The Sun Is Also a Star
by Nicola Yoon
★ Top 25 book of 2016 · #21 on Best Books of 2016
A single day in New York City brings together Natasha, who trusts science over fate, and Daniel, a dreamer under family pressure. With her family facing deportation within hours, a chance meeting raises the question of which future will unfold.
Best for: Readers who enjoy love stories with shifting narrators and a ticking clock
The Sun Is Also a Star is #21 on BookWard's Best Books of 2016, out of 68 2016 books that cleared our data bar.
What The Sun Is Also a Star is about
Natasha Kingsley and Daniel Bae are two teenagers in New York City who meet and spend several hours together. Natasha is an undocumented immigrant from Jamaica, living in Brooklyn, and her family is about to be deported. She trusts science and facts, not fate. Daniel, the son of Korean immigrants in Harlem, is a poet who is resisting his parents' hope that he will become a doctor.
Natasha seeks help from an immigration lawyer, then walks into a record store and meets Daniel, who is in the city for a college admissions interview. They spend several hours together, arguing over love and destiny from opposite sides. This young adult novel by Nicola Yoon was a #1 New York Times best seller, won her the John Steptoe New Talent Award, and became a 2019 film.
The Sun Is Also a Star on the Best Books of 2016
The Sun Is Also a Star came out in 2016. Of the 68 books first published in 2016 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #21 on our Best Books of 2016 list.
Why it made the list: 837 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.8 out of 5 (31 ratings); 46 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2016 list
- It Didn't Start with You Mark Wolynn, #19
- Pillow Thoughts Courtney Peppernell, #20
- The Wild Robot Peter Brown, #22
- The Girl Who Drank the Moon Kelly Regan Barnhill, #23
See all Best Books of 2016 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2015 Best Books of 2017.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 744 want to read it, 46 are reading it now and 47 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 3.8 out of 5 from 31 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 76 | 55% |
| Reader love | 19 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 75 | 20% |
Questions about The Sun Is Also a Star
When was The Sun Is Also a Star published?
The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon was first published in 2016.
Was The Sun Is Also a Star one of the best books of 2016?
The Sun Is Also a Star is #21 on BookWard's Best Books of 2016, out of 68 2016 books that cleared our data bar. 837 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.8 out of 5 (31 ratings); 46 are reading it right now.
Why is The Sun Is Also a Star on the Best Books of 2016 list?
837 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.8 out of 5 (31 ratings); 46 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 2016
- It Ends with Us Colleen Hoover, #1
- Dog Man Dav Pilkey, #2
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Mark Manson, #3
- Never Split the Difference Chris Voss, #4
- The Hidden Oracle Rick Riordan, #5
- Born a Crime Trevor Noah, #6
See the full Best Books of 2016, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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