I reviewed Stella by Starlight yesterday; if you'd like to read that review, click here.
Lynda Mullaly Hunt likes to tackle themes of "connectedness" in her novels and she does another wonderful job in this book.
As Delsie prepares for another summer on Cape Cod where she lives with her grandmother, she feels all the parts of her life that are missing. She's being raised by her Grammy, not her mom whom she barely remembers. Her grammy cleans vacation rentals for a living, and Delsie often helps her out. Brandy, her best summertime friend, is less interested in hanging out with her than with a new girl, Tressa. And a new boy, Ronan, seems mean and weird, yet somehow interesting.
As she wrestles with the differences between feeling angry and sad, she discovers and rethinks her friendships. Brandy's seeming rejection of Delsie stings, and children who have experienced the joys and pain of friendships will connect. Delsie re-examines friendships that are more honest. She comes to appreciate that people are "...smart enough to know that blood doesn't always make a [family.] Love is a more powerful thing than that."
THEMES: There are important themes of loss and family, of choosing to be a cup half full or half empty kind of person, and about what it takes to be a family. (There is a brief implication of Delsie's mom abusing drugs and alcohol and the courageous choice she made because of that, but nothing that is inappropriate for this age group.)
I think readers will connect with the the characters' choices and perhaps connect with some of less-than-traditional people who support them through the stresses of their daily lives.
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