Customer Reviews

Every Soul A Star

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I often feel sorry for people who don't read good books;
they are missing a chance to lead an extra life.
~ Scott Corbett ~

When I think about why my favorite books are my favorites, Scott Corbett's sentiments ring true. So many of them involve real-life places I've never been or fantasy worlds that I long to visit. And some introduce me to worlds that I haven't known well but suddenly find myself wanting to explore. Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass is one of those books.

The book is set at the Moon Shadow Campground in the days surrounding a total solar eclipse, and three narrators tell the story of how their paths converge there, just as the moon's shadow crosses the sun. There's Ally, a self-confident, home-schooled kid who has grown up at the Moon Shadow, spending her time searching for alien signals and arranging rocks in the campground labyrinth. There's Bree, firmly entrenched in the life of an urban middle school social butterfly until her parents drop the bomb that she's moving to the middle of nowhere so they can work on a research project. And there's Jack, who flunked science class and is sentenced to a summer project at the Moon Shadow with his teacher. Often, when I read a novel with multiple narrators I end up liking one better than the others and wishing the whole book were written in that voice, but that wasn't the case here; every voice was distinct and every character so well-developed that I loved them as individuals and felt like I cared about each of their stories.

As a middle school teacher, I always get extra excited about titles that connect to the curriculum and still maintain the rich characters, plot twists, humor, and tension that keep kids reading on their own. Every Soul a Star is loaded with astronomy, presented in a way that's accessible and compelling. It made me want to spend more time looking up at the night sky, and I found myself googling the time and location of the next total solar eclipse because this book convinced me this is something I need to see. Every Soul a Star is a perfect choice for middle school teams connecting English and Science classes, but it's also a terrific character-driven journey to the stars that kids will enjoy on their own.

Natural phenomenon lend themselves to children's literature. Picture books, for example, are filled with fireflies, rainbows, and shooting stars. Then the child readers get a little older and the phenomena get more complex. The death of the atom in "Smiles to Go" or the frozen lake of melted radioactive sand in "The Green Glass Sea" (okay, so maybe that one's not so natural). And I'm sure, I am sure, that a novel has been written with an eclipse at its climax. Odds are that such a book would be a fantasy novel. I've never heard of one, but it makes perfect sense for people to be racing against an eclipse so as to close the portal on another dimension, etc. etc. etc. Boring! You know what's exciting? Realistic eclipse fiction like "Every Soul a Star". Once again author Wendy Mass takes a crack at science and the idea of questioning a world that you may have taken for granted until now. Entirely engaging and oddly thrilling, this is one contemporary tween novel that's just begging for the right booktalk.

The narrative is split between three kids as different as different can be. Two of them, however, have the exact same problem and that has to do with Moon Shadow Campground. For most of her natural born life Ally has lived on the campground far away from the rest of society, just the way she likes it. Now she's found out that her parents have sold the place to someone else and soon she'll have to move. That someone is Bree's family and as much as Ally doesn't want to leave, so too does Bree not want to stay. She's the queen bee of popularity at her school and the notion of spending a couple years surrounded by just rocks and natural beauty is horrifying, to say the least. In the midst of this problem arrives Jack, a self-conscious artistic type who has come for the total eclipse of the sun along with thousands of other tourists. Topping it all off is an event that changes how they see themselves when all the lights go out. Backmatter consists of an Author's Note and websites and books for further reading about the night sky.

I was curious to see that though four kids are hanging out in this book, only three were allowed a voice. Poor Ryan. He's a character that has been friends with Ally for years, but is suddenly far more interested in a girl as fashion conscious as Bree. One gets the vague sense that had he proved to be a more interesting person, maybe he could have earned himself a narrative. As it stands, he's just your normal everyday teenaged doofus. A nice guy, sure, but no one you'd feel the need to enter the head of. Ally talks to stars as if they were her friends, so that makes her interesting right there. Jack hasn't so much as a whisper of self-respect at the start, and that's a starting point. But it's Bree that turns out to be the surprise. I know that some girls are completely obsessed by Gossip Girl and Clique and those other books with their amusingly vapid heroines. Well if you ever see one of these readers, try convincing them that Bree is the same kind of creature. Her goal in life is to be discovered and to become a model, so to watch an otherwise missing brain slowly morph into a decent human being over the course of 322 pages . . . now that's a natural phenomena for you!

