Kate Gordon, Aster’s Next, Good Thing, Riveted Press, June 2025, 192 pp., RRP $17.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781763526044
Having had the pleasure of reading and reviewing the earlier books in the Aster series, I was eager to see what new adventures awaited my favourite characters. Aster’s Next, Good Thing is the companion novel to the CBCA Award-winning Aster’s Good, Right Things. In that story, Aster performed one good deed every day to make someone’s life better and, she hoped, to make herself ‘good enough’ for her mother to return.
A year later, Aster still has anxiety stemming from her mother’s abandonment and feels unseen, like she is slowly fading into the background.
I can’t let go of them—the good, right things especially— because if I do … I’ll turn into a cloud and I’ll float away, and a storm will come and blow me to nothing. And everyone will leave me.
Aster feels even more untethered when her father’s girlfriend, Nella, moves in, and the couple announce they’re getting married and having a baby. Pushed further to the outskirts, Aster doubts anyone would notice if she disappeared. Then she meets someone else who wants to run – six-year-old Armelle – and everything changes.
Rich in imagery and emotion, Gordon’s skilled narrative conveys mental health struggles in a compassionate, empathetic and authentic way without oversimplifying their complexity for the sake of the narrative. The book’s unconventional free verse-hybrid format works well, presenting the text in an easy-to-access way that balances the heaviness of the subject matter, while reinforcing Aster’s fragmented thoughts as she grapples with change. Although the five stories in the series are richly interconnected, they can be read as standalone titles.
Another heartfelt and heartwarming tale, and fitting follow-up, from Kate Gordon for readers aged 11+.
Reviewed by Maura Pierlot