Mass, Wendy.
EVERY SOUL A STAR
Boston : Little, Brown, 2008
IL 5-8, RL 4.7
ISBN 0316002569

(3 booktalks)

A total eclipse of the sun.  How often does that happen?  Well, not too often but it is happening soon.  Ally's family purchased the Moon Shadow Campgrounds years ago in anticipation of the eclipse.  Ally doesn't even remember what it was like living in the real world.  She and her brother love living in the woods away from civilization.  But civilization is about to come to visit.  Meet Jack, an overweight kids who loves art and science fiction.  He is on his way to the Moon Shadow as an assistant to his science teacher who is leading a group of eclipse watchers.  And then there is Bree, self absorbed fashionista who lives for her place in the A-crowd.  Bree has just been told something that will change all their lives.

Booktalk #2

Meet Ally:  She’s lived at the Moon Shadow Campground for as long as she can remember and she never wants to live anywhere else.  She loves her Mom, Dad and little brother, she loves being homeschooled, and she loves the natural world of trees, flowers and stars that surround her.  So why have her parents decided to sell the campground and move them all to the city? 
Meet Bree:  She feels like an outsider in her own family.  Her Mom, Dad, and little sister think of nothing but schoolwork, learning, and the world of science.  They have little appreciation for Bree’s love of Seventeen Magazine, shopping at the mall, and her ambition to become a professional model.  How CAN they expect her to come along with them on their crazy move to a CAMPGROUND in the middle of nowhere?? As of this summer, her life is OVER…..
Meet Jack:  His life is continuing on the path he’s been on forever….he weighs too much, he has no friends, he’s given up on school, and he’s flunking science.  But his science teacher is offering him a choice that just might change things---spend a month trying to make up the grade in summer school, or accompany Mr. Silver (as his assistant tour guide) on a camping trip to study a total eclipse of the sun.  Read Every Soul a Star to find out what happens when three kids who have nothing in common are tossed together at the Moon Shadow Campground---when you’re on the verge of growing up, one summer can change your life forever…  (New Hampshire Great Stone Face nominee, 2009-2010)

Booktalks #3

Three very different young teens meet at a campground to see a total solar eclipse. Ally, Bree, and Jack’s lives are all changed by meeting each other and by the eclipse.

There is a lot of interesting astronomy in this story. The three friends learn about science, self-reflection, friendship, and humor in this story filled with plot twists. Have you ever felt like Bree who says at the beginning, “I was switched at birth. There is no other explanation for how I ended up in this family.”?  (Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award, 2011)