And so, in this third excursion down literary lane, we at Tequila Mockingbird have reached the promised land. Or, have we?
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon was one of the first books we as a group chose to read, thanks to its wild critical acclaim and widespread fanbase. It falls under the umbrella of “YA Fiction” and, though it is one of the longer works we’ve chosen, reads very quickly. After taking two trips to horror town, this book was expected to be a breath of fresh air.
It’s quickly evident, however, that in this story there is a lot more than meets the eye.
The story revolves around two young people: Natasha Kingsley and Danie Jae Ho Bae. Natasha is a teenager with an astute scientific mind, who wants nothing more than to graduate from high school, attend college, and go on to be a data analyst. These plans are derailed, however, when her father receives a DUI and their family is slated for deportation, because the Kingsleys are illegal immigrants. Daniel, on the other hand, is a free-spirited poet whose Korean parents want nothing more than to ship him off to Yale to start him on his way to becoming a doctor – which, news flash Min Soo and Dae Hyun, is not Daniel’s cup of tea.
Their paths converge on one fateful day, when Daniel is on his way to his alumni interview for Yale, and Natasha is seeking out a lawyer to keep her family in the country. Classic YA meet-cute.
Except this isn’t just the story of Natasha and Daniel. No, the universe has other plans.
The narrative plays with perspective. It follows the two main character yes, but it strays to other threads of the story: a reckless drunk driver, a quiet security guard, the theoretical embodiment of the multiverse. So many different aspects of this world are introduced, which begs the question: whose story is this? And who should we really be paying attention to?
This makes finding the controlling idea a little tough, but if we examine Natasha and Daniel’s stories together, one idea comes to the forefront: embracing change can lead to happiness.
There are multiple instances after their first meeting where one or the other has an odd sense that they’ve either met before or were destined to meet:
“He’s smiling a big wide smile and looking at me with happy eyes. I get a sudden sense of deja vu. I’ve been here before. I’ve noticed those bright eyes and that smile. I’ve even had this conversation.” (55)
Fate is referenced many times in the text, sometimes in conjunction with religion, sometimes as an idea in and of itself. And both characters acknowledge that they have some sort of strange connection that they can’t quite place, so what’s keeping them from going after that spark?
Natasha and Daniel come from very different worlds, and are therefore very different people. Natasha is constantly burdened by the idea that her world is about to change, and she is desperately clinging to anything she can control, anything that can prevent this change from happening. Daniel is the same: he seems to have resigned himself to a life as a doctor with little to no personal happiness, but there is a part of him that keeps wanting to postpone his interview, his career, his life, so that he can change its trajectory. They both acknowledge that they have a long way to go before they can truly embrace the uncertainties of life and love.
But fate clearly has something in mind for them, so is change really so bad?
Tequila Mockingbird 
There’s a scene on page 194 that I believe is two major controlling values going back and forth in the vessels of Daniel and Natasha.
“I throw my hands up. “There is nothing wrong with having dreams. I may be a stupid dreamer, but at least I have them.”
“Why is that a virtue?” she demands. “All you dreamer types think the universe exists just for you and your passion.”
“Better than not having any.”
The binary of Dreamer vs. scientist fights back and forth in the text and really falls back and forth because both narrators have their time to speak. This also clearly gives room for a syllogistic progressive form.
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Like Dina said, the narration of the story is very back and forth. Which is why I think we struggled to find the controlling values. We can’t really decide who is telling the story. There are so many different points of view that can lead us to feel different ways. We can listen to the cynical Natasha that is fighting what she feels is a losing battles, or Daniel that is ready to fight for what he wants but just doesn’t. They are both emotionally reliable, not just as narrators but as people. I don’t know if I find either characters likable. Natasha is closed off and the trope of the emotional black girl that just portrays anger, and Daniel is too cocky for someone who is resistant to his direction in life. They aren’t real enough to be believable, and not fantasy enough to be enchanting.
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Intertwined in this story are other perspectives of smaller characters, such as a drunk driver, security guard, Natasha’s dad, and even third person insights that provide information on a topic previously touched on in the story. For example, on page 198 after Daniel has an internal discussion with himself about how his views about fate changed to a more cynical approach, the next two pages are based around the background of “fate.” The section for this informative background information is titled “fate, a history.” According to Burke, this form of narrative is called qualitative progressive form. This form is implemented because of how the story sets up certain parts as a gateway to another idea.
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