Mass does two important things with this novel. First off, she creates two entirely convincing opposite perspectives. Bree and Ally are both sympathetic, but for vastly different reasons. And as much as you'd like to continue to dislike Bree for most the book, she's a person who is easy to understand. I'm not entirely convinced that her conversion at the end of the book is anything but a pretty blatant example of deus ex machina (or, in this case, deus ex telescope) but I'm willing to let it go. The second difficult thing Mass does is to (I hate this phrase but I can't think of a better one) make science interesting. Because she really does. The part of the human brain that contains a capacity for a natural sense of wonder would have to be dead if the person finishing this book wasn't filled with a wholehearted desire to see a total eclipse of the sun. I've never wanted to see one before but after reading the description in this book I'd hop the next train if you told me one was in the general vicinity.

I always enjoy a kid's book that works against my natural expectations of what's going to happen next. I mean, look at this equation: Popular girl meets unpopular girl at campground. There are only a couple of different ways you can go with a storyline like that, so Mass gets points for taking the road less traveled. For one thing, the kids in this book get along. I sort of expected this to be a novel where people fought, bickered, and came to learn about themselves through conflict. But this is a little different. The kids have essentially been tossed out onto their own by the adults in their lives, or have left those adults voluntarily for the first time. Adrift they end up clinging to people in similar situations. And Mass toys with her canny readers, TOYS I say! You simply cannot have a boy reading the Ray Bradbury story "All Summer in a Day" (it's never named but you know that's what it is) in the first act without implying that something similar is going to happen to him in the third. I won't give anything away, but it's nerve wracking to say the last.

Ally is one of the few homeschooled heroines I've found in middle grade fiction lately. That's neat. It's nice to have a detail like that interwoven with a tale about the death of the sun and that equally awesome event, our entrance into teenagerhood. And I really do think that you could sell this book equally well to the kid who loves books about science and realism as to the kid who'll only touch titles that contain fashion forward females. I could be wrong, but I think it's worth trying. Give it a look yourself. It's a pretty neat juggling act.

EVERY SOUL A STAR is the story of three teens and a total solar eclipse. They are three strangers brought together by a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Ally has lived at the Moon Shadow campground for as long as she can remember. Her parents, dedicated star watchers, bought the campground when they discovered that it would be ground zero for an upcoming total solar eclipse. Over the years, they created a stargazer-friendly atmosphere and now are expecting over a thousand people to spend time at their campsites. Ally can hardly wait to welcome the crowds and observe this amazing act of nature.

Bree is into make-up, nail polish, and clothes. She keeps a scrapbook of clothes and pictures of models and studies it faithfully, since her life's dream is to become a runway model. She is incredibly popular at school and can't understand her younger sister, the science geek. Bree's life comes crashing down around her when her scientist parents announce that the family is moving to the Moon Shadow campground. They will be living there for at least the next several years, since the family currently running the place is relocating to the city. How can they be serious? Bree can't imagine life without the mall, tons of friends, and TV.

Jack is pretty much an outcast at school. He's overweight and not at all interested in sports. He's smart enough, but he'd rather listen to his music than pay attention in class. When he is offered another option instead of summer school to make up his failing grade in science, he finds himself boarding a tour bus filled with science nerds all headed to the country to witness some crazy eclipse.

Author Wendy Mass works her magic as she intertwines the lives of Ally, Bree, and Jack. Using alternating chapters, she tells the stories of the three teens as they become forever connected by an eclipse. She successfully captures the frustrations of her characters as they meet the challenges of their changing lives. Her descriptions as they experience the rare total solar eclipse will have readers Googling to see if they will ever be close enough to witness such a spectacle.

Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"

I first came across this book as I was prowling through my sister's bookshelves in desperate search of something to read. (My own shelves' content had been thoroughly read several times over.) I had already read A Mango-Shaped Space, also by Wendy Mass, and I was eager to open this newest book and see what it had to offer me. Three hours later, I lifted my head dizzily and realized I had read through dinner, not paying any heed to my mother's calls, or my stomach's grumbles. Wonderingly, I got up and smiled.
This book is a wonderful story of teenage angst, confusion, and love, both of romance and friendship. It got to my heart and made it sing. It is for any age, sex, religion, ethnicity, or sexuality, and recommend it for all of the above.

