Smoke and Stars is not what I would normally gravitate to. This Young Adult Spy thriller from Marie Lu gets a lot of things right. It's a delightful book. A pop star moonlighting as an agent in itself is an interesting idea. Lu's attention to loss in the book is very evident and poignant. Starting with Winter's loss of his brother and how it affects both him and his mother to Sydney believing she is alone Penelope's loss of her mother is a major plot point. Lu always writes so beautifully and this book is no exception. It's a fast-paced book full of action. I loved that the little rules to being a spy were trickled into the book as well. My biggest complaint with the book is that the big reveal of who is the bad guy in the book was not a surprise at all. Once Connor is introduced it's a likely conclusion. I do love how the book is open-ended with lots of room for further books.