Star Light, Star Bright (MIRA) (Mass Market Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At the start of Stone's rhapsodic, over-elaborate romance, a young Mexican immigrant named Rafe is hired as trainer of the show horses kept at FoxHaven Farm in Virginia. FoxHaven is the home of two young women, 17-year-old Brooke and 15-year-old Lily, raised as sisters and the "stars" of the novel's title, so dubbed by Lily's adoring father. Rafe and college-bound Brooke, a horse lover, become instant friends. Lily, a longtime sufferer from illnesses that have mystified doctors, returns home from a stay in a Swiss clinic, apparently cured at last. She is as pretty and ethereal as Brooke is handsome and strong, and the reader knows Rafe will be attractive to and attracted by both. But tragedy strikes: one gun and two deaths make both girls orphans. Brooke, traumatized, flees to the West Coast; Lily, sole heir to FoxHaven, remains, with Rafe as special friend. Twelve years later, Brooke has acquired a doctorate and is now a brilliant archeologist. During a brief return to the farm en route to a dig in Cairo, she discovers suspicious evidence regarding Lily's childhood illnesses. The unraveling of all the mysteries surrounding the lives of the two girls begins and Rafe is destined to face his dilemma. Unfortunately, the convoluted plot, the dialogue sprinkled with italicized introspection ("When I'm with you I feel like a ballerina. She couldn't tell him that...") and lengthy medical analyses (Stone, author of 17 novels, is also a physician) make a confusing read out of what might have been an engrossing story.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Rafe McClure comes to Virginia by way of an isolated mountain village in Mexico, which survived untouched for five centuries until it's destroyed by a mudslide. The only survivor, Rafe heads north, learns English, and spends his days at a horse ranch in Texas. When events convince him to continue his journey, he ends up at FoxHaven Farm, where he becomes close to Brooke, also an animal lover. When her friend and the daughter of the house, Lily, returns after recovering from a long illness in Switzerland, a shocking murder and suicide occur, and Brooke leaves. Years later, Brooke returns to find that although feelings haven't lessened, there are still obstacles to overcome before she and Rafe can be together. Even though Stone's fast-paced tale is told in an odd mix of lyrical language and medical terminology straight from the Physician's Desk Reference and leaves most characters underdeveloped, it will still please the author's many fans. Maria Hatton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Mira; Reprint edition (December 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551669544
• ISBN-13: 978-1551669540
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,912,670 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Star Light, Star Bright it is Not!, July 23, 2007

By	faeriemyst "Book Addict" (Ohio) - See all my reviews

First off, things I liked about the book: (1) the title, it's a nice touch of whimsy, (2) the cover colors, and (3) the little shooting star above the chapter numbers (hey, it's cute!). I'm sorry to say that's about it.

This book was just a disaster; there was an excessive amount crammed into 360 pages, and all of it was predictable, over-the-top, and unbelievable. All the characters are supposed to be flawed but they were one-dimensional and boring. Lily and Peter were an exception; I think they had possibilities, most likely better suited to a completely different book. Brooke was an absolutely horrible character; she's boring, whiney, and did many things that I don't think her character would do (such as leave her horses without a by-your-leave), not to mention when her mother tells Brooke about her father and she's not affected by it in the least. What?! Then she spends the whole rest of the book a whole mess of a person who really needs to be sent to a psychiatric clinic, it's just too bad no one else sees this. Ugh, why would anyone like this person, let alone love her?

I don't think the author knew quite what to do with the book. First, the prologue, I'm sorry but it really didn't make sense to the rest of the book, not that the rest made much sense either. Secondly, the author was always changing direction; from the back of the book, I thought it was a love triangle, not exactly. Ms. Stone shifted to and from that but never really settled on a solution to have the triangle. Next, the conversations were a joke; everybody just opens up to a stranger and tells them a whole story? Every conversation was so melodramatic too.

Now for the relationships... No love triangle, that's why I read the book, I thought it sounded interesting. Rafe and Brooke: he's 26, she's 17 when they meet, they spend 9 days together...they're in love? Ha! Not to mention it's very creepy. I can pretend that Brooke is a mature 17 but I don't think a relationship for 9 days would reckon they love each other, they don't even know each other well. I'm sorry but 9 years in between, especially when the younger is 17 is huge; it's not like when someone is 30 and the other is 39, it's a big difference. I also find it hard to believe that 12 years later, everyone is the same and feels the same, no one has really changed. Then from here, the rest of the book is played out in a week, and the last bit totals a month. Way too much for the time period.

I know I had many, many more problems with this story but I think I'll stop here because I gave the main ones. If I continued on I might give spoilers and I don't want to do that in case someone actually wants to read this book. I don't know if this story was supposed to be like a fable, but if it was, it was a dismal failure.

1.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointed in KS, August 21, 2007

By	C. Andrick (Decatur, IL, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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I am halfway through this book and not enjoying it as I have all of her others I have read. I decided to look on Amazon to see what any other comments were about this book. I looked, and have decided to give up on this one and continue on to another one of hers. I just found this one very hard to follow and I don't like having to work that hard trying to keep up with a story line. My sister-in-law, who is also an avid reader, once told me that if you're not "into" a book by page 100, it may not be worth the effort to continue.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but not as wonderful as the rest, March 8, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Star Light, Star Bright (Hardcover)

I have read all of Katherine Stone's books. They all took me away and were a very fast read. This one was not up to her usual standards. The first chapter lost me, but I prevailed and continued and eventually got into the book.I am someone who eagerly looks forward to the next Katherine Stone book but this one left me a bit lacking. I do want to comment that once it got going though it was easy and a fun read.