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Tara Sim

Scavenge the Stars Paperback – March 9 2021

by Tara Sim (Author)

4.0 153 ratings

Book 1 of 2: Scavenge the Stars

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From rising-star author Tara Sim comes an epic new YA fantasy duology—a gender-swapped The Count of Monte Cristo retelling that's perfect for fans of All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace.

When Amaya rescues a mysterious stranger from drowning, she fears her rash actions have earned her an even longer sentence on the debtor ship where she's been held captive for years. Instead, the man she saved offers her unimaginable riches and a new identity, setting Amaya on a perilous course through the coastal city-state of Moray, where old-world opulence and desperate gamblers collide. Amaya still only wants one thing: revenge against the man who ruined her family and stole the life she once had. But the more entangled she becomes in this game of deception--and as her path intertwines with the son of the man she's plotting to bring down--the more she uncovers about the truth of her past. And the more she realizes she can't trust anyone but herself. Packed with high-stakes adventure, romance, and dueling identities, this gender-swapped retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo is the first novel in an epic YA fantasy duology.

Book 1 of 2

Scavenge the Stars
Print length

352 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date

March 9 2021
Grade level

9 and up
Reading age

14 years and up
Dimensions

13.97 x 2.54 x 21.27 cm
ISBN-10

0759555354
ISBN-13

978-0759555358
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Review

Praise for Scavenge the Stars:
"This retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo carries all the weight of a classic revenge tale, emulating the original's epic scope and maintaining a plot that tantalizingly paces its reveals....The clashing agendas and alliances make for a sweeping tale of revenge, backstabbery, and old-fashioned unearthing of societal corruption, and readers will eagerly anticipate the sequel in the duology."―BCCB

"A rags-to-riches story with the promise of revenge....Captivating worldbuilding and empathetically etched characters make Scavenge the Stars a light and enjoyable read."―Kirkus

"Sim, author of the Timekeeper series, creates a rough-and-tumble world of wealth, gambling, slavery, and family and power struggles..."―Booklist

"This retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo features a cast that is not assumed white or straight, and a new world waiting to be explored in the sequel....Amaya and Cayo are both interesting characters with real flaws that add depth to the story. Recommended for readers seeking retellings in fantasy settings."―SLJ

About the Author

Tara Sim is a YA fantasy author who can typically be found wandering the wilds of the Bay Area, California. She is the author of the Timekeeper trilogy, which has been featured on Entertainment Weekly, Bustle, and various media outlets. When she's not chasing cats or lurking in bookstores, she writes books about magic, clocks, and explosives.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (March 9 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0759555354
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0759555358
Item weight ‏ : ‎ 295 g
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.97 x 2.54 x 21.27 cm

Best Sellers Rank: #837,034 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #152 in Fiction About Loners & Outcasts for Young Adults
- #1,349 in Folk Tales & Myths Sagas & Epics for Young Adults
- #3,462 in Action & Adventure for Young Adults

Customer Reviews:
4.0 153 ratings

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Tara Sim

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Tara Sim is a YA author found in the wilds of the Bay Area, California. When she's not writing about magic, clocks, and boys, she drinks tea, wrangles cats, and sings opera.

Tara grew up in California, but braved the elements of Virginia to study English/Creative Writing at Hollins University.

Half-Indian and full geek, she eats too many samosas and awkwardly dances to Bhangra music.

TIMEKEEPER (Sky Pony Press, Fall '16) is her debut YA novel.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5

153 global ratings

5 star		40%
4 star		30%
3 star		19%
2 star		8%
1 star		3%

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Leah

Sim brougth Disney to the pages with a Darker gender bent retelling

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on April 27, 2020

I have not read The Count if Monte Cristo. So I am not sure if it would lend anything to my experience with this book.

Thank you to Disney Hyperion and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the plot. I enjoyed the character developments. I enjoyed my journey through Moray.

The characters were really interesting. Amaya was such a strong character in spite of every single punch life hit her with. Her compassion and kindness to those who deserved it made her likeable and her anger made me believe her.

Cayo spent a considerable amount of time making me feel sorry for him. Then Frustrated. Then angry. But I could appreciate his personality.

I felt the threads all dove together really nicely and I wasn’t super confused or frustrated at the end.

Although I could hear the Disney soundtrack and end credits rolling in the final pages. This book had enough violence and heartache to balance out the happy feelings.

Can we also talk about this insanely gorgeous cover?!

Looking forward to the next book!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on January 12, 2020

This story is a gender swapped retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo. I’ve never read that book, but I really enjoyed this story.

