“Under the Same Stars” marks Bray’s first book since 2020.
Libba Bray has been weaving stories to enchant YA readers for over two decades now.
But her latest might be her most ambitious novel yet (and her first in almost five years!
Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray.
If you write a letter to the Oak, it is said your true love will answer back.
Read on for more below.
These were teeming with well-loved, dust-free books of every color and size.
Have you ever tasted Pfannkuchen?
Frau Hermann called from the kitchen amid a rattling of teacups and plates.
Nein, Frau Hermann, Jenny said, quickly taking her seat again.
Its a German specialty.
It looked like a jelly doughnut and smelled of fresh yeast.
Jenny bit into the soft, powdered-sugar-topped dough.
Your German is good, Frau Hermann said, digging into her pastry with abandon.
Are you a doctor?
I saw your diploma.
A psychologist, yes.
I work with patients suffering from trauma.
The war, the wall .
both have left deep scars.
Jenny had never met a psychologist before, let alone someone who did such important work.
She searched for the right word.
Frau Hermanns shoulders gave the tiniest shrug.
I venture to help.
What do you like to do, Jenny?
I have a camera.
I like to take pictures.
That is a good way of seeing, yes?
Shows you things you might have missed at first glance.
I never thought of it that way, Jenny said.
I also play violin.
You shall have to come and play for me next time.
Next time.What had she been thinking?
Shed have to find ways to sneak past Frau Hermanns door from now on.
They fell into halting small talkHave you always lived in Berlin?
Nein, Icame to Berlin after the war.
Do you miss your friends back home?
Change is hard, ja?and scraped at their pastry in the awkward silences that followed.
You have a lot of fairy tales, Jenny said, gesturing to the bookshelves.
I use them in my work at the therapy center, Die Eichel.
It helps them to put words to their trauma or guilt.
To think of it as a story that exists outside of them.
Frau Hermann seemed to be studying Jenny.
How old are you, my dear?
Well, in October.
Frau Hermann sipped her tea with a sudden faraway look.
Thats how old they were when they disappeared.
Jenny stopped chewing as if the pastry were poisoned.
Two girls from my village up north, Frau Hermann explained.
I suppose your youth brought them to mind somehow.
Nowthey, it was said, were witches.
Descendants of the ancient Norn.
They had a very special friendship.
One for the ages.
Jenny swallowed the bite in her mouth.
Were they friends of yours?
We were not friends.
But it was a large village and tales get told for generations, you see.
It was a story I heard about the girls, almost like a fairy tale in itself.
What happened to them?
Frau Hermann gave a half shrug.
They disappeared without a trace on the night of the winter solstice.
This was during the war.
All sorts of things happened in the forest during the war.
Frau Hermann teased at her pastry with her fork tines.
Frau Hermanns eyes brightened.
You have never heard of the Bridegrooms Oak?
That is a fable unto itself!
It is a matchmaking tree in the Dodauer Forest up north.
Many marriages have occurred this way.
Frau Hermann rose stiffly and returned a moment later holding a stamped envelope.
I have written my own letter, but .
I havent worked up the nerve to send it.
Her girlish laugh was a surprise, as if a younger woman lived inside somewhere.
I could mail it for you, Jenny said impulsively.
She was intrigued by the story of the lovers tree and the tale of the two lost girls.
Im on my way out.
Frau Hermann tapped the letter against the side of the table.
She seemed to be assessing Jenny in some new way.
Jenny hunched up her shoulders to keep her hair securely tucked in.
Frau Hermann extended the letter.
The penmanship was elegant and formal.
Jenny tucked the letter into her bag.
Didnt anyone go looking for them?
You are curious about this story?
I just never knew anyone who disappeared before.
Frau Hermann was looking at Jenny thoughtfully, the way a therapist might.
Come visit me again tomorrow and I will tell you more.
Jenny felt a twinge in her belly.
At the door, Frau Hermann thanked Jenny for mailing her letter.
They say the Bridegrooms Oak is not really magic, but .
She tried for a smile that seemed like its own shrug.
Adapted fromUnder the Same Starsby Libba Bray, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR).
Copyright 2025 by Martha E. Bray.
Reprinted courtesy of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.
