The Stars Never Rise

Gr 9 Up—Like countless teen novels today, The Stars Never Rise is set in a terrible future. There are many plot elements that readers will recognize: an overarching, corrupt governing body (the Unified Church), a broken family with a beloved younger sibling, and supernatural menace. There is also an inconvenient love interest, conspiracies, and lots of action, and Vincent works these into an entertaining story with a unique approach. In this postapocalyptic world, there are only so many souls to go around, because hordes of demons have been feeding on them for centuries. By the mid-21st century, babies are stillborn if there's no donor soul lined up, and demon possession is a constant fear. Seventeen-year-old Nina lives in relative safety in a restrictive church settlement where walls and exorcists keep people safe from "degenerates," or possessed humans whose souls have been eaten away by demons. After extensive background-laying, Nina discovers that her younger sister is pregnant, that her mother has always been possessed and had children to keep herself alive, that bands of outlaw teenage exorcists roam the town, and that she herself is a natural-born exorcist. There's also a body-hopping boy-soul named Finn and a plot to enslave and destroy humanity. The book contains some mature language and themes, especially as Nina tries to regain autonomy over her body after forced sterilization, but nothing overly graphic.