Rate this book

Star In The Forest (2010)

by Laura Resau(Favorite Author)

3.74 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0385737920 (ISBN13: 9780385737920)

languge

English

genre

Middle Grade & Children's

publisher

Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers

review 1: Lots here about family dynamics, friendship and class/economic and immigration issues.Zitlally (Star in Aztec)'s father, an undocumented immigrant in Colorado, is stopped for speeding and then deported to Mexico. Her mother is so mad that she threatens not to send him the $$ to sneak back in (pay a coyote). Life in the trailer park gets more uncertain--they take boarders into their trailer.Zitlally withdraws in school, and her friends think she's now boring--it was a lot of work to keep up with them--know what to wear, to say, and how.(p. 8)Zitlally just misses her dad so much--he spoke "star langauge" to her. When she finds a dog chained up in the car junkyard behind the trailer park, his company and distraction help. And she comes to believe that-- with the star on his b... moreack--he is a spirit animal for her father. If he's safe, her dad will be. Includes vocabulary in Spanish, Aztec, a folktale and essay about immigration issues.For kids who aren't quite ready for Shiloh--lots to discuss in only 149 pages.
review 2: “Star in the Forest” starts out with Zitlally, the protagonist, having her father deported back home. After the deportation Zitlally is emotionally destroyed. She begins to stray away from her friends and withdraws within herself. Zitlally soon meets a large white dog that is tied to a broken down car in a dump. The dog is starving and for all appearances has been abandoned. Zitlally names the dog “Star” for a birthmark that he has. Zitlally starts feeding Star and nursing him back to health. Through this process she realizes that her father and Star are somehow connected to each other. Star also helps Zitlally regain some of her confidence and she starts to make friends at school again. Crystal is a strange, but sweet, little girl that Zitlally starts to become close with at school. Crystal becomes a close friend and helps Zitlally try to save both Star and her father. Star goes missing from the car dump at around the same time her father gets kidnapped and held for ransom, strengthening the parallel between these two. Eventually Zitlally finds Star tied up in someone’s shed. It is clear the dog is being abused and she rescues him. Her father also manages to escape his captors and returns home. Both Star and Zitlally’s father return home safely and they live happily ever after. less

Download links for: Star in the Forest

Advertising