Star Crossed, by Minnie Darke

Nick Jordan and Justine Carmichael were childhood besties until Nick’s family moved away from their country town. A reunion as awkward teens saw them kiss and part ways again, until they once more cross paths many years later in the almost fairy tale city of Alexandria Park. Aspiring journalist Justine has been slogging it out as a copygirl on a prestigious magazine for several years, on the promise that she is next in line. She is smart, cynical and rational to a fault. Aspiring actor Nick is guided by his horoscope, so it is too tempting for Justine to tweak her magazine’s stars to try to influence Nick in her direction. Unfortunately Nick’s interpretation of his stars doesn’t quite align with Justine’s intentions. The horoscope metaphors seem heavy handed to begin with, but they click into place as the story progresses, with little vignettes of random characters affected by Justine’s manipulation of one particular star sign. The vast array of characters affected almost becomes confusing, trying to keep track of who is who, but they all serve a purpose in small and large ways – even the dog! Darke cleverly brings all the threads together to create a satisfying end that does justify the means.