s opinions and stay together, or will their loss be too much for them to handle?
The novel was well-written, and flowed extremely well. I really liked how the story progressed – in a chronological order, but using a flashback to reveal what happened on the night that Iris died. I thought that was pretty creative. There were also some great quotes in the book, including:
I have to stop being so sensitive. People joke about death. Because people die every day. And I have to get used to that (p. 80).
It’s really not all about me. The world is going to go right on spinning, whether I want it to stop or not. Sisters die. Boys fall in love. Friends move on (p. 80).
I know I was dreaming about Iris, but I can’t remember what it was about. I’m tired of the dreams of her trying to tell me something when I can’t hear her, or understand her, or see her. It’s so frustrating, and maybe that’s what the dreams mean. I’m frustrated that I didn’t see or hear anything going on in her life until it was too late. I can’t hear her in my dreams because I never heard her crying out for help in real life (p. 132).
I take one last look up into the sky before carrying my stuff inside. The three stars of Orion’s Belt twinkle on, oblivious to what’s going on down here below. And I know fifteen hundred light-years away, stars are still being born and stars are still dying. The universe doesn’t give a damn about what I want. But dear God, Alex, all I want is you (p. 139).
What is the point of having hope if it keeps getting taken away from you? (p. 167).
Aside from the GORGEOUS cover, I was really drawn to the blurb – stargazing, romance and books? Sign me up! In all seriousness, I thought that the stargazing, poetry, and mystery surrounding Iris’s death were interesting. When I was in high school, I had an interest in the stars – not as in-depth as Andria, but I loved constellations and the stories behind them. I’m not a big fan of poetry, but the ones in the book were straightforward, so I found them enjoyable. The blurb promised multiple plot lines, so I knew that I had to read it.
Speaking of multiple plot lines, a range of characters is essential to keep things interesting. I found it easy to follow each of the students that Andria associated with, as they each had their own ‘voice’. Not once did I become confused about who was who, because each character was unique. Each had a role to play in Andria’s life, making them a significant part of the book. For example, Trista was Iris’s best friend and she was a little bit of a b*tch to Andria. Her plot line was revealed a little later in the book, but it added substance to Iris’s character, even though she wasn’t actually there with the other characters. In my opinion, plot lines are important for adding detail to a story, and I believe that Bridges did an awesome job with it.
I don’t really come across many books that have a sweet message – or maybe I have, but I didn’t pick up on them. Having a message or moral to the story is important for shaping thinking and empowering the reader. Despite the dark themes in the book, I think that the messages were special: finding your place in the world, and if things don’t work out the first time, it’s ok to take your time and try again – in other words, be patient with yourself. How’s that for a feel-good read?
Another component of the book that I liked was the accurate portrayal of grief. This has been something that I’ve been thinking about lately – how quickly people move on after someone dies. I don’t mean family, but friends and people who didn’t know the individual. I always wonder how quickly people movie on, and this was demonstrated in the novel. After Iris’s death, her friends tried to include Andria into their group, partly because she seemed like a decent replacement. Of course, this kind of thought process is wrong, but it highlights how some people try to cling to ‘normalcy’. Also, the way in which Andria and her mother grieved for Iris was authentic and emotional, so I have no doubt that this text was realistic when trying to portray grief and loss.
Romance was an interesting plot line, which had me feeling hopeful that Andria would be happy. I loved the way in which they began interacting – exchanging lines of poetry and not knowing who the other person was. It was cute and creative, but the relationship between these two also felt strange. I didn’t think that it was right for them to be together, especially after Andria had seen Iris and Alex together. Wouldn’t it be weird if you started dating your dead twin’s partner? I think so. But pushing that aside, I felt that they shouldn’t have ended up together. Yes, Alex made Andria happy, which is what I wanted for her but it felt unrealistic. I think that the story would’ve ended better if they had broken up and went their separate ways. It would have been an unexpected but somewhat necessary conclusion to the book.
My favourite character was Andria because she was relatable, loyal, courageous, patient, responsible and articulate. To be honest, I could go on for days describing all of her qualities! As I mentioned before, we share similar interests and share the same personalities. I think that she’s a very admirable role model, and I wouldn’t be surprised if many other readers found her to be their favourite too.
Andria’s mother bothered me, as did Trista. They were both grieving, but they seemed a little too harsh on Andria. I was shocked by some of the things Andria’s mum said to Iris before she died. One positive thing I can say about her is that she was fiercely protective of Andria after everything with Craig blew up. On a brighter note, why couldn’t I have had an awesome librarian like Verla while I was in high school? My school librarian was nowhere near as nice as Verla – she always had that resting b*tch face, hated when students needed her help, and would just be plain nasty. I wasn’t a fan.
My favourite parts of the novel were Andria’s stargazing, poem exchanges and the flashback to the night of Iris’s death. As I’ve said, I loved seeing a character take an interest in the stars. The poem exchanges were adorable. The flashback was insightful, emotional and a little unexpected.
Recommendation time! If you like The Space Between by Michelle L. Teichman, A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend by Emily Horner, The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, you will love this book. Also, I recommend this book to anyone who likes Rabbit Hole, Big Little Lies, This is Where I Leave You, Monster’s Ball, and Ordinary People.
Happy reading!
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