1. BibliographyPaterson, Katherine. 2002. The Same Stuff as Stars. Harper Trophy: New York. ISBN 0-06-055712-5.
2. Summary
Angel does not have the best family. Her mother is raising two kids while Angel's dad is in jail. Angel is actually the most responsible one in the family. She takes on the job of raising her younger brother, Bernie. One day after visiting their father in jail, Angel's mother makes them come home and pack whatever they can fit in one suitcase. This is no surprise to Angel. It happens all the time. Verna never likes to live in one place for too long. They end up in a small town in Vermont, in a crumbling old farmhouse with Angel's great grandmother. To Angel's surprise, her mother is gone the next morning. They have been abandoned. Angel decides to try to make the best of the situation until her mother comes back for her. She has found a mysterious man out in the field at night. He is teaching her all about the stars and heavens. She has also made a friend in the old librarian in town. Angel spends many nights outside with the mysterious "Star Man" learning all about astronomy but never knowing who he is. Angel and her brother are enrolled in school and one day Verna shows up at Bernie's school and takes him away, but leaves Angel. Angel is so confused, she calls her father. He escapes from jail to come and take her away, but she doesn't go with him. She realizes that to her, she is just a way to get back at Verna for taking his son. She learns that she loves her grandma and that they really need each other.
3. Impressions
Katherine Paterson is one of my favorite authors. Her books are so easy to read. They always have hidden meanings deep down in them that really make you think. I picked this book off of my shelf because it was one of her books I had never read before. I really enjoyed it. Angel's life was so different from my own. She had to be an adult at a very young age. She had to learn to do with out so her brother could have. Her only selfish act is getting up every night and going to find the "StarMan." To her the universe is so beautiful and boundless, which is so unlike her life. Her life is so restrictive and hard. But the heavens are so endless and beautiful and mysterious. She cannot fathom the endlessness of it. It takes her away from the hopelessness of her own life.
I think that young adults will find this book very interesting. It is a very easy read, but there is so much hidden beneath the surface. It leaves the reader thinking and wondering. Readers can relate to Angel and how she longs for something more than what she has. I really liked this book.
GoAnimate.com: Same Stuff as Stars by agbonfire97
4. Reviews
Reviews taken from http://www.amazon.com/Same-Stuff-as-Stars/dp/0060557125/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228263042&sr=1-1
From Publishers Weekly Few authors explore the theme of what defines a family with more compassion and sensitivity than Paterson (The Great Gilly Hopkins; Flip-Flop Girl), as she demonstrates once again in this contemporary novel set in rural Vermont. Eleven-year-old Angel Morgan, despite her youth, is the head of her family. With a father in jail for robbery and murder, and Verna, her mother, too preoccupied with herself to care for anyone else (she once "forgot" her children in an all-night diner), Angel looks out for her seven-year-old brother. She keeps a house key around her neck and taxi money in her sock, "just in case." Before long, Verna proves Angel's fears well founded, when she drops the children off at their great-grandmother's house and leaves in the night. Paterson enters Angel's consciousness through a third-person narrative, revealing, for example, how the girl rationalizes Verna's erratic behavior ("How could anyone expect her to know about being a good mother? She couldn't remember having a mother of her own") as well as the way Grandma's (as they call her) ramshackle house transforms into a welcoming haven with a nearby library and a pasture with a view of the night sky. At the novel's center is Angel's blossoming friendship with a mysterious "star man" whom Grandma calls "Santy Claus." He leaves food and chopped wood at the door, and introduces the heroine to galaxies beyond their own. Angel's intelligence and abiding trust in the direst of situations will convince readers that, despite the unresolved ending, she will rise above her circumstances. Ages 10-13. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc
From School Library Journal Grade 5-8-Paterson has once again crafted a beautifully written, wonderfully told story that exposes some of the most disturbing parts of our society while at the same time teaching the value of each and every person. She returns to rural Vermont in this tale of Angel who, in her nearly 12 years, has attended eight schools and twice been in foster care. She is more a parent to her seven-year-old brother, Bernie, than their frequently drunk and unreliable mother or their father, whom they visit weekly in jail. Their mother abandons Angel and Bernie at the ramshackle farmhouse of their great-grandmother, who is too aged and poor to care for children, and when she returns for just Bernie, Angel's loneliness is as immense as the night skies that a kind stranger teaches her about. The man turns out to be her Uncle Ray, a Vietnam vet whose life has been damaged by drugs and jail time, yet who convinces her that she is made of the same elements as the stars. The enchanted night sky gives Angel perspective on her life; it becomes a metaphor on many levels in the novel. As always, Paterson conveys great respect for the poor, and for preadolescents in tragic circumstances who have the resiliency to transform themselves. A new novel by Katherine Paterson is cause for great celebration and this one more than measures up. Angel Morgan will take her place in readers' hearts right next to Lyddie, Gilly, Lupe, and Jip. Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