The lives of three very different teenagers intersect during a rare and total solar eclipse in this utterly lovely novel by acclaimed children's author Wendy Mass.

Ally is a bright, self-confident, homeschooled young teen who loves her life just as it is. She and her brother Kenny help their parents run their beautiful and remote Moon Shadow campground site in the "Middle of Nowhere, USA," where Ally knows "every tree and every rock and which foxes are friendly and which aren't." In a pouch around her neck, Ally (whose real name happens to be Alpha) wears a meteorite that was given to her by her beloved grandfather --- she loves the sky just as much as he did. Ally, Kenny and their parents have spent the past decade readying themselves for the onslaught of thousands of visitors who will descend on their campground in a few days, when Moon Shadow will be the very best place on Earth to view a once-in-a-century total solar eclipse.

Bree --- beautiful, popular and destined to be a model --- has always suspected she was switched at birth. Bree's parents are astrophysicists; her 11-year-old sister Melanie happily turns cartwheels in public, is unconcerned about being cool, and actually likes watching PBS documentaries. In Bree's estimate, in a family that is proudly vanilla, she is "peanut butter rocky road with multicolored sprinkles, hot fudge, and a cherry on top." Except of course, she would never actually eat something like that --- it would just go straight to her thighs.

Lonely, chubby Jack has failed Mr. Silver's science class. Instead of making him take a science class over the summer, Mr. Silver offers him the chance to be his assistant on an eclipse-viewing trip to the Moon Shadow campground. Jack has no idea why he was picked --- his strengths lie in art and his ability to fly during lucid dreaming (a trick he picked up from one of his many stepfathers); he is certainly no avid camper and doesn't know a thing about astronomy. But anything has to be better than taking a science class during the summer, and so he reluctantly signs on for the eclipse tour.

Ally and Bree are stunned to learn that their families are essentially going to be trading places: Ally's family is moving to "civilization" to expose the (very reluctant) kids to new cultural experiences, and Bree's family will be taking their place in running the campground so that Bree's parents can conduct their astrophysical research from Moon Shadow. The horrified girls decide to work together to foil their parents' plans while preparing for the eclipse and the onslaught of visitors it will bring to the campground.

The story is told in turns by Ally, Bree and Jack; to the author's credit, each character's voice rings true and is equally compelling. Minor characters, especially Ally's kid brother Kenny, Bree's sister Melanie, and Ally's childhood friend (and possible crush) Ryan are also interesting and believable, almost worthy of books of their own. The adults and their actions provide a plot and backdrop to the story without intruding too much into the daily lives of the teens.

The sky --- the stars, the sun, the moon, the eclipse --- really forms another, absolutely fascinating character in the story. It is impossible not to come away with a greater appreciation of eclipses and astronomy in general after reading this book. Wendy Mass is able to distill scientific knowledge for the lay reader in a way that enhances the narrative without slowing down the pace of the novel. A narrative thread running through the story points to the great contributions that amateur astronomers (yes, even kids!) can make to the advancement of the science.

EVERY SOUL A STAR is a great book for any young reader interested in astronomy or simply looking for a good read, and is a worthy addition to Wendy Mass's previous works, which includes the ALA Schneider Family Award winner A MANGO-SHAPED SPACE, JEREMY FINK AND THE MEANING OF LIFE, LEAP DAYand HEAVEN LOOKS A LOT LIKE THE MALL.

--- Reviewed by Usha Reynolds [...]

Of course I let her win - I'm already a life-long reader and want to make sure her love of reading sticks. But this is a wonderful piece of literature about change that should appeal to teens, tweens, and their parents.

Others have written excellent summaries of the book, so I will skip that. But as someone who is parenting a son with Aspergers Syndrome -- a syndrome which makes dealing with change extraordinarily difficult -- I really love books that show young people being resilient and adapting to situations in spite of the odds against them. Few people embrace change from the get-go, and the ones that do can be supremely annoying to those who like the way things are (the relationship between Bree and her enthusiastic little sister illustrates this, for example), but change is one of the few things that is absolutely certain in life (I suppose death and taxes would be the other two) and learning how to adapt is an incredibly important lesson.

