Star Academy is the school for all wish-granters high up in
the sky. Sage is one of the new students, and she's excited
to get put into a group and start classes. Surprisingly,
Sage and 11 other girls are summoned to the headmistress's
office. She tells them they have been selected for a special
mission to become field workers/ambassadors to Earth where
they will go down, find the wish maker, and test the
validity of the wish to see if it can give them the energy
they need to keep granting wishes. When Cassie goes on her
first mission, without reading the important instruction
manual, she will have to do her best to fulfill a girl's
wish or risk being stuck on Earth forever.
STAR DARLINGS SAGE'S STORY is an adorable children's story,
perfect for growing readers, especially those enjoying
longer chapter books. The world is nicely described, and I
love all the details about their hair, clothes, and the
technology they use. Sage is a really sweet main character,
great at making friends, but has a tendency to be impulsive.
She does a wonderful job of bringing people together,
though, and I can see her being a great part in uniting the
team of twelve girls they have working with Earth.
The secondary characters are sometimes only mentioned
briefly, but they are set up for possible larger roles in
the future. One of the girls, Cassie, is her roommate, and
their growing friendship is so realistic. I really want to
see more of them in later books. I especially like the
friends Sage makes on Earth, and the twist that happens with
the wish while she is down there.
Overall, I really enjoyed Ahmet Zappa's STAR DARLINGS SAGE'S
STORY. I would highly recommend to earlier readers who enjoy
science fiction and fantasy. I am definitely looking forward
to more books in this series.
High in the sky above Earth is a most beautiful star,
inhabited by a race of people who keep the heavens safe the
Starlings. Their job, which they have done for as long as
anyone can remember, is to help grant the wishes of humans.
Wishes made on birthday candles, shooting stars, dandelions,
wishbones, and coins tossed into fountains, just to name a
few. As long as humans keep believing in wishes, the stars
will keep shining in the sky and life, for Starlings and
humans alike, will continue as they know it.
Book One begins as the incoming class arrives at Star
Academy. Cassie is having some trouble fitting in, feeling
homesick already. She's doubting herself a bit, wondering if
she really even belongs in Star Academy. Plus she's not
particularly fond of her roommate, who is a little too blunt
for Cassie's taste. She has begun to retreat inside her
shell a bit. The girls begin to take classes, meet new
friends. Then, unexpectedly, twelve girls are summoned to
the headmistress's office for a meeting. They soon discover
that they have each done something remarkable in their first
week and have been identified as truly special students. And
something genuinely extraordinary is going to be asked of
each of them as a result.
The headmistress explains that something unusual has been
going on. Wishes are not being fulfilled as easily as they
have been in the past. Humans are starting to disbelieve and
make fewer wishes. Something drastic needs to be done. The
twelve girls are given a special name: the Star Darlings.
And it's up to them to find out why humans have stopped
believing—and to fix it!