The narrative switches between Amaya, a prisoner on a ship, and Cayo, the son of a businessman in the main city. Amaya escapes her captivity, and she tries to take down the men who were keeping her prisoner. Cayo also does his own investigation to figure out who is making counterfeit money in their city.

I liked the pacing of this book. There were some small reveals every couple of chapters. I was surprised at the twists that happened. I also liked the main characters. They had good chemistry with each other. I’m curious to see where the story goes next.

Thank you Disney Book Group for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on April 17, 2020

First I am not familiar with The Count of Monte Cristo. Its a retelling of this story.

I have a bit of a hard time to get into it for the first couple of chapters but I did enjoyed reading it.

Scavenge the stars is the story of a young woman, Amaya, who wants revenge againts the man who ruined her family and stole years of her life. She will also uncover truth of her past and about her father.

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Alana_thebooknerd

A good read but seems to build up for book 2

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 23, 2020

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Scavenge the Stars is the first book in a Duology which is a loose retelling of the classic “The Count of Monte Cristo” but with a gender swap meaning our main character is female.

I haven’t read the Count of Monte Cristo before, so I didn’t know what to expect with this read. I did do some research on the original and it’s around 1,300 pages and if this is a retelling then Tara Sim has split it into the two books which I think makes it more appealing to readers who may not love reading a chunky book and makes the reading less intimidating. That’s not to say that Tara will match in total pages as her inspiration.

I did enjoy reading this novel, it’s fast paced and quickly pulls you into the plot. The narrative alternates between Amaya (a girl sold to a Debtor ships) and Cayo (the heir of a wealthy Businessman). It took reading a good portion of the book before these two finally crossed paths and connected. I didn’t mind this as the first part of the book does a really good job of introducing and making you care about both characters separately. It’s when they meet that I started to struggle to see how they were going to connect, what they meant to the plot and each other, it wasn’t until the end it started to become clearer, but I still have a bit of confusion on them that I hope is cleared up in the second book.

For world building was 50/50 for me, set in the middle of political tension. The Island of Moray sits between two powerful empires (the Rain and Sun Empires) who are constantly vying for more power. Moray the neutral land in the middle. I felt that this tension was used well to push the plot along but there was very little given away about the cultures of these empires, the deeper implications of their feud and the actual implications on Moray. The explanation of the different sectors of Moray helped to start to build a picture of Moray but there was something missing for me to piece these together and create a whole image. I finished the book knowing there was a bunch of sectors and a dock but not how they connect to create a visual of where the events were happening. It was like having snapshots but not the whole picture.

My interest was kept throughout the book by the countless twists, no one is as they seem, and everyone hides a secret that you just don’t know when will be revealed. This built tension as the novel progressed for me because I needed to know what all these characters were hiding because it wasn’t just Amaya and Cayo with secrets but many of the side characters. You could feel these side characters and their secrets were key to the underlying plot, if you like to speculate how things connect in a book then this will be a read you’ll enjoy.

It wasn’t until the climax of the book that you finally grasp how all the characters (Mercado, Boon, the Slum King, Amaya’s Father) are connected. Until that point, as I’ve mentioned, Tara has left us a lot of room to use our own imaginations to try and connect the dots. Despite the connections finally being made by the side characters in the last stage of the book, there are still so many unanswered questions left. More time for speculation. For me, over three quarters of the book was spent building up the characters and I wish there a little more action relating to main plot and a bit more given away about the revelations that came in the last 30-50 pages.

I loved the diversity in Scavenge the Stars in terms of characters. The story had range of characters as people of colour and different sexualities and all receive equal portrayal and equality. Amaya is described as dark skinned and Cayo is bi-sexual. One of the Bugs on the debtor ship is also depicted as Asexual with no feelings toward either sex. A novel with a cast with wide diversity is always welcomed and is needed to develop the book world to be more inclusive of everyone. The two protagonists are both wonderfully flawed and once their paths cross you witness such growth in them both. Like they are two sides of a coin and by meeting they started to heal and develop each other. The side characters are also super interesting and add to the plot line in different ways.

Tara Sims writing style was also one of the highlights of the book for me. It was just so easy to read and guides you through the story seamlessly. Like you keep reading just for her way with words.

