Light From Uncommon StarsLight From Uncommon Stars
What it's about
Shizuka Satomi, a legendary violin teacher, made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must deliver the souls of seven violin prodigies. She has six. Then she meets Katrina, a young trans runaway with raw talent, and she also meets Lan Tran, who runs a donut shop in the San Gabriel Valley and is secretly an alien starship captain hiding from war.
Why it's worth reading
It was a Hugo finalist and a Goodreads Choice finalist. It's a joyful, genre-bending story about music, food and found family.
You'll love it if you liked
The Golem and the Jinni
Legends & Lattes
FaustGood to know
Katrina's past includes abuse and transphobic violence, described frankly.
By the numbers
- Readers38 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics25 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller28 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz26 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #198 of the 313 science fiction books we rank
- #303 of the 459 fantasy books we rank
- #341 of the 481 new books we rank
- #1994 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Adventurous
If you like this, read next
Tress of the Emerald Sea
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
The First to Die at the End
Iron Widow
Death of the Author
A Sorceress Comes to CallExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is Light From Uncommon Stars worth reading?
Yes. It was a Hugo finalist and a Goodreads Choice finalist. It ranks #1,994 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 64.0 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Light From Uncommon Stars about?
Shizuka Satomi, a legendary violin teacher, made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must deliver the souls of seven violin prodigies. She has six. Then she meets Katrina, a young trans runaway with raw talent, and she also meets Lan Tran, who runs a donut shop in the San Gabriel Valley and is secretly an alien starship captain hiding from war.
How long does it take to read Light From Uncommon Stars?
About 9 hours (365 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Light From Uncommon Stars?
If you liked it, try The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker, Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree or Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.