And the Stars Were Burning Brightly

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Do you think it hurts?' Phoebe says. 'Dying ... Do you think it hurt Al?' She pauses. 'Was he in pain?' I actually found it surprisingly easy! I worked as an English teacher in an FE College for a long time (and have also spent a lot of time running workshops in secondary schools) so writing from the perspective of a teenager was almost second nature. This was a heartbreaking, though provoking, beautiful story about some horrible issues but which are so relevant today.

Described as ‘An outstanding and compassionate debut’ by Patrice Lawrence, Danielle Jawando’s YA novel And The Stars Were Burning Brightly is an extraordinary novel about loss, love and the power of speaking up when all you want to do is shut down. In this interview, Danielle tells us about the inspiration behind her book, and the importance of writing about this difficult subject matter. I hold the drawing up against the window so the paper goes this weird off-white colour, and I stare at the picture of Al, scared and hunched over. I move my finger over the words. Help me. Help me. Wot if Al had been in trouble and I hadn't even known? There were times where I didn't think I could finish this book. I started it in a time where I wasn't doing very well. My own suicide attempt happend a little over a year ago and I'm still struggling with a depression. I questioned if this was a good time to read this book as it could trigger some stuff for me but I found that it was good for me to read this book. I have buried a lot of those feelings and my feelings about being bullied in high school for many, many years but this book made me revisit them and I think I'm stronger because of it now than I have ever been.

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Nathan wants to work out why his brother would take such drastic measures without asking him for help. Nathan has to deal with all kinds of emotions such as guilt, anger, despair and grief to try to try to understand why Al did it. He meets Al’s friend from school Megan who too wants to find out what happened and is desperate to keep Al’s memory alive. The book switches between Megan and Nathan’s POV. There is at the start of each chapter a short monologue from Al which was written so beautifully that you will want to keep rereading each passage over and over again.

This is a story about how Nathan and Megan try to come to terms with the suicide of Nathan's brother, Al. As Nathan searches for why Al took his life, we discover why bullying happens, and why the sideliners let it happen, not joining in but thinking it's OK to watch, record and upload videos of the bullying.

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