9. Stardust

Gaiman, Neil. Stardust. New York: Harper, 1999.

Annotation:

Pirates with flying ships, evil witches, dark and conniving princes, and beautiful falling stars. Tristan Thorn doesn't know what adventures await him beyond The Wall.

Justification for Nomination:

Everyone has heard about Stardust the movie, but the idea of the movie had to come from somewhere. As I read I tried not to compare the novel to the movie, but I had to on some subjects. The movie was fantastic, but the novel pulled its own weight and was equally fantastic. The opening of the book is very informing and educational so that people who read Stardust could fully understand what the novel would be about. Readers learn about the characters, the town of Wall, and the magical land of Faerie which is beyond The Wall. Gaiman gives his readers a mesmerizing and adventerous plot with interesting and wonderful characters. Tristion Thorn is a fun and fresh character. He is like any young man in our reality who would do anything for the woman he loves. Triston is very passionate and smart with an adventorous nature. The Fallen Star (Yvaine) brings mystery, beauty, and humor to the plot.

When some directors do a movie based on a book every detail seems to be the same, but in this case the novel is a lot longer and has a lot more detail than the movie. For example, the beginning of the story in the novel starts out by having Triston's father Dunston attend the market in Faerie where he meets Triston's mother. In the movie there isn't a market. He jumps the wall that seperates Wall from Faerie without permission. There are little examples like this one that makes the novel a lot more interesting than the movie. I think that if the movie was to be the same as the novel, it would take away some of the imagination, creativity, and joy that the novel allows readers to feel. I loved how he used the point of view of all of his characters. Every chapter was a different point of view so that there wasn't just one main character. One chapter would be about Triston, the next about Triston and the Star and so on and so on. The plot was exciting, adventorous, romantic, and dark and I enjoyed every single moment of it. I think that Gaiman has a very creative and brilliant mind. He takes his readers on a magical and unforgettable journey. His vocabulary is both captivating and beautiful. Gaiman puts careful thought into his characters, plot, and words. I loved Stardust so much I am now reading Coraline (which also is a movie). Its wonderful that other people can recognize that Neil Gaiman's work is so fantastic that it is worth making movies about. This was my justification for nomination of the novel Stardust.

Genre Category: Alex Award Winner, Fiction, Fantasy