I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is a story of loss and grief and blame, and somehow finding hope at the bottom of it all. Andria is still mourning the death of her twin sister, Iris, and tries to recover pieces of herself through poetry and star-gazing. She finds herself falling for Iris’ boyfriend Alex, whom Andria ostensibly blames for Iris’ death. However, as the story unfolds, we learn that Andria truly blames herself.

I liked the poetry in this book okay, but the choices were obvious and the whole extra credit project in the library seemed totally contrived to get the two young lovers together. As a teacher, I would never ever give students a “free test grade” for anything other than…umm…passing the test. Just saying.

I did enjoy Andria as a protagonist. I thought her fears and struggles were real, and I loved her observations of the world around her. I also really enjoyed her friend, Natalie, and the development of some solid parental figures.

Overall, I would recommend this to fans of If I Stay.

At its heart, this is a very sweet and believable teen love story. A few things kept me from giving it a higher rating, however. First of all, for me, was the "framing" device of Antigone, which, I'm sorry, didn't work at all. Honestly, the only parallel is that there are two sisters, one of whom commits suicide. There's no particular thematic connection - the ethical concerns that drive Antigone the play are absent here, the conflict between religious beliefs and the laws of the state is not relevant, nor are the family relationships. I did, however, like the poetry that Andria and Alex used to communicate with one another - that was one literary device that worked. At the beginning of the novel, I found it a bit improbable that a girl of Iris' background would have overdosed from freebasing heroin and that no one could have seen it coming. However, plot developments that I won't discuss did provide more motivation as the novel progressed. I felt, on the whole, that the author's reach somewhat exceeded her grasp. Had she resisted the temptation to throw in all the bells and whistles I think she would have ended up with a more affecting novel.
I was given a copy of this novel by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This young adult novel is best read by students in high school. It uses the F-word, has one sex scene that involves drug use. Drugs, molestation, and suicide are all prominent topics in the book.

It was an interesting story with a dynamic main character who is struggling with the death of her twin sister as well as her own medical condition. Her interest in poetry and astronomy are woven throughout the novel. There are intense topics that are not necessarily handled well but realistically in some cases by flawed minor characters. This novel is truly YA and as such an adult reader may get annoyed with some overly romantic notions and saccharine.moments between the teenage characters.

Overall, a solid read for a more mature YA female reader. Most boys would not enjoy this story.

Every star has its own path…

“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.

(Source: Received digital copy, in exchange of honest review. Thanks to Kensington Books & Netgalley)

This book ended up being much more than I imagined it to be. When I first came across this book when I was on Netgalley, and the moment that I saw the description, I fallen in love with the story already. DREAMING OF ANTIGONE sounded just type of books that I love. I had a feeling that it was going to be a sad story, but I didn’t realize how sad it was going to be, and it got to the point where I couldn’t put the book down. Despite being dark and sad I found myself unable to pull myself away from Andria’s story. As I read the book, I felt like I became part of Andria’s story, as I saw through her eyes, and through her pain. Even if I didn’t lose anyone way that she did, I can imagine the pain of losing a loved one. However I can’t even begin to imagine how it must felt like, to lose a loved one through drugs, only to find out later that there is so much more than that. DREAMING OF ANTIGONE was the type of book that will have you thinking, will have you wonder what others secrets are there, what will happen next? It’s not just a book about romance but family, friendship, secrets.

Andria: I felt sorry for her. I could tell that loss of her twin, Iris was hard on her, even if there were times that she tried to hide that. Plus her mom was overprotective due to her seizures. I do understand where she was coming from, after all she just lost one of her children, and she didn’t want to lose another. I did love the writing style, how we followed Andria by the days she had left till she could take her driver’s test, it was interesting to read. Of course I couldn’t help but wonder if she would actually make it this time. I think that Andria was suffering more than she let on, and it feels like if it wasn’t for her friends and Alex, she might have been worse off than she was. I did notice the sighnfigant change in her from beginning of the book, to the end of book. Now Alex, their relationship was different, mostly because she blamed him for Iris’ s death but at the same time she couldn’t help but feel some sort of connection to him. I couldn’t help but wonder if he felt the same about her, the ways he pushed her away at times did make me wonder. Despite what happened in past, I did find myself rooting for the two of them.

