Customer Reviews

A Hand Full of Stars

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
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Written in the form of a boy's diary, this book lets you live with it's characters for a while. It describes life in the ancient Arab city of Damascus in a very beautiful and emotional way. The main message of this book is a call for Freedom of Speech, but it is not political. I read the book for the first time in German in the late 1980's and now during the war on Iraq (2003) I came back to it and it helped me a lot to make up my own mind about the conflict. This book is not only suited for teenagers, it is also quite exciting to read for adults!

This is extremely well-written, and does not seem to suffer for being a translated work. The characters are fully-formed, interesting people, and the story is very compelling. I also enjoyed the journal format, as it keeps the story moving well. This book paints a very vivid picture of life in modern-day Damascus.

A great introduction to a foreign culture (and I don't mean the tourist sites), I enjoyed this "journal" as it slowly and surely revealed its "author" as a growing teenager who, no doubt, will become a journalist/writer as he gets older.

Full of wisdom, humor and realism, I recommend this book for high school students; I believe that many middle school students will feel that in the first half of the book "nothing happens" and the references to a romantic relationship may make some parents nervous.

Nevertheless, to see a writer grow subtly over time is a pleasure. A HAND FULL OF STARS is relevant to students of literature in any country.

A wonderfully complex world of characters & cultures! The exotic setting feels familiar as we explore modern Damascus with a spirited teenage boy. Political chaos & poverty push him into adult responsibilities, as we see him becoming a fine, brave young man.