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Book Review - "The Star that Always Stays" by Anna Rose Johnson


Welcome back, friends, to another Seasons book review! Today I'm very excited to be reviewing The Star that Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson! Anna weaved a wonderful story together with each chapter of this book, and I wanted to share a little of that with you!


SUMMARY:

Norvia is an average 14-year-old girl growing up with her parents, brothers and sister, grandma and great-grandmother in Beaver Island, Michigan. But Norvia's world suddenly changes when her parents get divorced and her mom remarries soon after. Mr. Virgil Ward seems like nice stepfather, but all the Nelson children are sceptical at first. Well, all except Dicta, Norvia's little sister. Now the whole Nelson family must move to the Wards home in town, and leave the Old Mary (Norvia's great-grandmother) and Young Mary (Norvia's grandmother) to live on their own. But some exciting surprises are in store for Norvia; beginning high school, a first crush, and a school dance! Throughout this book, Norvia learns about racism, growing up, and the difficulties of a blended family. Anna Rose Johnson does a fantastic job of writing a moving and relatable story every teenage girl is bound to love.

When I first started this book, I had a wonderful afternoon reading under an apple tree...

RATING:


OVERALL REVIEW:

Readers Book Review – The Star that Always Stays

The Star that Always Stays was a wonderful read for several reasons; first, because I really enjoyed reading a middle-grade novel by a current author! In a world full of bad literature and secular worldviews, this book was a welcome change. Second, because Anna’s very careful about what she writes, and how much detail goes into each subject. Some topics she addresses can be difficult sometimes (for example: first crushes, blended families, divorced parents, etc.), but Anna stayed very clean and wholesome on all of these. And third, her faith shines through many different parts of the book, which was really refreshing to see. It was wonderful to see and hear about a young author pursuing her dreams of writing, while still remembering who gave her the gift in the first place. Well done, Anna!

I would have to say that my favorite character was Norvia, because she deals with so much of what teenagers deal with these days. Her first weeks in a new school, being popular, and making true friends. Some unique characters in this book were Vernon, Norvia’s stepbrother, and Uncle Virgil, Norvia’s stepfather. At first, Vernon was kind of a mystery, because he was very distant and hostile toward his new family, but you see his true character coming out at different points in the book. He begins to warm up as he get's to know each of the Nelson children. And Uncle Virgil was kind throughout the entire book, but because of this, you wonder (like Norvia) if he’s genuine, or if he’s trying to make a good, first impression. But as the story unfolds, Uncle Virgil’s real personality comes out, and by the end of the book, there was an affection I had for this character that had been developed throughout each chapter.

Another part I loved about this book (there were SO many!) was all the books that Norvia enjoyed reading that are favorites of mine as well! I love reading classics, and Norvia read many of my favorites, so this made her even more relatable!

Thank you so much, Anna, for such an inspirational book for teens, and I hope you continue to write in the future - I’ll be one of your first readers!

Well, that's all for today's post, I hope you enjoyed it, and make sure to order Anna's book from your local library or Amazon, you won't regret it!

Thanks for stopping by, I'll see you next post!


Have you read The Star that Always Stays? What were your thoughts on it? Comment below and share!



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