Of course I loved the cover. Just look at it? How can you not fall in love with the cover? It’s stunning and at the same time, mysterious. Actually the cover of the book was one of the first things that caught my attention, it had me curious about the book. The way that couple looking up at the sky, you can’t help but wonder if there are looking for more than stars. Also the title, it’s so unique but at the same time fits the storyline so well. DREAMING OF ANTIGONE is also filled with so many unexpected twists that even you don’t see coming. The type of twists that you find yourself re-reading just make sure that you read it right. I couldn’t get enough of this novel. Beautifully written. It’s a first book I read by this author and won’t be the last. A book that is worth it every page.

This book is full of stuff that I love - Greek tragic references, poetry, and high emotion. It's a complicated situation that Andria is in, having suffered from epilepsy her whole life and having been treated differently because of it, and the death of her sister (as well as other events in the novel) isolates her further from her peers. On the surface, she seems like a typical goth girl - wears all black, quotes poetry, doesn't fit in with anyone - but as we know (because we're in her head) she has a lot to deal with, emotionally as well as physically.

One thing that surprised me (in a good way) was just how present Iris was in the novel, even though her death had occurred well before the novel opens. If I were to make this book into a movie, I would definitely choose to cast someone to play Iris and to employ lots of flashback scenes. Iris is ever-present to Andria (understandably), and for much of the novel, she is this mythical, larger-than-life figure. She is similar to a manic pixie dream girl at times, but rather than being devoid of a rich internal life, Iris in fact suffered from something very real and serious, and like every character in this novel, I found myself drawn to her as well. She exists in that dreamy, romanticized way that memories often do, but the reality of her pain is tragic.

Alex walks that fine line as well, between being a fiction cliche and being a realized character. Broody, misunderstood, and romantic, it's easy to write him off as girly-fiction fodder, but I could see in certain moments how much pain he is in as well, and it's not a romantic sort of pain either. The burden he carries regarding Iris' death as well as the difficulty of kicking addiction is nothing to scoff at.

I really loved this book. I didn't quite give it five stars because I was so not interested in any of the other teens in this story (like the best friends), but the parts that I loved, I really loved.

I was gifted this ebook from Netgalley.
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
I really enjoyed this book. I'm not going to lie, I added it to my TBR solely for that cover because would you just look at it! Dreaming of Antigone follows the story of Iris, a girl who has epilepsy and a girl who just lost her twin sister to a heroin overdose 6 months ago. The story goes through Iris's struggles to grieve her sister while uncovering more and more information about what happened that led up to that night her sister died. I really enjoyed how fleshed out the characters were. I liked the use of Antigone's story, poetry, and astronomy in the the plot. It was a wonderfully written book.

I can't even put a finger on what I loved most about this book, I just know that I couldn't put it down. I started reading it because it was next on my ever-expanding list of NetGalley books, and I figured it would take me a week or so. Nope, two days later, I was clawing at my Kindle, trying to figure out why the book ended and why there wasn't more hiding somewhere. I couldn't even read the sneak peek of her next book because I knew I would want to read more of it, and that seemed so unfair that I would have to wait for that, too.

Andria and her family are still reeling over the death of her twin sister, Iris. Andria has curled into herself, shunning most friends and only trying to get through the next two weeks without having a seizure so she can get her driver's license. That's not an exaggeration: Andria suffers from epilepsy. But the next two weeks tests everything that Andria has: her grades are slipping, her friends are pushing her to be social, and her sister's ex-boyfriend suddenly comes back from rehab with a new look on life. As Andria's story moves forward, her sister's story unravels, and the entire town is in for a big surprise when everything finally comes to light.

While sitting in bed today thinking about books (because that's what I do), I realized that books that give me the information I need without me even knowing it are my favorite kinds (see: JK Rowling). I guess sometimes I really like feeling like a fool at the end, like I should have seen this coming, if only I had read the sacred text close enough. Robin Bridges lays out the story of Antigone in the early chapters of the book, and I read through it, nodding and thinking, yes, yes, of course, this information is relevant, but not all of it. Well, it ends up that that information was more relevant than I could ever imagine.

