Friday, May 11, 2018

Book Review: See You on a Starry Night


Juliet has just moved to a beachside town with her newly separated mother and her moody older sister. When she meets their new neighbor, Emma, the girls form an instant bond. Emma's big family takes Juliet in, and the girls have fun together - starting when they throw bottles with secret messages into the sea. Then someone writes back to Juliet's message. An email arrives, inviting her to join the Starry Beach Club. All she has to do is make someone's wish come true.

So Juliet and Emma set off to help as many people as they can. It's fun! But as Juliet spends more and more time away from home, enjoying her new town and Emma's family more than her mom and sister, she starts feeling lost. It's been easy to find others to help. But maybe her star would shine a little brighter if she brought it closer to home.



About the author: Lisa Schroeder has written over a twenty books for kids and teens including the popular verse novels for teens I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME and CHASING BROOKLYN. She's also the author of the middle grade novels IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES, MY SECRET GUIDE TO PARIS, KEYS TO THE CITY and THE GIRL IN THE TOWER. Her books have been translated into foreign languages and have been selected for state reading lists. Lisa is a native Oregonian and lives with her family outside of Portland.

✩  ✩  ✩  ✩  ✩

My review: I loved many things about this book (beach setting! Van Gogh references! Juliet's love of tidy lists and messy art!), and I really liked the way a difficult family situation was balanced with a very sweet subplot. Personally, I found some of the characters too good to be true and some of the problems too easily solved – I wouldn’t have minded more conflict and bad decisions. Still, I definitely think middle grade readers will enjoy this very readable story and will relate to the realistic emotions the characters go through. Recommended.

Publication date: June 26, 2018
A review copy was provided by the author for an honest review.


6 comments:

Greg Pattridge said...

Sounds like a great read for summer. I've added it to my list and hope to give it a go soon. Thanks for the review.

Janet, said...

Sounds like a good book. Thanks for the review. Her other books sound interesting, too.

cleemckenzie said...

Combining a beach setting and Van Gogh sounds intriguing!

Patricia T. said...

This sounds like an original and great summer read. I especially like the Van Gogh reference and the book's theme.

Rosi said...

I have read some other books by Lisa and liked them very much. I LOVE the cover on this book and find the concept intriguing. Thanks for telling me about it. I will be looking for it.

Ben Langhinrichs said...

Lisa Schroeder's books are always fun, and this sounds very appealing. Thanks for reviewing it.