A Handful of Stars

Starred review from March 23, 2015
It is a summer of change for 12-year-old Lily, who lives with her grandparents above their general store in rural Maine. Having grown apart from her boy-obsessed best friend and coping with her dog’s increasing blindness, Lily finds a kindred spirit in Salma, whose migrant family works in the local blueberry fields. One constant in Lily’s life is her longing for her absent mother, whose personality and fate Lord (Half a Chance) reveals measuredly. Salma, too, is grieving, having lost her own dog and many friends due to her family’s frequent moves. Lord links images beautifully: Lily shows Salma how the fluted top of a blueberry resembles a star, and Salma confides that she is comforted knowing that the stars overhead are the same ones shining on her loved ones far away. Salma’s artistic creativity and gumption awaken Lily to the power of imagination, the importance of embracing change and knowing when to let go of the past, and the rewards of venturing beyond one’s comfort zone. Ages 8–12. Agent: Tracey Adams, Adams Literary.

March 15, 2015
Lily, an orphaned 12-year-old who lives in a small eastern Maine town, becomes fast friends with Salma, a Latina migrant worker who has come with her family to pick blueberries.At first glance the distance between the pair seems vast, but they share some common interests, including finding a way to help Lily's elderly, blind dog, Lucky, regain his eyesight. Lily, who lives with her caring Franco-American grandparents, is plucky and determined; she's painting special houses for native mason bees to sell to raise money for expensive though risky surgery for Lucky. She's also dealing with the apparent unwinding of her BFF status with Hannah, reigning Downeast Blueberry Queen, a role that comes with a big monetary prize. Against all odds, including Lily's own incipient prejudice, Salma decides to run for queen, and, unexpectedly, Hannah offers useful assistance. Lord tenderly explores Lily's growing understanding of her own emotional boundaries, defined by her frustration over never having known her mother, fear of expressing her individuality, and wariness of change-all aspects of her personality that Salma gently reveals to her. Lily's likable voice believably discloses her maturing awareness of the limitations she's built around herself while also offering an accurate and appreciative depiction of a unique setting: the blueberry barrens of Downeast Maine. This sensitive coming-of-age tale compassionately explores prejudice and multiculturalism. (Fiction. 9-12)

June 1, 2015

Gr 4-6-Two girls from seemingly different backgrounds bond over a blind dog and blueberries in Lord's latest heartwarmer. Lily lives in Maine, raised by her maternal grandparents, Memere and Pepere. Her black lab, Lucky, is her strongest connection to her deceased mother. Lucky is slowly going blind and Lily is determined to raise money for an expensive and risky eye surgery to cure him; she paints wooden mason bee houses and sells them in her grandparent's general store. Salma is in Maine for the summer with her family, migrant workers who live and work in the blueberry barrens. Lucky unexpectedly brings the girls together and they immediately bond over their love of dogs, art, and blueberry enchiladas. Salma is creative and artistic, something that Lily both admires and envies. When Salma decides to enter the Blueberry Queen pageant-something no migrant girl has ever done before-Lily's eyes are opened to the microaggressions of some of the townsfolk. There's also the surprising support from Hannah, Lily's former best friend and reigning Blueberry Queen, who offers to loan Salma a gown. Through her friendship with Salma, the protagonist finds a confidence she didn't know she had and she begins to recognize and question her own previously unexamined biases. Despite the slim page count, this middle grade novel's plot evolves organically. Lord's characters reveal themselves slowly within the narrative and the Maine setting is richly described. The bright cover featuring an adorable black lab is pure shelfbait; though readers looking for a animal tale will instead find a story that centers more on family, friendship, and growing pains. VERDICT A thoughtful work that examines cultural bias and will spark discussion.-Kiera Parrott, School Library Journal

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2015
Grades 4-6 When 12-year-old Lily's blind dog, Lucky, slips his leash and runs away across the blueberry barrens of Maine, a young migrant worker named Salma saves him from running into the road with her well-timed gift of a sandwich. The two girls quickly become friends and discover that each has a dream: Lily's is to earn enough money to pay for eye surgery for Lucky, hoping to restore his sight. Salma's is to become both an artist and the first migrant worker ever to win the Downeast Beauty Queen pageant. Will their dreams come true? And if they don't, will their friendship survive? Newbery Honor Book author Lord has written a quiet, gentle story of friendship, which occasionally a bit bland, lacking drama, and, with its few problems, too easily resolved. But the girls' friendship is appealing, and Luckywell, Lucky steals the show. Dog-lovers will dote on this one.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2015
Small-town Mainer Lily and migrant worker Salma become fast friends, bonding over Lily's blind dog, Lucky. Lily wants to earn money for surgery for Lucky; Salma wants to win the local Blueberry Queen pageant. Both support each other's plans despite the obstacles (the operation is risky; "outsiders" never enter the pageant) in this warm-hearted, thoughtfully written tale of a memorable friendship.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)