Author: Jess Redman
Genre: magical realism
Similar books: The Magic of Melwick Orchard by Rebecca Caprara
What We Found in the Corn Maze and How it Saved a Dragon by Henry Clark
Rating:
 |
| pleasant and empowering |
Three months ago, twelve-year-old Alma moved to the town of Four Points. Her panic attacks started a week later, and they haven’t stopped—even though she’s told her parents that they have. She’s homesick and friendless and every day she feels less and less like herself.
But one day she finds a telescope in the town’s junk shop, and through its lens, she watches a star—a star that looks like a child—fall from the sky and into her backyard. Alma knows what it’s like to be lost and afraid, to long for home, and she knows that it’s up to her to save the star. And so, with the help of some unlikely new friends from Astronomy Club, she sets out on a quest that will take a little bit of science, a little bit of magic, and her whole self.
My opinion: A lot of book explore the idea that we all have something that makes us special, something that only we can contribute. What makes this book stand out is that the thing that makes each of these kids special, their elemental power, can also be detrimental. It makes them prideful, impulsive, leads them to make truly disastrous decisions that have long reaching consequences. Additionally, while they are forced to address their interpersonal issues and they gain more understanding of each other, that understand doesn't automatically mean that they get along. It merely starts them on a path. The plot, the exploration of starlings and quintessence, is an odd combination of magic and fringe science. It may be a bit too weird for mainstream readers but will be a compelling read for a small group of kids.
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