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Book: “Bound by Stars” by E. L. Starling
Publishing Info: Entangled: Teen, July 2025
Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!
Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound
Book Description: She never belonged in his world. He never thought he’d leave it.
When Weslie Fleet wins a golden ticket aboard the Boundless, humanity’s most opulent starliner, it’s a dream―and a danger. Raised in the dust-ridden ruins of Earth, she is thrust into the gleaming luxury of Mars’s elite, where every whispered word carries weight and every glance is a silent judgment. And none watch her closer than Jupiter, the golden boy of Mars’s high society, bound by duty, legacy, and a future he never chose.
Their reluctant partnership was supposed to be a one-off assignment. Instead, it becomes a battle of wills, a spark that ignites, and a love neither of them anticipated. But fate is as cruel as it is unpredictable, and when the Boundless veers off course, love won’t be enough to save them.
The ship is failing. The odds are impossible. And in the darkness of space, survival is the only thing that matters.
But some loves are worth defying the stars for.
Review: This is one of those odd reads where what drew me to the book (science fiction re-telling of “Titanic”) is the specific aspect of the read that I most disliked. That is to say, there was a lot to like here whenever I could disconnect my brain from the parallel’s to the movie. While there weren’t any groundbreaking science fiction moments, the struggles between Mars and a vastly reduced Earth was an interesting political stage upon which to set the story. And the overall conflict and themes of the story (mostly centering around classism) were fairly well handled, especially for a young adult novel. The discussions of these themes was also done well and avoided straying too far into preachiness, a perpetual problem it seems in books like this. Further, the disaster itself that befalls the starliner was action packed and intense. However, this is a perfect example of how the comparisons to “Titanic” don’t work in the book’s favor.
Maybe I’m being nitpicky, but to me at least, there is a huge difference between the natural disaster that befell the Titanic with its ramming of the iceberg and a rebellion attack upon a luxury starliner. I picked this book up looking for a disaster and survival story; indeed, anyone who is promised a book that is a re-telling of “Titanic” would expect the same. A rebellion attack is a very different thing, and while not bad on its own, not what I been expecting or wanting from this read.
And you might say at this point “well, just try to read it as an original story, disconnected from the re-telling.” But you can’t! There are scenes that are direct call-backs/re-imaginings of scenes from the movie. From little things, like the FMC winning her ticket onto the starliner at the start of the book to a full scene devoted to re-imagining the “you jump, I jump” scene from the movie. There’s no getting away from the callbacks. (And I didn’t want to get away from the re-telling POV ultimately, I just wish the book had more confidently stuck to that premise in the first place!)
The change-out from disaster to rebellion attack was annoying enough, but I really began to get fed up with the way our main characters’ love story played out. Yes, classism is present in the dynamic between Rose and Jack in the movie. But there, we are seeing it through the lens of how restricted Rose is beneath the weight of this system, and Jack’s role is to free her from these binds and remind her of the joy and love to be found in life. That’s a lovely story! But here, a huge chunk of the first half of this book is devoted to Wes’s resentment towards Jupiter and his place within the wealthy uber-upper class. The enemies-to-lovers trope struck again, and in one of the most inopportune books you could find. Rose and Jack were NOT enemies! Jack didn’t spend all of his time resenting and lecturing Rose!
Not only does the change in this dynamic hurt a book that is being marketed as a science fiction version of “Titanic,” but it’s frankly a more boring choice. I’ve read a million stories that have this exact same romance and commentary on classism at their heart. And frankly, I didn’t need another. The book would have not only been more true to its concept had it stuck with the original dynamics between romantic interests, but it would have been a more interesting read on its own, as well.
If I really squinted, I could try to read this book disconnected from its “Titanic”-retelling origins. And for the brief moments where I could, it was a fine read. As a YA science fiction story, I think there’s definitely an audience for this book. But at the same time, I was incredibly disappointed with the more direct ties to the movie, especially the significant changes made to the love story at its heart. If you’re looking for a decent YA science fiction story, this may be a good fit. But if you were looking for a “Titanic” story, disaster and romance included, this is probably not for you.
Rating 7: Fine enough as a YA science fiction story, but disappointing as a “Titanic” re-imagining.
Reader’s Advisory:
“Bound by Stars” can be found on this Goodreads list: Books with “Star” in the Title.
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