Hi everyone, this next post features a lovely book I found by a happy accident. Acclaimed Newbery medalist Katherine Paterson’s Bridge to Terabithia had always been a favourite read of mine growing up as a child, so when I saw her name linked to this one, I had to read it. If you’re like me and enjoyed her award-winner of a read, then you’ll love this one too!!
Title: The same stuff as stars
Author: Katherine Paterson
Genre: Fiction – contemporary
Publication details: Clarion Books; NY, 2002
ISBN: 9780618247448 (Hardcover)
What this book is about: Angel Morgan is not twelve years old yet and she needs help. Her dad is in jail and her mother has abandoned Angel and her little brother Bernie at their great-grandmother’s crumbling Vermont farmhouse. Since Grandma spends most of her time wrapped in a blanket by the wood stove, she’s not really up to taking care of two kids. Angel’s the one who has to do so. In this dreary world of canned beans and peaches, of adult worries and loneliness, there is only one bright spot – a mysterious stranger who appears on clear nights and teaches Angel all about the stars and planets and constellations. And he shows her that if she can just dig deep enough, she can get through it all, because inside of her is the same stuff as stars.
My review: A lovely poignant and heartwarming story of family, friendship and loyalty. I really empathised with Angel and the difficult situation she found herself in. This was one of the first books I had read of this type of family dynamic, and made me really think about how sometimes you don’t know what someone’s family life really is behind the scenes. Katherine Paterson spun her signature style of magic and mystery into this book and gave us some great characters in Angel, her brother Bernie, and even Miss Liza the librarian. A good read for tweens with a hopeful ending!! (Sorry, that’s all you’re getting today!!)
My rating: 4 ⭐
Additional notes: This title has won the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award in 2013 and was nominated for the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award in 2004, the Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children’s Literature and the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award for Older Children in 2003.
Miss Mahee's Library of Reads 