Novel Study - The Stars And The Blackness Between Them

Question 1

What’s the plot summary for your novel study?

Answer 1

Audre is from Trinidad and is sent to live with her father in Minneapolis, after being caught with her girlfriend, Neri. There, she meets Mabel in the US who is navigating her own emotional and physical challenges. The two girls form a deep connection that helps them grow through love, loss and identity.

Question 2

Important themes of your novel study?

Answer 2

-love and identity: celebrates queer black love, self acceptance and identity

-Spirituality and healing: blends ancestral traditions, dreams and healing

-Freedom and resistance: power of storytelling community and freedom

Question 3

Conflicts in your novel study

Answer 3

-internal : audre and mabel struggle with identity, audre with sexualtiy and exile from trinidad, and mabel with her illness

-External: pressure from family, illness, and societys expectations around races, gender and sexuality

Question 4

Aspects of character in your novel study

Answer 4

-Audre: a spiritual, brave trinitdadian girl sent to the US after being caught in a queer relationship. SHe grows through love, poetry and ancestral connections

-Mabel: a Minneapolis teen that finds purpose and deep love after being diagnosed with a terminal illness, she is self observant, loving and open to transformation.