“Love is resistance. Resistance is love.”
Libba Bray’s latest novel, “Under the Same Stars,” conveys this message with all the heart readers could hope for. Published Feb. 4, 2025, the historical fiction mystery is an enthralling story told with three alternating focuses: Sophie and Hanna in 1939 Germany, Jenny in 1980 West Berlin, and Miles and Chloe in 2020 New York City.
As with many books of the same style, the individual stories of resistance and love slowly come together under the reader’s eyes, linking seemingly unrelated tales together into one long chain of intertwined events. Sophie and Hanna’s trust-filled rebellion against Nazi Germany is crucial to Jenny’s punk awakening in Berlin, as it is to Miles’ reconnection with his old friend Chloe, just as much as it is to solving the mystery of her grandmother’s fairytales-which may not be purely fantastical after all.
Overall, this leads to a mystery that is difficult to put down and filled with intrigue. Readers uncover layer after layer of the ultimate fates of those characters set in the past and the way they will influence the futures of those in the modern era. Foreshadowing is handled with inspiring skill, leading the reader to strive to put the pieces together themself and realize the secrets that were hinted at earlier in awe. This line of mystery, as all three perspectives run parallel in conflict, climax and resolution, is seamlessly well done.
The greatest failing of this book, however, goes hand in hand with those greatest elements. “Under the Same Stars” falls prey to the issue that many people tend to have with books containing multiple perspectives: one of them is lacking. In comparison to the action and tension within the German-set chapters, Miles’ story in New York feels bland. In the midst of the pandemic, life is filled with fear of the COVID-19 virus but is inherently restricted by the nature of isolation. Relative to the other sections, those focusing on Miles and Chloe, even their complicated and unresolved feelings for each other, seem to drag.
Otherwise, while the plot is well conveyed and constructed for the vast majority of the book, the last several pages leave some to be desired. Jenny’s story is the primary culprit in this aspect. She spends a seemingly life-changing summer in Berlin: exploring her sexuality through a relationship with a punk girl named Lena, redefining her relationship with herself and diet culture and seeing parts of life that her comfortable middle-class family would never have been privy to, only to return home at the end with no follow-up. Her resolution leaves nearly as many questions as answers, without any real confirmation or denial of many important aspects of her character arc. Readers know that she’s grown as a person, but it’s hard to see how that actually reaches out into her life.
Thankfully, these faults don’t make the book unworthy of reading. As historical fiction, it does an excellent job of showing history repeating itself and how that happens to appear in rebellion and resistance. Hanna and Sophie’s plotline in Nazi Germany also shows a different angle in comparison to the hordes of other WWII historical fiction out there. The girls begin as compliant, if not utterly loyal, citizens of the totalitarian government but find their way to rebellion as a result of their own experiences. While this progression is mirrored by all the protagonists, it feels most potent in regards to a culture that the modern eye sees very clearly as wrong.
All in all, the central theme of love and resistance going hand in hand is emotionally touching. Love, romantic, platonic and self-directed, is the saving grace of the characters Bray offers up. Without it, they would be stuck in complacency and the trap of passive life that many fall into. In this day and age, the message is absolutely needed.
Bray calls readers to action through an utterly compelling story of love and the results of resistance. Although imperfect, “Under the Same Stars” holds up as a needed story in a time of stress and strife across the world. We could all use a little more love and resistance.
This story was originally published on Hayes Talisman on March 12, 2025.