I gave this book 3 stars, not because I didn’t enjoy reading it. I mean I’ve pre-ordered the second book which comes out next year because I really need to know what happens next. For me as a reader, I needed more hints on the main plot line to build those connections earlier. It felt like over three quarters of the book was a build up to the last 50 pages where all the action happened and threads started to connect, which then sets up the second book really well. There was also more I’d have loved to know about the Rain and Sun Empires as they seem to have a role in the next book and I feel I finished this book with very little knowledge on them or the actual Moray culture and set up. I just needed a little more during the book to build it up, like when you see dark grey clouds on the horizons and know a storm is coming I kinda felt this book missed that for me. I don’t see it being a problem for everyone as it is still extremely well written, I’d go as far as saying one the better written books I’ve read this year.

I’d recommend this book and I’m super looking forward to the second one which is set up so beautifully.

Gerstmeier

NOT A RETELLING

Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on January 19, 2020

Verified Purchase

Sadly, the whole book disappointed me. A retelling of Monte Christo? No Chance. It was not about personal revenge as it is in Monte Christo, it was about random revenge because our main character Amaya cannot decide who she should kill.
Amaya is on the one hand a strong and fierce character but on the other hand she does not plan very well. Dantes in Monte Christo who is represended by Amaya in this book makes his plans carefully and does only things when he knows he will have success. Amaya is definitely the opposite of him. And totally annoying.
Her love interest Cayo was the worst. Rich boy, doesn't care about anything, spends all daddy's money. Then his sister becomes ill and his family cannot buy the medicine because they have not the money anymore (thanks to Cayo, yay!). So he goes to the Slum King and makes a bargain with him and makes everything worse.

But then Amaya and Cayo meet each other and a new theme comes up. Counterfeit. Cayo is searching for the one who has to do with it. Surprinsingly (of course not), his dear daddy and the Slum King - terrible man btw - are in it! I don't know why this theme came up because the counterfeit story popped randomly up (and confused me).

Story and characters weren't for me really pleasing.

But one star for the lovestory. I felt the emotions and I loved how Amaya and Cayo became closer bit by bit. I felt the love, I felt who they really are. Not prending, just real.

I enjoyed the book - at most the end that was thrilling - but as a retelling it was crap.
It is only my opionion but I would not recommend it to you.

With Love
Xx

Monica Khan

Review - Scavenge the Stars

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 20, 2020

Verified Purchase

Title Scavenge the Stars

Author Tara Sim

Release Date January 7, 2020

Description from Amazon

When Amaya rescues a mysterious stranger from drowning, she fears her rash actions have earned her a longer sentence on the debtor ship where she’s been held captive for years. Instead, the man she saved offers her unimaginable riches and a new identity, setting Amaya on a perilous course through the coastal city-state of Moray, where old-world opulence and desperate gamblers collide. Amaya wants one thing: revenge against the man who ruined her family and stole the life she once had. But the more entangled she becomes in this game of deception-and as her path intertwines with the son of the man she’s plotting to bring down-the more she uncovers about the truth of her past. And the more she realizes she must trust no one?

Initial Thoughts

Five words. COUNT 👏 OF 👏 MONTE 👏 CRISTO 👏 RETELLING 👏

I’m all about that. I saw the movie like 15 years ago and was obsessed with it. I watch it whenever it’s on TV.

Some Things I Liked

Gender bent retelling. I thought the balance achieved by switching the gender of the main character was really well done. I’ve seen many retellings that are poorly executed because the gender change is not fully thought through. I thought it was really well done here.
Plot twists. I was on the edge of my seat until the last page of this story. I had no idea what was going to happen and I loved that. The story was filled with action and I loved the pirate vibes we got to see throughout the story.
Realism. I thought the story, much like the original version, was grounded in realistic tragedy and heartache. Amaya had a hard life and many of the other characters experience personal tragedies which only serve to motivate them further. This book was by no means all rainbows and unicorns. Topics such as addiction, death, and child labor, are just a few of the hardships the cast of characters endured.

One Thing I Wasn’t Crazy About

This wasn’t exactly a retelling. As this is the first book in a series, I can’t fully judge this aspect yet, but from what I saw, this was a story loosely based on The Count of Monte Cristo but mostly a story of revenge. It was well executed, but I was missing some of the elements of the original story that I would have liked to see. Perhaps we will see them in the next book.

Series Value

I would continue with this series. I think this book had a strong start and despite coming up short in the retelling department (in some ways), I want to see where this story goes. I am intrigued and want to know more.

