Every Soul a Star

Ally, Bree, and Jack meet at the one place the Great Eclipse can be seen in totality, each carrying the burden of their own problems, which become dim when compared to the task they embark upon and the friendship they find.

Publishers Weekly

Confirming her mastery of the middle-grade novel, Mass (Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life) combines astronomy and storytelling for a well-balanced look at friendships and the role they play in shaping identity. Three narrators take turns: Ally, who lives with her parents and younger brother at the Moon Shadow Campground and loves every tree and every rock on it, but most especially the stars above it; glamour-loving Bree, who announces to readers that she must have been "switched at birth" to explain her presence among physicist parents and a geeky younger sister; and Jack, who is helping his science teacher lead a solar eclipse tour to the Moon Shadow to make up his failing grade. The trio's paths converge because Ally's parents have sold the Moon Shadow to Bree's, and everyone meets up at the campgrounds during a major eclipse. The voices reflect the distinct personalities, and while the outcome is never in doubt-each character discovers unexpected powers of adaptability and new talents-Mass keeps the developments believable. Information about solar eclipses and astronomy is carefully woven into the plot to build drama and will almost certainly intrigue readers. Ages 8-12. (Oct.)

Wendy Mass is a prolific author for both young adult and middle grade novels. She won the ALA Schneider Family Award for her first young readers' novel, A Mango-Shaped Space, about a girl who has synesthesia. Her second novel, Leap Day, stars a girl who was born on February 29. Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life follows a young boy on a journey to solve one of life's greatest mysteries, and Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall is her first novel-in-verse. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, twin daughter and son, and a cat. Her Web site is www.wendymass.com.