BLOG TOUR REVIEW of THE SECRET LIFE OF STARS by Lisa Harvey-Smith #AusYABloggers

G’day friends!

How are you? Well, today I come to you with a review of the awesome non-fiction novel, The Secret Life of Stars by Lisa Harvey-Smith! I love space, so when I was able to take part in this blog tour, I was ecstatic!

Before I delve into my review, here is the synopsis that is also available on Goodreads:

We all know the Sun, the powerhouse of our solar system, but what about Luyten’s Flare, the Rosino-Zwicky Object or Chanal’s variable star? For those whose curiosity takes them far beyond Earth’s atmosphere, The Secret Life of Stars offers a personal and readily understood introduction to some of the Galaxy’s most remarkable stars. Each chapter connects us to the various different and unusual stars and their amazing characteristics and attributes, from pulsars, blue stragglers and white dwarfs to cannibal stars and explosive supernovae. With chapter illustrations by Eirian Chapman, this book brings to life the remarkable personalities of these stars, reminding readers what a diverse and unpredictable universe we live in and how fortunate we are to live around a stable star, our Sun.

I have always been absolutely fascinated with anything that concerns space. Although I sometimes don’t understand the technical aspects of astrophysics, but I love learning about the universe and all that is a part of it. The Secret Life of Stars by Lisa Harvey-Smith is a wondrous, awe-inspiring adventure into the milky-way and beyond. The way Lisa Harvey-Smith combined informing and educating her audience with such humour and passion. There were times when I laughed out loud! The author keeps the reader engaged with fabulously simple and hilarious analogies, metaphors and examples.

The Secret Life of Stars is perfect for young adult and adult readers. The book focuses on the different and mind-boggling variations of stars. We journey through spacetime and meet our beautiful Sun, families of stars, stars whose taste run to the cannibalistic (yes, you read that right, how mind blowing), the death of stars, black holes (my favourite!) and the many other stars that are famous in our skies. I annotated this book whilst I was reading it, and most of my annotations are ‘wow’, and ‘this is fascinating!’ – because that is what this book is at its core: an incredible journey through space.

There are many aspects to this book that I loved, learning more about stars was just one of the them! It was also the way Lisa Harvey-Smith articulated the information. The writing was imbued with passion and ethusiasm that was very apparent and one of the reasons as to why reading this book was such an engaging reading experience. The language itself was fantastic as it maintained being informative but was still accessible for the lay reader.

I highly recommend The Secret Life of Stars by Lisa Harvey-Smith for any person who is interested in space and/or wants to learn more! Honestly, this would make a great present for the holidays!

5 stars.

Until next time, happy reading!

All the love,

allie

A big thank you to Thames and Hudson as well as AusYABloggers for the opportunity to read and write a review for The Secret Life of Stars by Lisa Harvey-Smith.

Relevant Links

Thames & Hudson Australia – https://thamesandhudson.com.au/product/the-secret-life-of-stars-astrophysics-for-everyone/

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54981178-the-secret-life-of-stars

Australian Bloggers – https://ausyabloggers.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-secret-life-of-stars-astrophysics.html

About The Author

Lisa Harvey-Smith is an award-winning astronomer and Professor at the University of New South Wales. In 2018 she was appointed as the Australian Government’s Ambassador for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). She is the author of When Galaxies Collide and best-selling children’s book Under the Stars, both published by Melbourne University Press. Lisa is also a regular on national tv/radio/media, and has appeared in several TV series and documentaries as a guest scientist and is a presenter alongside Prof. Brian Cox on ABC TV’s Stargazing Live.

Author LinksTwitter – https://twitter.com/lisaharveysmith

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/lisa.harveysmith

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/593569607447563

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18242904.Lisa_Harvey_Smith

Website – https://lisaharveysmith.com/

And make sure to check out the other reviews on the blog tour!