Astra

I was intrigued by the premise and then by the structure. While I loved the idea of learning about Astra through the eyes of those in her life, I felt like there was an aspect missing, that kept me from being bewitched by her. Although, maybe that was the point? The people in her life seemed obsessed with Astra, as most of their narrative revolved around her—which makes sense, Astra is the storyline—but I had a hard time believing Astra was worthy of the obsession? Surely she had a singular upbringing, but from the evidence presented by the people she interacts with she seems to live a life typical of what I'd expect from a victim of childhood neglect. An ‘average' response to it? Because we're so distanced from Astra, it's hard to know which of her victories were hard won, which defeats she was accountable for... An interesting book to be sure, but missed the mark a little for my taste. Wanted more of Astra.

As a writer, I found the structure of this book the most interesting thing about it. But this is not to negate the wonderful character development this book creates. Cedar had many character POV's separated by chapters and each voice was distinct.
I love a book about cult-like surroundings but this book only poked at it, which I was worried would bore me, but the life outside the cult was just as interesting.
Good read!