A Galaxy of Sea Stars

by Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo

Overview

A Bank Street Best Book of 2021

A Galaxy of Sea Stars is Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo’s second middle-grade novel—a heartwarming story about family, loyalty, and the hard choices we face in the name of friendship.

Sometimes, the truth isn’t easy to see. Sometimes, you have to look below the surface to find it.

Eleven-year-old Izzy feels as though her whole world is shifting, and she doesn’t like it. She wants her dad to act like he did before he was deployed to Afghanistan. She wants her mom to live with them at the marina where they’ve moved instead of spending all her time on Block Island. Most of all, she wants Piper, Zelda, and herself—the Sea Stars—to stay best friends, as they start sixth grade in a new school.

Everything changes when Izzy’s father invites his former interpreter’s family, including eleven-year-old Sitara, to move into the marina’s upstairs apartment. Izzy doesn’t know what to make of Sitara—with her hijab and refusal to eat cafeteria food—and her presence disrupts the Sea Stars. But in Sitara Izzy finds someone brave, someone daring, someone who isn’t as afraid as Izzy is to use her voice and speak up for herself. As Izzy and Sitara grow closer, Izzy must make a choice: stay in her comfort zone and risk betraying her new friend, or speak up and lose the Sea Stars forever.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374309107
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	02/04/2020
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	911,909
Lexile:	650L (what's this?)
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo is the author of Ruby in the Sky, which earned two starred reviews and which Booklist called “quietly magical.” She is also a volunteer with IRIS-Integrated Refugee&Immigrant Services (irisct.org) in New Haven, Connecticut. She lives in Ellington, Connecticut, with her family. jzulferr.com
Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo is the author of A Galaxy of Sea Stars and Ruby in the Sky, which earned two starred reviews and which Booklist called “quietly magical.” She is also a volunteer with IRIS-Integrated Refugee&Immigrant Services in New Haven, Connecticut. She lives in Ellington, Connecticut, with her family.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Ruby in the Sky:

“The stories of the main characters intertwine beautifully, each one demonstrating the self-trust that enables them to do the right thing and to forgive. Writing in Ruby's voice, Ferruolo creates an engaging plot peopled with complex characters that gracefully navigate many issues of our time, including women's rights, immigration, prejudice and diversity, and bullying.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Ferruolo’s debut has a quietly magical feel, aided by passages describing Ruby’s fascination with the moon. The faraway moon serves as a poignant theme throughout the book and connects satisfyingly to Abigail’s backstory. The story also skillfully depicts everyday injustices and how those in power control the narrative unless ordinary people stand up against them.” —Booklist, starred review

From the Publisher

02/01/2020

Gr 4–7—Sixth grader Izzy's life is changing. Her family has moved from the cottage she grew up in to the marina, her dad has returned from a deployment to Afghanistan with injuries and post traumatic stress disorder, and her mom is spending the summer on Block Island helping with her family's restaurant. In addition, her dad has invited Dr. Haidary and his family, including Sitara who wears a hijab and goes to her school, to move into the apartment upstairs. Even though Dr. Haidary saved her dad's life in Afghanistan, Izzy is initially resistant to welcoming the family. At least she has Piper and Zelda, the other two members of the Sea Stars, who have been her best friends since kindergarten. But this year is different; as Izzy starts spending more time with Sitara, she sees the racism and bullying she faces at school, and starts to question her friendship with Piper and Zelda. Numerous issues are addressed including changing family and friend dynamics and bigotry, however Izzy learns to use her voice to speak up for herself and others. While the characters and setting (a quaint coastal town) are strong, the message of tolerance does not totally resonate as Izzy has to reveal past secrets in order for her classmates to embrace Sitara. VERDICT A solid choice for libraries where titles exploring xenophobia and immigrant experiences circulate well.—Sarah Polace, Cuyahoga Public Library System, OH

School Library Journal

2019-11-24
In sixth grade, Izzy Mancini's cozy, loving world falls apart.

She and her family have moved out of the cottage she grew up in. Her mother has spent the summer on Block Island instead of at home with Izzy. Her father has recently returned from military service in Afghanistan partially paralyzed and traumatized. The only people she can count on are Zelda and Piper, her best friends since kindergarten—that is, until the Haidary family moves into the upstairs apartment. At first, Izzy resents the new guests from Afghanistan even though she knows she should be grateful that Dr. Haidary saved her father's life. But despite her initial resistance (which manifests at times as racism), as Izzy gets to know Sitara, the Haidarys' daughter, she starts to question whether Zelda and Piper really are her friends for forever—and whether she has the courage to stand up for Sitara against the people she loves. Ferruolo weaves a rich setting, fully immersing readers in the largely white, coastal town of Seabury, Rhode Island. Disappointingly, the story resolves when Izzy convinces her classmates to accept Sitara by revealing the Haidarys' past as American allies, a position that put them in so much danger that they had to leave home. The idea that Sitara should be embraced only because her family supported America, rather than simply because she is a human being, significantly undermines the purported message of tolerance for all.

A beautifully rendered setting enfolds a disappointing plot. (Fiction. 10-12)

Kirkus Reviews