Every Soul A Star illustrates the idea of resiliency in an interesting and creative setting, with likable, realistic characters. 5 enthusiastic stars.

Ok..so you start out with overweight Jack, beautiful Bree, and average Ally. Jack knows how to fly, Bree is dying to become a teen model, and Ally is sweet and innocent..stuck in the middle of nowhere preparing her ranch for a rare solar eclipse people of all ages will soon be coming to see. Obviously..she stuck there to watch it..but enjoys it. On the other hand Brees family has decided to buy the ranch from Allys family..to live ther. Bree sees her oh-so perfect life snatched from her. Jack is invited to see the eclipse with his science teacher. Being Jack..he decides to go. Along the way of secret crushes, muddy high heels, and a longing of an older friend to notice her, Jack, Bree, and Ally learn friendship, and how it can change lives and lst forever.

Hey..hope you didnt mind my summary..but if your not reading now bored and with a glazed look on your face..Every Soul a Star is a great book for all ages. Buy it today, or miss out. Just Saying.

I fell in love with this book from page one. It is a story of love, conflict, and inspiration. I annoyed my family because I had my nose stuck in this book ALL day.

Ally loves living at Moon Shadow, an isolated campground where thousands will gather to witness the total eclipse of the sun. Bree feels she must be adopted or something. She wants to be a model while her parents and younger sister are totally into scientific things. Jack is overweight and feels out of place. He loves to read science fiction books and draw. All three lives come together and will change during the time of the eclipse.

I really enjoyed this book. All three characters came to life as they struggled with the challenges thrown at them. The info on eclispses is fascinating. I even learned a few facts I didn't know before. The author does a great job showing us the wonder of a rare event through the eyes of three teens who form an unlikely friendship.

Ally loves her home. Her family owns and operates a campground in "the Middle of Nowhere, USA." It's a good life, filled with stargazing and studies. She dreams of discovering a comet, something that would have made her late grandfather proud. She likes being homeschooled and working alongside her parents and her younger brother, Kenny. In fact, she enjoys all of it and can't imagine ever living anywhere else. Ally's a happy girl.

Bree doesn't fit in with her family. She loves them and everything, but she's just so different front her physicist parents and her brainy little sister Melanie. Though she appreciates what her parents do and she herself is a bright girl, Bree isn't into science. She wants to be a model when she grows up - or sooner, as she points out to her parents that most supermodels started at age fourteen or fifteen, and she's already thirteen and a half. Bree's an ambitious girl.

Jack has never seen his father. His mom cut his dad's head out of all of their pictures after he left the family. The man went away when Jack's older brother Mike was four and Jack was still in his mother's womb. Jack might seem quiet, but he's very observant. He has watched his mother marry (and divorce) a procession of men, some of which were cooler than others. He is aware that he could be doing better in school. He knows that he is overweight. He enjoys his dreams, in which he feels like he's flying, but when he's awake, he'd rather be inactive. Jack's a lonely boy.

Each of these characters is in for a surprise - or two, or three. Jack gets a cool offer from his science teacher: go on an eclipse tour with a bunch of adults instead of going to summer school. He arrives at Moon Shadow Campground, owned by Ally's family, around the same time that Bree's family drags her there. This book covers two weeks in their lives and details their reactions to each other, to their families, and to unexpected changes and challenges that come about as the eclipse approaches. The book culminates with the historic event, by which time the three kids - along with the girls' younger siblings and Ally's longtime friend and possible crush Ryan - have created an unlikely bond.

The story is related by all three characters in turn, with each speaking in first person for a chapter at a time. Readers get to know the kids as they detail their reactions to each other, to their families, and to the unexpected changes and challenges that come about as the eclipse approaches. They always speak in the same order - Ally, Bree, Jack - and each voice is distinct, with Ally being content yet curious, Bree being headstrong and sophisticated (in her mind), and Jack being cautious and full of self-doubt. Ally, with her scientific mind and family ties, was my favorite, but I liked all of the leads and supporting characters. The descriptions of the eclipse as well as Ally's affection for astronomy will certainly inspire young readers to look up at the night sky with newfound curiosity and respect. Another solid book for middle school readers from Wendy Mass.