Middle Grade Book Review: A Handful of Stars

“Through the plastic wrap on top of the box, I showed Salma all the five-pointed stars, one on top of each berry. A whole box full of little blue-black stars. Pépère said that the early Wabanakis called blueberries ‘star berries.’ They believed the Great Spirit sent them down from the sky.”

★             ★ ★

A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord

Shy and sensitive Lily lives in Downeast Maine with her French-Canadian mémère, pépère, and beloved blind lab, Lucky. It’s the bustling summer season in her quaint coastal town. A town famous for its wild blueberries, blueberry festival, and the hundreds of migrant workers that come every year to harvest the berries; and, even though the sun is shining down on Lily she’s feeling... well... blue.

Sure she has her reliable, reassuring routines to get her through the day, like baking pies with her mémère and carefully decorating and selling wooden Mason bee houses (they pollinate the blueberries!) to sell in their general store. But, Lily’s best friend Hannah doesn’t want to spend any time with her lately. Instead, Hannah puts all her attention and energy into impressing her crush  Amazing Brandon *sigh*. Then there’s Lucky. It feels like, even with the bee houses Lily’s selling, she’ll never come up with the $2,000 to pay for Lucky’s cataract surgery. If Lily doesn't earn the cash Lucky, her furry four-legged BFF and the last link to her mom, might never see again.

UNTIL the afternoon Lucky unluckily gets loose and goes barreling across Winthrop Farm’s blueberry barrens. When young migrant worker Salma Santiago averts the catastrophe and catches Lucky with her peanut butter sandwich (canine kryptonite!) the two girls strike up an instant friendship.   

Free-spirited and imaginative Salma sets her heart on helping Lily earn the money to pay for Lucky’s surgery, AND to do what’s never been done by a migrant worker or Latina before-- enter the annual festival pageant and be crowned Blueberry Queen. Can the courageous star friends defy the odds and make their dreams reality?

★             ★ ★

A Handful of Stars is a girl-and-her-dog story that also revolves around the supportive and beautifully authentic female friendship between Salma and Lily. I was instantly invested in their story and eager to see how their chance encounter, how a slipped collar and humble peanut butter sandwich could bring two girls from different worlds entirely together.

Salma’s empathetic, big-thinking, dreamer of a character is a blend of Luna Lovegood, Anne Shirley-Cuthbert, and something entirely her own. She finds color and joy in everything she does and is unapologetically herself. As Salma encourages Lily to take more chances and let go of her fears Lily’s insecurities and her anxiety-driven reliance on routine recedes. It’s a gradual shift that unfurls over a mere 184 pages and for me, made this book impossible to put down before I reached the end.

Lucky, Lily’s precious pooch is also worth mentioning. After all, he’s the one featured on A Handful of Stars buttercup yellow cover balancing a single blueberry on his sniffer. Animal lovers will be chuffed by the heartfelt and very real bond between Lily and Lucky. I’m not a dog person (ride or die cat mom here!) but I was totally taken by their scenes together like Lucky dozing under the table by Lily’s side as she painted bee houses, and nibbling dropped bits of the blueberry enchiladas Lily and Salma baked to sell at the Blueberry Festival (talk about a fusion of culture and friendship!).

A Handful of Stars is a coming-of-age story that doesn’t shy away from exploring themes including loss, poverty, and prejudice. It’s particularly eye-opening for Lily when she sees the cramped, dirty, and meager conditions the migrant workers live in (the whole camp has only one oven among them!). It shows Lily what Salma meant when she said she and her parents and the rest of the migrant workers were invisible. This is a conversation starter for young and ‘tween readers and a teachable moment to learn about white privilege and how Latinx and other people of color are still marginalized, even right under their noses!

Those themes coexist with other themes such as forgiveness, self-love, and individuality. A Handful of Stars depicts how the strength and love that comes from female friendships, family, and the bond between humans and animals can build up small moments of bravery. Even the little beach-stone sized bits of bravery (as Lily muses in the book), can transform everything as we follow Lily as her tentative caution and doubts fade more and more, day by day, into confidence and hope.

A Handful of Stars is an immersive and character-rich story that’s perfect for readers of all ages. Elementary aged (8+ year olds), tweens, teens, and adults (I’m in my  20s!) can all connect with and find A LOT to love in this sweet story. Lord’s engaging, thought-provoking voice and her descriptive, breezy prose is accessible for all ages. Anyone, yes, anyone (!!!) who enjoys lovingly crafted, multilayered, and heartwarming middle grade lit look no further than A Handful of Stars!

Recommended.  

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