Light From Uncommon Stars

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Science Fiction / General / Aoki, Ryka	4-week checkout	Due 11-21-2025
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Science Fiction / General / Aoki, Ryka	4-week checkout	Due 12-05-2025
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Science Fiction / General / Aoki, Ryka	4-week checkout	Due 11-25-2025

"A Tom Doherty Associates book."
"Good Omens meets The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet in Ryka Aoki's Light From Uncommon Stars, a defiantly joyful 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"-- Provided by publisher.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

School Library Journal Review
Booklist Review
Publishers Weekly Review
Summary / Annotation
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

If you loved House in the Cerulean Sea, this is for you! submitted by mowjac on June 11, 2022, 5:42pm A warm, compassionate, heartfelt caring story about found family and community. The depth of the setting: Southern California's Asian communities, shines throughout the novel and the food descriptions made me hungry. The trans woman is well written and finds comfort, but there is no pretense about how harsh the world can be. I found myself laughing out loud and caring so much about these characters.

Hype-Approved submitted by bookasaurusray on July 27, 2022, 11:28am Selling your soul construct? Violin prodigies? Excellent Asian and LGBTQ+ representation? Worth the hype surrounding this book - listened to the audiobook, which for me, always heightens the experience.

The uncommon energy doesn’t stop submitted by khrobinson on July 8, 2023, 7:31pm A trans girl, world class violinists, and aliens who own a donut shop… of course they all go together! This was such a lovely read with so many strong female characters. It underscores the power of music and of connection.

On my best books list for 2022 submitted by Susan4Pax -prev. sueij- on July 23, 2023, 6:34am Trigger warnings for multiple kinds of trans-related violence, DV, and sexual abuse.
I found this book at my favorite book store with a recommendation tag, and added it to my To Read list. I can’t imagine that the blurb would have inherently caught my interest: aliens, a demon who collects souls, a trans runaway, and violins. And yet… this book is astoundingly better than the sum of its parts and makes sense in ways that I could never have dreamed that it would have.

It's unexpected and clever and heartfelt and insightful and occasionally funny and just brilliant. Readers learn how luthiers make violins and why young trans folks may be forced to exchange sex for housing. It’s deeply reflective about what makes for meaning in life, but in ways that are simply inherent to the story, and not preachy. The ending is foreseeable and surprising all at the same time. The writing is gorgeous, and the characters are nuanced and wonderful.

In a year of excellent books, this one is going onto my best books list. Highly recommended.

Worth it submitted by lballard on June 28, 2024, 12:11am It’s rare that I find a book that has a unique plot. This one does and all the various plot threads are beautifully written. There are twists and reveals, which I don’t want to spoil. In the end it’s a beautiful book about different kinds of love.

Beautiful submitted by yeager on July 15, 2024, 3:33pm An incredible exploration of relationships and family—highly recommend.

This book has *so* much packed into it! submitted by valeriemates on August 23, 2025, 9:52pm This book has ducks, a transgender violin prodigy, a cursed violin teacher, space aliens running a donut shop, and an interesting story to tell about inclusiveness and caring. It took about sixty pages before it got going, and had some nasty transphobia and two awful scenes that I wish weren't in there. I definitely would not give this book to a kid. But as an adult I really enjoyed reading it.