322. And All the Stars by Andrea K. Höst

And All the Stars by Andrea K. Höst 
Published October 2012 Andrea K. Höst (self published)

From the publisher:
Come for the apocalypse.
Stay for cupcakes.
Die for love.

Madeleine Cost is working to become the youngest person ever to win the Archibald Prize for portraiture. Her elusive cousin Tyler is the perfect subject: androgynous, beautiful, and famous. All she needs to do is pin him down for the sittings.

None of her plans factored in the Spires: featureless, impossible, spearing into the hearts of cities across the world – and spraying clouds of sparkling dust into the wind.

Is it an alien invasion? Germ warfare? They are questions everyone on Earth would like answered, but Madeleine has a more immediate problem. At Ground Zero of the Sydney Spire, beneath the collapsed ruin of St James Station, she must make it to the surface before she can hope to find out if the world is ending.

This is another book that I read based on a review from Book Smugglers, it's not out here (in Australia), so I read this one as an eBook.  The author was born in Sweden but grew up, and still lives in Australia.  


The beginning of the book finds Madeleine trapped under rubble in what's left of St James Station.  As she manages to find her way out, Madeleine finds that a huge spire covered in starts has come up through the ground and has covered the city in a white dust.  In the beginning, no one knows what the dust is, but they figure it can't be good....and it isn't.

The spires have appeared in highly populated cities around the world, and the dust seems to be changing the skin colour of humans, to either blue or green.  Many people do not survive the change, and dead bodies are scattered throughout the city.  Madeleine meets Noi, and then more teens who have all survived the change to Blue, they work together to find a way to survive. What they know is this, he world has been invaded by aliens, their purpose on earth is unclear, but they will be here for 2 years.  The Greens are working for them, the Blues are being captured, and their bodies taken over.  The initial plan is to hide out, and stay safe for the two years until it's over, but when that becomes impossible, they have to find a way to fight.  

In a lot of ways this book is like Tomorrow, When the War Began.  Teenagers, who come together to survive and fight a relatively unknown enemy.  There are some obvious differences, the enemy here is alien, while Marsden’s enemy were human.  The other big difference is the technology available.  The group in this book can keep an eye on their enemy to some degree using technology such as the Internet, and webcams, and they also have access to other survivors all around the world through social media, like Facebook and YouTube. 

Fundamentally the story is the same though, and I think that's why this book will be so popular, reading about teenagers living on their own, working together to stay alive and fight the enemy.  The other big difference is where they live while hiding out, unlike Ellie and Co, they do not have to live rough, camping in Hell, these guys get to stay in luxury apartments, and in abandoned luxury hotels.  Their enemy might be tougher to defeat, but let me tell you, they get to survive in style.

This book has action a plenty, survival, a little bit of romance and a twist that will leave you thinking...WOW. I have likened this book to the Tomorrow series by John Marsden, but  I have recommended it for 15+ as the sex references are more in the forefront of the story than the Marsden books.

Who will like this book: Girls and boys age 15+
Read it if you like: Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden