Vox meets The Immortalists in this bold and dazzling exploration of fate and female agency in a world where women own the future but not their own bodies.
No future, dear reader, can break a woman on its own
A bold and dazzling exploration of fate and female agency in a world where women own the future but not their own bodies.
Like every woman, Celeste Morton holds a map of the future in her skin, every mole and freckle a clue to unlocking what will come to pass. With puberty comes the changeling period - when her final marks will appear and her future is decided.
The possibilities are tantalising enough for Celeste's excitement to outweigh her fear. Changelings are sought after commodities and abduction is rife as men seek to possess these futures for themselves.
Celeste's marks have always been closely entwined with her brother, Miles. Her skin holds a future only he, as a gifted interpreter, can read and he has always considered his sister his practice ground. But when Celeste's marks change she learns a devastating secret about her brother's future that she must keep to herself - and Miles is keeping a secret of his own. When the lies of brother and sister collide, Celeste determines to create a future that is truly her own.
Body of Stars is an urgent read about what happens when women are objectified and violently stripped of choice - and what happens when they fight back.
About the Author
Laura Maylene Walter is an award-winning author whose work has been published in Poets & Writers, Ninth Letter, The Masters Review, and many others. Laura is interested in phenomena she doesn't necessarily believe in and explores her fascination of the stars and fortune-telling in her debut novel, Body of Stars. When she's not writing, you can find her editing for the Cleveland Public Library and the Gordon Square Review, blogging for the Kenyon Review and playing with her two cats, Saucy and Cirrus.
Laura enjoys hiking, traveling, camping, indulging in a good beer or glass of wine, and taking long walks in woods and graveyards.
Industry Reviews
'Part allegory, part warning, and part celebration of the female body, this is a thrilling and flawlessly crafted debut about the potential women have to hold magic, make magic, and change the course of history with the underestimated weapons of intelligence and love.'
Courtney Maum, author of Touch and Costalegre
'Body of Stars sparks with tenderness and beauty, and Walter's writing on the female body is genuine art. A thought-provoking exploration of fate and forced binaries, this is a book that lingers.'
Erika Swyler, author of Light from Other Stars and The Book of Speculation
