Review Of Wishing For A Star

This was my first book by Ana Balen and though I knew what the story would entailed I hadn't expected to be so touched and swept by so many emotions. It was so beautifully tragic that I loved everything about it.

The story was straightforward - it was about a couple (Sam and Dani) trying to conceive through IVF and the hearing it had on their married life and Dani psyche especially. But despite being a simple story delaying with very complex and sensitive subjects, it was executed to perfection by interweaving the past and present, together will small chapters from Sam's POV in between and some Italian texts (significance of which I understood only towards the end). Initially I did find it a little hard to follow the transition to between past and present and also the present morphing to recent past as a memory but once I got used to it, I understood their significance and then I actually felt that author made a smart move by trying to balance the various emotions through such a pacing and alternate chapters.

What I particularly loved about this book was the realistic take it took on IVF and what the couple going through such a treatment actually experience. It wasn't filled with too much medical jargon but explained the scenarios pretty well. The insecurities of Dani, her being ashamed about not being able to conceive a baby normally and her anxiety over people and society judging her were displayed and written in a way that truly sinks in and makes us to emphasize with her and hurt for me, especially with all the pain she bears and her inability to express it to anyone who could truly understand. And on the other hand, we had Sam. He was the perfect husband any woman can ask for. Supportive and never pushing, and so very understanding, but despite his best efforts, he couldn't break through her shell at times and it was neither of their fault. And that's when I felt the saddest.

This is hands down on the most emotional book of the year for me and it's not just a book, it's a journey with a plethora of emotions and feelings. 5 stars for this.