Stardust

How it reads

Stardust is fantasy (romantic fantasy, specifically), and its dominant mood is adventurous. It's driven by momentum, discovery and getting into trouble. It moves fast: plot-driven and hard to put down, the kind of book that carries you along even when you're tired.

It's set in an invented world, in the historical past, told in the third person, staying close to one character. Its central concerns are love and identity. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending resolves happily. At 248 pages it's a quick read. It's well known, the kind of book most keen readers have heard of.