Ziggy, Stardust and Me (Review)

Part journal, part poetry, and part stardust-shimmering dream, Ziggy, Stardust and Me is the story of a boy who loves Bowie, boys, and his best friend/bad-ass feminist icon Starla. 

A snapshot into the ’70s as news of Watergate broke, Ziggy, Stardust and Me takes place in a time when homosexuality was still labeled as a ‘disease’ in the DSM and was commonly treated with shock therapy.  Written for dreamers who just don’t fit in, the story follows the pain and joy of Jonathon’s life, exploring themes of love, friendship, and finding those who accept you for who you are.

“for one moment in time,
two lonely astronauts floating in space,
finally find each other.”

It may take a while for readers to sink into the unusual way in which this story is told and is certainly not a style for everyone. More likely to be engaging for adult readers than the YA audience it was intended for (who, sadly, will probably not know the savior-figure of the story, the one and only Bowie, anyways), the story is sometimes a bit gimmicky with its heavy-handed doses of ’70s slang. Although it often glosses over details and descriptions, the writing nevertheless has the benefit of being totally unique and creating a special something in the story and is befitting for the main character. 

After all, Jonathon isn’t the most conventional of characters, and readers may find it difficult to relate to him as he takes the job of YA fiction oddball to a whole other level. Understandably strange with everything he goes through (and, honestly, the icons he looks up to) Jonathan’s somewhat flippant nature and dark humor sometimes feel as if they lessen the impact of the things he’s going through, especially the conversion therapy, and therefore lessen their impact. However, this may end up helping more sensitive readers find it more palatable. 

 “I hope one day we’ll all see each other without these stupid labels and instead see each other for who we really are. Starfolk.”

Although I didn’t think I enjoyed the eccentricity of the novel at first, I really began to like it after I settled in. So much so that I actually ended up wanting more. But the story becomes more run-of-the-mill and the plot settles into a more predictable YA romance format right when I was ready for things to get really weird. Because of this, and the way that all the loose ends are decidedly and neatly tied up in some way or another in the last chapters, the ending was less enjoyable than the beginning. 

I rated Ziggy, Stardust and Me  3.5 out of 5 stars and am very interested to see what James Brandon creates in future. Fans of Like a Love Story will probably like this.

Bullying, violence, abuse, homophobia and racism, conversion therapy, loss of a parent, alcoholism, sexual assault.