What starts off as a simple (???) story of a terrible tragedy and the ripples it leaves behind, takes a quick left turn into an even more harrowing disaster that affects more people than previously believed. And, really, isn't that the true definition of a Greek tragedy? Everything you know is wrong and to prove that, we're going to through the worst at you? Yep, that's this book. Just when you start getting comfortable and falling in love, Robin Bridges hits you with reality. What was especially interesting was how the other characters reacted, because sometimes little information like that is left out. But this was a bombshell, and everyone had been affected, and Bridges made sure to inform the reader how everyone reacted. It was small, but effective.

I appreciated the poetry that was really at the center of this book. Whitman, Dickinson, Rossetti, all the lines were picked with care and they fit so beautifully in the story. It prepared the reader for what was to come, as well as gave them a peek inside the backstory of these people, one that wouldn't be shared until the end of the book. I love the idea that words written hundreds of years ago bind people together, and can create bonds in the unlikeliest of places.

Oh, hey, did I also mention that there could have been a potentially heart-wrenching scene involving an animal and the author didn't do it? Yeah. I will never be more grateful than when the episode passed without anyone harmed. THANK YOU.

* Many thanks to Kensington Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. *


The pages were easily turning while I read this one. The characters were easy to empathise with and didn’t feel fake or overdone. Andria is your relatively typical teen learning to deal with the aftermath of a devastating event. Her budding feelings for Alex; the boy responsible for her sisters death are met by guilt and shame, but he just seems to understand what she’s going through more than anyone else around her.

Both Andria and Alex are damaged characters. Andria has almost always lived in her twin sister’s shadow. She was the sickly one, the one who was never allowed to join any of the school teams for fear that she might suffer an ‘episode’. Their overprotective mother has always fussed over her, none of them ever realizing that Iris was the one who needed protection. Alex, is recovering from a trip to rehab. In Andrias eyes he is to blame for Iris’ overdose and ultimate death, after all he was Iris’ boyfriend and the one who got her into drugs in the first place. Hating him comes to her naturally, especially since he is to blame for all the pain caused to her family… and yet she is drawn to him in a way that she shouldn’t be.

Half way through this book took a pretty dramatic turn, one I definitely did not see coming. We discover the reality behind Iris’s overdose and it’s a doozy. From then on the book focuses on the characters coming to terms with this new development and what it means for each of them in relation to Iris’ death.

This is the story of two broken teens, who share a common tragic event which draws them together in unexpected ways. While their romance is not an easy one, there is a mutual understanding of one another. We explore the theme of death and the ‘survivors’ left behind, and get asked the ultimate questions of ‘What if I had known? and Would I have been able to stop it?’

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DNF

I'm not connecting to the characters and the story isn't gripping me at all. I might try again later.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks, Netgalley!

I am as picky a reader as I am voracious--it's rare that I give a book a full 5 stars, and even rarer that I find myself lacking even one tiny thing I wish had been different about the book. This is one of those rare cases. Not only did I absolutely love this book, but I'm pleasantly surprised at how many things I loved about it.

I loved the parallels to Antigone, my favorite of the Greek plays and one of my favorite characters. I loved the shoutouts to Diana Wynne Jones and Howl's Moving Castle, my all-time favorite book. I loved the beautiful snippets of poetry, the way they were used in communication, the amateur astronomy (another one of my favorite things), the fact that it was set in Athens... Okay. True. On the face of it, a lot of why I loved this book is because it dealt, delightfully, with nearly all of my favorite things.

But I also loved the book and respected the author tremendously for the way that it deals with extremely delicate subject matter. My heart broke over and over again for Andria, her loss, her epilepsy, her blessedly overbearing mother. (Epilepsy or no, if my mother had packed healthy snacks for a sleepover for me at any age, I would have sunk into the earth in mortification and rage.) The author tackled difficult subjects with grace and kindness, making them all the more poignant. Much as I love to read, I generally read as an escape and don't often get deeply emotionally invested, but here I really, really was. I cheered for them, hoped they would find their resolutions, even cried a little for them. This may be one of the most surprising gems I read this year.