The Sun Is Also a Star

Published in 2016, Nicola Yoon’s The Sun Is Also a Star is a young-adult novel and National Book Award Finalist. Told from multiple character perspectives, the novel tells the story of the romance that transpires over one day between two young people, Natasha Katherine Kingsley and Daniel Jae Ho Bae, and the impact they have on the people around them. Natasha and Daniel come from different racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. Natasha is an undocumented Jamaican black girl who lives in a one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, New York, with her parents and brother, while Daniel is from a middle-class, South Korean immigrant family who own a black beauty supply store in Harlem. The novel begins on the day before Natasha’s family is forced to leave the U.S. due to her father’s revelation to the police of the family’s undocumented status (an admission made while he is drunk).

While her family has resigned themselves to their fate, Natasha makes her way to an appointment with their immigration lawyer in the hope of reversing their deportation. Meanwhile, Daniel is about to head to an interview with a Yale alum to fulfill his parents’ wishes for him to become a premedical student and eventual doctor. However, he has little interest in this career path, as his true passion lies in writing poetry. Through a series of random events, Daniel encounters Natasha while she is on her way across town to an appointment with another immigration lawyer, Jeremy Fitzgerald.

While Daniel pursues Natasha romantically at first, Natasha’s pragmaticism conflicts with Daniel’s free-spirited ideals about life. When he rescues Natasha from getting hit by a speeding car, she agrees to have lunch with him, in a show of gratitude. During lunch, Natasha insists that love must be determined scientifically. Daniel challenges her to participate with him in a love experiment he read about in The New York Times. Psychologist Arthur Aron’s love experiment concludes that two strangers are bound to fall in love after they ask each other a predetermined set of thirty-six questions and stare into the other person’s eyes. Natasha agrees to participate in this experiment with Daniel.

Throughout their day together, Natasha and Daniel take turns asking each other questions from the experiment and learning about the other person’s life. In the process, they grow close and intimate. Daniel postpones his interview for later in the day, so he can walk Natasha all the way to her appointment with Attorney Fitzgerald and spend time with her, believing that they are fated to be together. At the appointment, Natasha is told by the receptionist that her new immigration lawyer was in an accident and will not be in the office until later in the day. Devastated by the news, Natasha reveals to Daniel that she may be deported to Jamaica the next day. Daniel is heartbroken that she has kept this news of her undocumented status from him and permitted their romance to progress despite her circumstances. After a big fight, they part ways briefly only to realize that they have transformed each other’s lives in just a matter of hours. Incited to bravery, Daniel confronts his older brother Charlie’s resentment towards him and stands up to his father about his alternate plans for his life. Meanwhile Natasha finally meets with Attorney Fitzgerald who promises to get a judge to reverse her family’s deportation. The process will take several hours but he assures her that he has a good track record of winning cases.

Natasha heads to Daniel’s family store in Harlem while Daniel looks for Natasha at Attorney Fitzgerald’s building. When Natasha finally convinces Charlie to give her Daniel’s number, the two apologize to one another and agree to meet back at Attorney Fitzgerald’s building. Natasha shares the promising news of her deportation reversal and they celebrate. Daniel realizes that his interview is with the very same Attorney Fitzgerald and reveals to the lawyer mid-conversation that he knows Natasha. Attorney Fitzgerald confesses that he was unable to stop the deportation. Daniel tells Natasha the unfortunate news and they resolve to spend her last hours in the U.S. together. Daniel goes to Natasha’s home and helps her pack. He watches Natasha confront her father by making him promise to be better to the family once they are back in Jamaica.

The next day, Daniel takes Natasha to the airport, where they complete the last step of Aron’s experiment: they stare into each other’s eyes for four minutes. In the years that follow, Daniel and Natasha try to keep in touch, but they eventually grow apart. They continue to remember each other fondly.

In the Epilogue, which takes place ten years later, Natasha and Daniel are on the same plane together. Told from the perspective of Irene, the former security guard at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) building where Natasha had her initial appointment, it is revealed that on the day that Natasha and Daniel met, Irene was contemplating suicide. Natasha’s kind words changed her mind and led her to become an airline attendant. Irene approaches Natasha on the plane to thank her for saving her life, stirring Daniel’s attention, and Natasha and Daniel are reunited.