From Goodreads,"From Saving Lucas Biggs authors Marisa de los Santos and David Teague comes another heartwarming middle grade adventure about two misfits who discover the importance of just being themselves.
When thirteen-year-olds Aaron and Audrey meet at a wilderness camp in the desert, they think their quirks are enough to prevent them from ever having friends. But as they trek through the challenging and unforgiving landscape, they learn that they each have what it takes to make the other whole.
Luminous and clever, Connect the Stars has Marisa de los Santos and David Teague’s trademark beautiful prose, delicate humor, swooping emotions, and keen middle grade friendships. This novel takes on the hefty topics of the day—bullying, understanding where you fit in, and learning to live with physical and mental challenges—all in a joyous adventure kids will love!"
Goodreads - Connect The Stars
I purchased this book through Scholastic and the brief summary that was given was a little misleading. I expected this book to be about kids who went camping in the woods, got lost, and had to use their brains to figure out how to survive. That was not the case. This book is about Audrey and Aaron who both have "super powers". Audrey is able to tell when someone is lying and Aaron is able to recall any piece of information that he has ever read, seen, or heard. Both of these kids get into a bit of a pickle at the beginning of the book and they in turn are sent to a survival camp in the middle of the desert. While they are simply trying to survive, they come to find friends that will help them make it through the summer.
This book was amazing. I loved that there were two main characters with lots of supporting characters. I felt that I was able to stay connected and relate to at least one of the characters throughout the book. I connected with Audrey because I hate liars and I hate when people lie to me, even if they do lie just to spare my feelings. I also connected with Randolph a little bit in the fact that he was just trying to fit in with the group and trying to be liked. I sometimes feel that way myself when I'm around people I don't really know. The characters had enough complexity to them to make them seem realistic, but they also didn't have extremely elaborate back stories. I also really enjoyed that the characters grew throughout the book. I enjoyed seeing them conquer their fears and troubles. This has a huge theme of finding yourself and accepting what you can't change. This book definitely sends the message that we can't all be perfect and that it takes all kinds to make the world go round. If a student was in a tough spot in life or having some trouble at home, I would highly recommend this book.
I do however, wish that there had been dates or timestamps included. With life and death on the line, I enjoy seeing the timeline progress as the campers worked to survive the wilderness. I also felt that there could have been a little more of a transition at the beginning when the kids went from home to camp and a little more transition at the end when the kids left camp and returned home. I felt like the authors knew they had to conclude the book in a certain amount of pages and they had to cut the ending short. The only other downfall (and the reason I can't put it in my 4th grade classroom) is that there were a few choice words throughout the book. I would definitely read it before sticking it in my school or classroom library.
I would love to known if Marisa de los Santos and David Teague took turns writing the chapters. I definitely got that feeling, which gave the characters their own voice and their own personalities. This was an excellent book that would be good for junior high or high school students. I honestly feel that some of my 4th graders would enjoy this book, but as mentioned above, it has some choice language in it. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars and definitely recommend it if you are looking for a good adventure book.
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