Lisa Selin Davis's second novel, LOST STARS, tells the
story of a 16-year-old girl who gets to know herself. After
the death of her older sister, Carrie, formerly a science
nerd captivated by the comet Vira, starts hanging out with
her sister's drinking, drug-taking and semi-sex-crazed
friends. Not that she really enjoys the stuff she's doing
or the boys with whom she's doing them, but she blames
everything on her grief. Her troubles don't end there as
her family life spirals out of control: her mother has left
for a monastery with a vow of silence, her father tries to
discipline her and her relationship with the youngest of
the three sisters, Rosie got completely lost in in all. A
good guitar player, music seems to be one of the only
things holding her together, and a crush on the boy who is
living with his aunt next door for the summer.
At the end of his rope, her father send her to a
construction bootcampf or at-risk teens where she'll have
to wear work boots and a hard hat to her utter dismay.
While part of me felt sorry for Carrie, especially when she
seemed to have some sort of impulse anger disorder, but it
didn't last long. I had a hard time feeling sorry for
someone who continually makes herself miserable.
Carrie doesn't even seem to have any sympathy for two of
her older sister's friends who were with her in the car
when she died. I appreciate relationships with boys that
can help change a girl's viewpoint as much as the next
person, but this one seems to be the solution to
everything, and no man is the complete answer to anyone's
problems.
Davis explains that some of the story came from her own
experiences at a similar boot camp, and I enjoyed this part
of the book. I also loved all the 80s music references,
well except for the disco, as that's the music that raised
me. I haven't give the whole story away with my comments
about the relationship with the guy, Dean, and if you like
astronomy and/or music, give it a try. After all, we have
likely all found ourselves in a similar position of needing
to find our way.
Before her older sister, Ginny, died, Carrie was a science nerd, obsessively tracking her beloved Vira comet. But now that Ginny is gone, sixteen-year-old Carrie finds herself within the orbit of Ginny’s friends, a close-knit group of seniors who skip school, obsess over bands (not science), and party hard. Fed up with Carrie’s behavior, her father enrolls her in a summer work camp at a local state park. Carrie actually likes the days spent in nature. And when she meets Dean, a guy who likes the real Carrie—astrophysics obsessions and all—she starts to get to the heart of who she is and who she wants to be.
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