Book Review: All the Stars Align by Gretchen Schreiber

Official Synopsis: All the women in Piper’s family know their true love at first sight, complete with butterflies, heart eyes, and a gut instinct. The kind of fated love that lasts forever. Piper grew up with her ancestors' epic love stories repeated like fairy tales, and yearns for the day she’ll start her own. Already singled out in her family due to her physical disability, Piper collects a second strike against her when her parents announce their divorce, which convinces her family that she’s doomed.

When she finally finds her true love at a party, she’s more determined than ever to attain her love story and earn a spot in her family. But after completely botching their first meeting, she realizes that she’ll need help from her best friend Leo, who is sort of a love expert. The catch—he and Piper haven’t talked in six months, since he needed a “break” from their friendship.

To win over the love of her life and a place in her family, Piper must convince Leo to teach her his ways. And it’s all going as planned…until Leo confesses his own love for Piper. Now, she must decide which fate to follow.

There were many parts about this book that I was hoping to love, and somehow it just slightly missed the mark at times for me. The idea of Fate and meeting your 'Blessing' was really interesting, especially when you think everyone in Piper's family has experienced it and found their person so easily. With the introduction of Piper's parents getting divorced, you realize that fate might not be all its cracked up to be.

The problem is Piper, who is a senior in high school, is determined to prove that her parents actually belong together and that she will find her person too. This means that she ignores other signs that people might be interested in her, which includes her best friend Leo. When she meets Forest at a party, she feels the pull that tells her that he is her 'Blessing' and she wants to fall all into it as quickly as she can. But it gets to the point where she feels more and more like she is forcing something that doesn't feel organic, which I agree with.

The one part of this book I really enjoyed how was the disability rep was written for Piper, which I believe was both visible and invisible disabilities. The way the people around her don't seem to be treating her differently or acting differently because of it is great. She also mentions not using it as an excuse for things and how she is convinced her disability is the reason her parents broke up. The latter of which I wish was explored a little bit more, especially when you have this whole Fate plot line. The author of the book is also disabled, which I think helped make all of Piper's concerns feel more emotional and real. There is also a heavy stance on having your family determine the path you take, or pressuring you into believing something that might not be the best for you and I thought was was handled really well as well.

One of my biggest things with this book is that Piper is 17 or 18 at the time, and the way she looks at her parents divorce feels a bit childish at times. She is also determined to prove her relationship with Forest will work, even when there are signs she shows herself that it isn't. Piper definitely has a lot going on, but there were times where I felt she was just being too immature in general.

Overall, this book definitely hit the middle for me. I rated it a 2.5 out of 5 stars.

All the Stars Align is scheduled to come out April 1, 2025!

Goodreads