"An incredibly strong debut.... It's well worth your time."--New York Journal of Books &nbsp; In a world where female bodies hold the map to the future, one young woman must fight to change her family's fate. &nbsp; Celeste Morton has eagerly awaited her passage to adulthood. Like every girl, she was born with a set of childhood markings--the freckles, moles, and birthmarks on her body that foretell her future and that of those around her--and with puberty will come a new set of predictions that will solidify her fate. The possibilities are tantalizing enough to outweigh her worry that the future she dreams of won't be the one she's fated to experience. Celeste's beloved brother, Miles, who is training to be a fortune-teller, is equally anticipating what Celeste's transformation will reveal. But when Celeste matures into her adult markings, she discovers a devastating omen about Miles's future. Desperate to protect her family from the truth, Celeste's once charmed life unravels, forcing her to question everything she's ever known about fate and female agency, and face the perils of knowing what's to come too soon.

Body of Stars: A Novel

Literature & Fiction

Walter, Laura Maylene

Literary

Dutton

'We have a new The Handmaid's Tale... an exciting new literary voice with a dazzling imagination' EMMA KENNEDY 
'Compelling, menacing and ultimately uplifting, I fell headlong into the world of Body of Stars' SARAH WARD 
'Rapturously written and wildly original, Laura Maylene Walter's debut novel maps the dreams and nightmares of girlhood' EMILYY SCHULTZ 
'What a gift Laura Maylene Walter has given us in Body of Stars' ANNE VALENTE\nNo future, dear reader, can break a woman on its own\nA bold and dazzling exploration of fate and female agency in a world where women own the future but not their own bodies.\nLike every woman, Celeste Morton holds a map of the future in her skin, every mole and freckle a clue to unlocking what will come to pass. With puberty comes the changeling period - when her final marks will appear and her future is decided.\nThe possibilities are tantalising enough for Celeste's excitement to outweigh her fear. Changelings are sought after commodities and abduction is rife as men seek to possess these futures for themselves.\nCeleste's marks have always been closely entwined with her brother, Miles. Her skin holds a future only he, as a gifted interpreter, can read and he has always considered his sister his practice ground. But when Celeste's marks change she learns a devastating secret about her brother's future that she must keep to herself - and Miles is keeping a secret of his own. When the lies of brother and sister collide, Celeste determines to create a future that is truly her own.\nBody of Stars is an urgent read about what happens when women are objectified and violently stripped of choice - and what happens when they fight back.\n'Part allegory, part warning, and part celebration of the female body, this is a thrilling and flawlessly crafted debut about the potential women have to hold magic, make magic, and change the course of history with the underestimated weapons of intelligence and love.' Courtney Maum, , author of Touch and Costalegre\n'Body of Stars sparks with tenderness and beauty, and Walter's writing on the female body is genuine art. A thought-provoking exploration of fate and forced binaries, this is a book that lingers.' Erika Swyler, author of Light from Other Stars and The Book of Speculation\n'Laura Maylene Walter's Body of Stars will be enjoyed as a novel that employs the fantastic to inventively explore both the victimization and the power of women in a world very much like our own, but its central pleasure and achievement may be its depiction of a complicated and extraordinarily moving sibling relationship. In Walter's generous and capable hands, Miles and Celeste remind us that love often means damage, and that the true test of love is not avoiding that damage, but repairing it when we've caused it.' Karen Shepard, author of Kiss Me Someone\n'A tender rebuke to the idea that biology is destiny, Body of Stars explores the boundaries of family, identity, and predestination. Through the lens of a complex coming-of-age story, Laura Maylene Walter asks us to consider how we can make the future matter when it seems like we already know its outlines, and what the difference is between the destiny of an individual and the fate of a society.' Adrienne Celt, author of Invitation to a Bonfire

Body of Stars: Searing and thought-provoking - the most addictive novel you'll read all year

Contemporary

Hodder Studio

Fiction. This collection of 13 stories feature characters, especially young women, who redefine their sense of belonging by reconciling with their pasts. Whether it is a plain looking woman winning ungainly notoriety as a lingerie window model, a young figure skater being lured by a stalker, or a daughter examining her mother's accidental death at a horse farm, these stories' protagonists surprise themselves and the reader by finding their places in the world through unpredictable turns. "Walter's first book is a collection of fine and finely unsettling stories"—Kristin Ohlson.

Living Arrangements: stories

Short Stories & Anthologies

BkMk Press

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Books by Walter, Laura Maylene