Every Soul A Star

Wendy Mass may just replace Jerry Spinelli as my favorite Young Adult author.  Her books touch me in so many ways.  She writes of characters that reflect my insecurities I carried as a child into my teenage years.  I am able to see myself through those characters.  While her beautifully written stories will generally appeal more to teenage girls, I can see some boys enjoying her stories as well.

Ally, Bree and Jack are brought together because of a total eclipse of the sun.  The three characters couldn't be more different, but a natural phenomenon shows them and the reader, that they have much more in common than anyone would have thought.  We experience their individual stories and thoughts because Mass has chosen to tell the story through each of their perspectives. 

This method, of switching narrators, was confusing in parts as the story often backtracked in the plot.  However, it was interesting to relive a moment in the story with a different character's perspective.  I loved watching Jack's growth from chubby insecure guy to confident young man.  One of my favorite parts in the story was when Bree admitted that she had an inner geek.  It's always been my suspicion that drop dead gorgeous fashion conscious girls had secret nerdy sides.  Ally's coming to terms with the upcoming changes in her life reminded me of myself and my fear of change.  I truly saw a bit of myself in her. 

I first discovered Wendy Mass when I read Heaven Looks A Lot Like the Mall.  I recently read Finally and enjoyed that story a great deal.  But, Every Soul A Star has made me a true fan!