My Name is Venus Black by Heather Lloyd -- Review

Title: My Name is Venus Black
Author: Heather Lloyd
Pages: 368
Publishing: February 27th 2018 by Dial Press
ISBN: 0399592180 

Synopsis:

Venus Black is a straitlaced A student fascinated by the study of astronomy—until the night she commits a shocking crime that tears her family apart and ignites a media firestorm. Venus refuses to talk about what happened or why, except to blame her mother. Adding to the mystery, Venus’s developmentally challenged younger brother, Leo, goes missing.

More than five years later, Venus is released from prison with a suitcase of used clothes, a fake identity, and a determination to escape her painful past. Estranged from her mother, and with her beloved brother still missing, she sets out to make a fresh start in Seattle, skittish and alone. But as new people enter her orbit—including a romantic interest and a young girl who seems like a mirror image of her former lost self—old wounds resurface, and Venus realizes that she can’t find a future while she’s running from her past.

Review:

My Name Is Venus Black is a novel that has been on my radar for quite a while, and I was so excited when I was given the opportunity to read it on NetGalley. The novel opens with a fair amount of intrigue and mystery. Venus Black has been arrested for a crime, but the reader is given only a little bit of information and has to fill in a lot of the details. I loved this about the novel because I was able to use the bits of information given to create a whole picture in my mind. 

The story is told from the perspective of Venus as well as another young lady, and I loved the back and forth between the two connected stories. It allowed the reader to really connect with the characters. Each of the characters were beautifully written and I really grew to love some of them and strongly dislike others. I felt a real connection to them and cared about how their story would turn out. 

My Name is Venus Black is a beautifully written story about forgiveness, redemption, and the love of family. I truly enjoyed this novel and would highly recommend it to readers who enjoy contemporary YA novels. Thank you to Dial Press and NetGalley for sending this novel in exchange for an honest review. 

Rating 4/5