National Network for Equitable Library Service

Some people are born under a lucky star; Aris Gray isn't one of them. Orphaned as a baby, she has struggled her entire life, but now, at 18, she hopes that going off to college will mean a new path for her. Unfortunately, that new path begins when she's attacked in an alleyway by a stranger. To protect herself, Aris summons shadow powers she didn't know she had and a Constellation, a being that also grants her elemental powers. This is Aris' first introduction to a world she's never known, one filled with powerful humans called Astrals, whose abilities and Constellations are dictated by their birth stars. Astrals mostly use those powers to hunt down Dark Stars—humans born under evil omens who are destined to cause only pain and ruin. It isn't long until Aris learns she is an oddity in this world: shadow powers are common to Dark Stars, but her elemental abilities and Constellation mean she's also an Astral—something that should be impossible. As Aris is pulled deeper into this new world, she soon discovers that the ages old tale of "good" Astrals versus "evil" Dark Stars is not what it appears to be, and must find out her own unique position as one who straddles both sides.