Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki Published by Tor Books, 2021

Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

Published by Tor Books, 2021

A defiantly joyful fantasy adventure set in California’s San Gabriel Valley, with cursed violins, Faustian bargains, and a queer alien courtship over fresh-made donuts.

Renowned classical violin instructor, Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil many years ago: to escape damnation, she must entice seven violin prodigies to trade their souls for success.  As this story begins, she has delivered six, over the period of forty-eight years, and she has just one more year to deliver the seventh, or she herself will be damned in Hell forever.

When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway from Oakland, California catches Shizuka’s ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting.  She believes that she has finally found her final candidate to deliver to Hell, in exchange for her own soul.  But will Shizuka, nicknamed “Queen of Hell” by the classical violin world, be able to convince Katrina to trade her soul for success?  Katrina is different from the other six violin prodigies that Shizuka trained, because Katrina doesn’t yearn for success as a concert violinist.  Instead, Katrina yearns for love, understanding, acceptance, and a place to call home.  Katrina is different in other ways too.  She has had no formal training on her violin, which is a cheap beginner’s variety, that she purchased on eBay.  Also, she has learned her skills primarily from listening to instrumental music that accompany video games.  Katrina’s ambitions include becoming a musical internet success with millions of followers, not being the winner of classical music competitions.  Will Katrina actually become Shizuka’s seventh prodigy to deliver to Hell?  Shizuka doesn’t even have an internet router in her home and has never heard of the video games that Katrina talks about.  Shizuka welcomes Katrina into her home as her newest student, and provides her with much needed understanding and acceptance, but Shizuka has a lot to learn from Katrin too.  As the months pass, the two become close, almost like mother and daughter.  Will Shizuka truly be able to deliver this beautiful young woman to the devil?

In a companion story happening at the same time, Shizuka develops a crush on Lan Tran, the welcoming new owner of Starrgate Donut, a successful local donut shop located near Shizuka’s home, that features a giant concrete and plaster donut over its entrance.  Unbeknownst to the Earthling customers who frequent this popular donut shop, Lan, the donut lady, is a retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four.  Lan and her family are doing more than just baking and selling donuts at this shop.

From the book:

Lan strode past the kitchen and opened what had been the door to the cleaning closet.  But instead of mops and buckets, behind it was a new shiny elevator leading down to the recently completed lower level, which now housed the control center, research laboratory, sick bay, and living compound, as well as an underground hanger for their starship.  Here at Starrgate Donut, Lan and her family would safely wait out the fall of the Galactic Empire, continue their work, and live undisturbed.

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 music, magic, identity, curses, and hope unfolds, and family worth crossing the universe for is found.

Readers Warning: This book is cataloged by libraries as adult fiction because young adult Katrina suffers cruelty, physical abuse, and transphobia from parents and peers alike, and turns to sex trafficking and pornography to make ends meet.  There are happy outcomes, but there is a lot of teen angst and suffering along the way.  Having said that, the book is extremely well written and has won many literary awards including: 2022 Hugo Award for Best Novel, 2022 Stonewall Book Award for Literature, 2022 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature, and 2022 American Library Association Alex Award.

Ryka Aoki (she/her) is a writer, composer, performer, judo black belt, and professor of English at Sant Monica College.  She has been honored by the California State Senate for “extraordinary commitment to the visibility and well-being of transgender people.”  Learn more by visiting Ryka Aoki’s website:  https://rykaryka.com/bio/

This book review was submitted by Stand with Trans
advocate Barb Shumer, who is a past board member and retired public librarian..