The Same Stuff as Stars [Turtleback]

Katherine Paterson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 2004

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Eleven-year-old Angel Morgan's daddy is in jail, her mama has disappeared, and her great-grandma needs a mother almost more than she does.

--This text refers to the School & Library Binding edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Few authors explore the theme of what defines a family with more compassion and sensitivity than Paterson (The Great Gilly Hopkins; Flip-Flop Girl), as she demonstrates once again in this contemporary novel set in rural Vermont. Eleven-year-old Angel Morgan, despite her youth, is the head of her family. With a father in jail for robbery and murder, and Verna, her mother, too preoccupied with herself to care for anyone else (she once "forgot" her children in an all-night diner), Angel looks out for her seven-year-old brother. She keeps a house key around her neck and taxi money in her sock, "just in case." Before long, Verna proves Angel's fears well founded, when she drops the children off at their great-grandmother's house and leaves in the night. Paterson enters Angel's consciousness through a third-person narrative, revealing, for example, how the girl rationalizes Verna's erratic behavior ("How could anyone expect her to know about being a good mother? She couldn't remember having a mother of her own") as well as the way Grandma's (as they call her) ramshackle house transforms into a welcoming haven with a nearby library and a pasture with a view of the night sky. At the novel's center is Angel's blossoming friendship with a mysterious "star man" whom Grandma calls "Santy Claus." He leaves food and chopped wood at the door, and introduces the heroine to galaxies beyond their own. Angel's intelligence and abiding trust in the direst of situations will convince readers that, despite the unresolved ending, she will rise above her circumstances. Ages 10-13.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-Paterson has once again crafted a beautifully written, wonderfully told story that exposes some of the most disturbing parts of our society while at the same time teaching the value of each and every person. She returns to rural Vermont in this tale of Angel who, in her nearly 12 years, has attended eight schools and twice been in foster care. She is more a parent to her seven-year-old brother, Bernie, than their frequently drunk and unreliable mother or their father, whom they visit weekly in jail. Their mother abandons Angel and Bernie at the ramshackle farmhouse of their great-grandmother, who is too aged and poor to care for children, and when she returns for just Bernie, Angel's loneliness is as immense as the night skies that a kind stranger teaches her about. The man turns out to be her Uncle Ray, a Vietnam vet whose life has been damaged by drugs and jail time, yet who convinces her that she is made of the same elements as the stars. The enchanted night sky gives Angel perspective on her life; it becomes a metaphor on many levels in the novel. As always, Paterson conveys great respect for the poor, and for preadolescents in tragic circumstances who have the resiliency to transform themselves. A new novel by Katherine Paterson is cause for great celebration and this one more than measures up. Angel Morgan will take her place in readers' hearts right next to Lyddie, Gilly, Lupe, and Jip.
Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Turtleback: 270 pages
• Publisher: Demco Media (August 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0606306757
• ISBN-13: 978-0606306751
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Katherine Paterson has twice won both the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award. She received the 1998 Hans Christian Andersen Medal as well as the 2006 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for the body of her work. An active promoter of reading and literacy, she lives with her husband, John, in Barre, Vermont. They have four children and seven grandchildren. Visit Katherine Paterson on her web site at www.terabithia.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Powerful Prose; Powerful Characters, July 20, 2003

By 

Timothy Haugh (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Same Stuff as Stars (Hardcover)

Without a doubt, my two favorite writers for young adults are Madeleine L'Engle and Katherine Paterson. Ms. Paterson has written a number of novels (Bridge to Terabithia, Jacob Have I Loved, Lyddie, etc.) that are among the best I've every read. This novel may not reach the heights of some of her previous books but it is still a worthwhile read.

I have probably shed more tears over Katherine Paterson novels than any other writer except, perhaps, Dickens. They both have an incredible ability to create realistic characters that you can really feel for as well as a deep perception for the effect that death and abandonment can have on people. As I began reading The Same Stuff As Stars I didn't think this novel would have the same effect but I must admit that it did. In the character of Angel, continually abandoned by everyone around her but still a strong girl, Paterson has done it again.

It is her ability to create these realistic characters, however, that also turned me off to this book. I found the characters of Verna and, in particular, Bernie to be so unpleasant that the first half of this novel was nearly unreadable for me. Once these two characters disappear from the novel, I liked the book to be much better.

But is it really fair to dislike a book because the characters are created too well? It's a personal assessment but a fair one, I think. But this book still has many things to recommend it, not the least of which is the astronomy motif which appeals to me very much as a math and physics teacher. Another personal assessment, perhaps, but it works both ways. Ultimately, this is a book that still rates better than just about anything out there. I would highly recommend it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Same Stuff as Stars, October 6, 2003

By 

Christy Eldridge (Somerset, KY. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Same Stuff as Stars (Hardcover)

I thoroughly enjoyed Katherine Paterson's book Same Stuff as Stars because it is an excellent example of realistic fiction. The themes that are present in this book are common to many children in today's society. Imagine being motherless and fatherless and having to rely mainly on yourself for support. Angel is eleven years old in this story and is trying to take care of her younger brother. She is desperate for a real home, unlike her current situation of living with her poor-grandmother. A stranger who is able to explain the night skies is truly all she has to make a difference in her life. Will this stranger's wisdom be enough to eliminate her loneliness and overcome her tragic circumstances she faces each day?

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome BOOK!!!!!!, December 2, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Same Stuff as Stars (Paperback)

I belive that this book was very well written. You know it's a good book when you laugh and then you cry. This book has a VERY good ending if you want to write a sequal. (Is there one already?) I think that is was exciting.

I felt as though I was with angel or even that i WAS angel. It was a book i will remember for years to come. When she laughed i laughed and when she cried i cried.