Final Thoughts

I liked this book. I think it was reminiscent of a personal favorite movie from childhood and I enjoyed the nostalgic feelings it brought up. Similarly, I enjoyed the gender bending twist on the characters as well as the seaside city of Moray as a setting. I would continue with this series as well as look into reading some of Tara Sim’s other books.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommendations for Further Reading

Before the Broken Star by Emily R. King – if you liked the revenge aspect of this story, check out this series by Emily R. King.
Ruined by Amy Tintera – once again, if you liked the revenge plot as well as enemies to lovers romance, try this series by Amy Tintera.
Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller – if you liked the sea-faring aspects of this book as well as the setting, try this duology by Tricia Levenseller.

8 people found this helpful

Laura Cate Collins

Revenge. Betrayal. Mystery. Trust no one.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 7, 2020

Verified Purchase

Sold to a debtor's ship as a small child, Amaya--called Silverfish aboard the "Brackish"--yearns for her home in Moray and her mother. Right before her debt is fully paid off, a mysterious, well-dressed stranger is spotted in the ocean. Amaya saves him, believing him to owe her a favor in return. What she gets is much much more: She gets an opportunity for revenge on all who have wronged her.

Cayo Mercado is in trouble. A lot of trouble. Too much time in the Vice Sector has earned his father's disdain and drained his coffers. But Cayo has changed his ways, determined to do better for his sister, Soria. When Soria is afflicted with Ash Fever, and all hopes of restoring the family fortune through a marriage are dashed, Cayo has to find a way to save his family. Perhaps that could involve catching the eye of the rich, mysterious, enchanting Lady Yamaa....

Cayo and Amaya are thrown on a collision course of high society, mystery, and betrayals. Who do they trust? And will they ever truly be free?

A brilliant beginning to this duology by Tara Sim, "Scavenge the Stars" is a gender-bent "Count of Monte Cristo" retelling that will have readers on the edge of their seats and pages turning, desperate to find out what will happen next.

4 people found this helpful

Leelynn Brady

Way amazing retelling of Monte Cristo

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 9, 2020

Verified Purchase

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Fantastic Flying Book Club, Netgalley, and Disney-Hyperion for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

I personally have never read The Count of Monte Cristo before, no have I ever watched any of its adaptations, or anything really to do with the novel. I’ve heard of it because it’s supposed to be a classic, but other than that, I went in blind for this novel as far as retellings go. And for me, I feel like that works a lot better than having a preconceived notion of how I think something should go based on its source material, and I think it really worked in my favor for this one.

Without knowing the source material very well, I personally really, really enjoyed this novel and I had so much feelings for our main characters. I think the person that I felt for this most was Amaya/Silverfish especially in the beginning. I couldn’t imagine being her shoes, spending seven years at minimum on a debtor’s ship because of the money that your father supposedly owed. That mini-backstory that we got from Silverfish to the man she ended up rescuing from drowning before the real adventure begins was enough to make me really sorry for her and her mother. But then again, was it her mother that made her go on that ship as a child, or was she forced to go since there wouldn’t be any adult to run the estate? You know? Little nuances like that may or may not be explained in the novel, and when you’re first hearing about that snippet of life before Silverfish came to be, it makes you question what some adults are either willing to do, or what they have been forced to do.

Surely saving a man’s life is worth a few weeks

thought Amaya.

He better be rich

thought Silverfish
Even this above example of how the two identities within Amaya are so different that they have two different thoughts on the man that she saved. Since she was so close to going home to see her mother – if she is even still alive, I don’t even know if she knows honestly – and yet gets added a whole month to her sentence for this transgression, both sides of her – Amaya and Silverfish – are fighting their decision. Amaya, the person with the most humanity, feels like at least she saved his life. That should count for something and should be worth an extension of her sentence. Silverfish – the “Water Bug” with no humanity left, who has had to fight to survive and stay alive in this tense and deplorable condition – feels like the only thing worth saving him would be if he were rich enough to buy her out of this hellhole.

And maybe both sides of her are right.

… extravagance existed side by side with destitution.

Cayo on Moray
Oh, Cayo. My poor, sweet Cayo. The things that you’ve had to go through in order to gain your father’s trust, even if it’s not at the level you want it to be yet. The addictions that you had to learn to live without, and the life that you had to leave behind, no matter how tempting it was and how much you wanted to go back to it. The love you have for your sister, and how close it seems you are. The stress that you have to deal with in your life.

My poor Cayo. I was so proud of him. I just wanted him to get out from under his father’s imposing shadow, and live the life that I knew he could. Without that harsh voice in the back of your mind telling you that you’re a screw up to the Moreno family. Oh, Cayo.

Clearly I had feelings throughout this book, and I’m dying to see how Sim ends this series. I don’t want it to end though, so can we just keep them going forever? Mini side quests? Something?

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