The Sun is Also a Star
Written by Nicola Yoon

Publisher’s Summary:
Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store–for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

Primary Source Pairing:
“What if I told you I could get you to fall in love with me scientifically?” [Daniel asks]
” I would scoff,” [Natasha says]. “A lot.” (page 78)

And so it begins, as Daniel and Natasha navigate New York City and all the precious minutes in the day they’ve been granted together. For this primary source pairing, invite students to read the New York Times article about Dr. Arthur Aron’s research on love. Use the article to make text to text connections. Encourage discussion about the soundness of the research and how it is applied to the story of Daniel and Natasha in The Sun is Also a Star.

Questions for Discussion:

• Describe what you see.
• What do you notice first?
• How much of the text can you read? What does it say?
• What do you see that looks strange or unfamiliar?
• What can you learn from examining this?
• How do Daniel and Natasha use the questions included in Dr. Aron’s research?
• Why is Natasha skeptical about the love research?

Credits:
Book Cover and Summary: Follett
Catron, Mandy Len. “To Fall in Love With Anyone, Do This.” The New York Times, 9 Jan. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/01/11/fashion/modern-love-to-fall-in-love-with-anyone-do-this.html?module=inline.