Starworld

February 15, 2019
An unlikely friendship blossoms between two high school seniors, each of whom has family secrets but who together find unexpected solace in a fantasy world they create through texting.Sam Jones keeps to herself, focusing on studying, painting, and gaming with her one friend. She wants to leave Portland, Oregon, to study aerospace engineering but is worried about how her divorced mother will survive without her. Zoe Miller is popular and has a serious boyfriend, a raft of friends, deep involvement in school theater--and a severely disabled brother. A chance encounter between the girls sparks an initially goofy text exchange that quickly turns into a lifeline for both. While this plot might not sound extraordinary, in the deft hands of co-authors Coulthurst (Inkmistress, 2018, etc.) and Garner (Relative Strangers, 2018, etc.), the well-realized main characters and deeply insightful descriptions of complex emotions combine into an unusually thoughtful novel. All characters appear to be white. Secondary characters, such as parents and friends, are less three-dimensional than Sam and Zoe. The fantasy texting subplot is clever: Seamlessly woven in as dialogue, it is not gimmicky. Alternating chapters in each girl's first-person voice reveal their perspectives.Readers seeking characters facing challenges with honesty, bravery, and kindness will appreciate this book with its reminder that our outward lives often don't reflect who we really are. (resources) (Fiction. 14-18)

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April 1, 2019

Gr 9 Up-Zoe is a pretty, popular star of the high school stage; Sam is an artistic loner with only one friend to her name. Their paths would never have crossed except for a mistaken text message that opens the door to an unexpected friendship based in Starworld: a fantasy location they create, complete with adventures that take the teens out of the hidden pain of their daily lives. Zoe is surprised and grateful when Sam helps her see that it isn't necessary to be "perfect." Sam, on the other hand, isn't quite sure what to do when she falls in love with Zoe. Since Zoe is straight, readers know all along that this will lead to a painful outcome, and the tension grows along with the girls' friendship. Sam is funny, snarky, and potty-mouthed, and her character seems the better defined of the two. Even so, the story offers plenty of growth for both as the girls come to a new understanding of the challenges in their lives, and a realistic open ending without a neat tie-up adds greatly. Only their adventures in Starworld seem flat, but that's a small price to pay for a well-wrought story about the pitfalls and rewards of friendship. VERDICT Purchase for libraries that serve older teens.-Elizabeth Friend, Wester Middle School, TX

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