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A review by alexblackreads
Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass
3.0
I love reading middle grade as a book, but some books aren't intended for adults as well. I probably would have liked that a lot better at age eleven. I've liked Wendy Mass before (A Mango Shaped Space is one of my regular rereads), but this one didn't hit right.
I found the parents unbelievably self absorbed. Like they decided right when their kid is thirteen and about to start high school to pick up and move across the country to live on a campground for three years, with no cell service, no other kids, and no school. And they gave her a weeks notice. That is wildly inappropriate. And then another set of parents did the same thing! It was wild. And it really felt like through the narration we were supposed to think this kids were behaving ridiculously.
Most of the book centers on two girls who are essentially swapping lives, one moving into the campground and one moving out. But there was also a third character who didn't seem to have much of a reason to be in the story. He was just there on a visit to see the eclipse. While the girls had profound realizations about themselves, he just kinda seemed to keep existing. Got a little more confident and had a (kind of weirdly inserted) crush on a girl, but that was it. Don't get me wrong, I really liked his character. He just didn't seem to fit in the story.
Beyond that, the characters were all just stereotypes. The ending was cliche although kind of sweet. The writing was totally fine. The romance was awkwardly shoehorned in. And the parents were never at any point criticized in the narration. Not one I'd recommend, unless you're eleven and very into astronomy.
I found the parents unbelievably self absorbed. Like they decided right when their kid is thirteen and about to start high school to pick up and move across the country to live on a campground for three years, with no cell service, no other kids, and no school. And they gave her a weeks notice. That is wildly inappropriate. And then another set of parents did the same thing! It was wild. And it really felt like through the narration we were supposed to think this kids were behaving ridiculously.
Most of the book centers on two girls who are essentially swapping lives, one moving into the campground and one moving out. But there was also a third character who didn't seem to have much of a reason to be in the story. He was just there on a visit to see the eclipse. While the girls had profound realizations about themselves, he just kinda seemed to keep existing. Got a little more confident and had a (kind of weirdly inserted) crush on a girl, but that was it. Don't get me wrong, I really liked his character. He just didn't seem to fit in the story.
Beyond that, the characters were all just stereotypes. The ending was cliche although kind of sweet. The writing was totally fine. The romance was awkwardly shoehorned in. And the parents were never at any point criticized in the narration. Not one I'd recommend, unless you're eleven and very into astronomy.