What Stars Are Made Of
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2.0 • 1 Rating
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
A Mighty Girl Best Book of 2020!
From debut author Sarah Allen comes a pitch-perfect, heartwarming middle grade novel about growing up, finding yourself, and loving people with everything you’re made of.
Twelve-year-old Libby Monroe is great at science, being optimistic, and talking to her famous, accomplished friends (okay, maybe that last one is only in her head). She’s not great at playing piano, sitting still, or figuring out how to say the right thing at the right time in real life. Libby was born with Turner Syndrome, and that makes some things hard. But she has lots of people who love her, and that makes her pretty lucky.
When her big sister Nonny tells her she’s pregnant, Libby is thrilled—but worried. Nonny and her husband are in a financial black hole, and Libby knows that babies aren’t always born healthy. So she strikes a deal with the universe: She’ll enter a contest with a project about Cecilia Payne, the first person to discover what stars are made of. If she wins the grand prize and gives all that money to Nonny’s family, then the baby will be perfect. Does she have what it takes to care for the sister that has always cared for her? And what will it take for the universe to notice?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this assured debut, science whiz Libby Monroe shines when she selects Cecilia Payne, an astronomer who first determined the composition of stars, for an American History profile of someone excluded from the textbook. Like the author, 12-year-old Libby has Turner Syndrome, which means she has a single X chromosome, her heart is "three sizes too big," and she looks different from her classmates. Libby's intellectual curiosity already makes her stand out from her peers, but some elements of her condition, such as the fact that she wears hearing aids, make forming friendships difficult. She considers the library her best friend, until new girl Talia Latu moves to Colorado. Allen deftly sketches the dynamics of Libby's close-knit family, conveying Libby's anxiety when her older sister Nonny's pregnancy develops complications. To solve Nonny's financial problems, Libby dreams of winning the Smithsonian Women in STEM contest, which offers a cash award. Though a thread about Libby's contacting the textbook's editor feels tangential, it offers comedy and a lesson in disappointment and persistence. This witty novel's heroine proves winning, whether or not she gains top prize. Ages 10 14.
